Laws of Songwriting
RALPH MURPHY RECEIVES CMA’S JO WALKER-MEADOR INTERNATIONAL AWARD
Last Updated on Monday, 05 December 2011 03:46 Written by Ralph Murphy Monday, 05 December 2011 03:37
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RALPH MURPHY RECEIVES CMA’S JO WALKER-MEADOR INTERNATIONAL AWARD
NASHVILLE – During the annual CMA International Reception held on Nov. 7 as part of festivities around “The 45th Annual CMA Awards,” Ralph Murphy, songwriter, producer and VP of ASCAP Nashville, was given the 2011 Jo Walker-Meador International Award. The Award was presented by CMA CEO Steve Moore.
“The industry has been more than generous with all the Irish, the Canadians, the Norwegians, the Australians, the Dutch, the Germans – everyone who’s come here to play Country Music,” said Murphy. “And it’s always been more than generous with me. You can’t ask for more in life than a chance and an opportunity of someone being fair with you.”
The Jo Walker-Meador International Award recognizes outstanding achievement by an individual or company in advocating and supporting Country Music’s marketing development in territories outside the United States. It was named in honor of former CMA Executive Director (1959-1991) and Country Music Hall of Fame member Jo Walker-Meador.
Born in England and raised in Canada, Murphy scored his first No. 1 song with “Call My Name,” released in 1966 by James Royal. He moved to New York City in 1969 and in 1971 had his first Country hit in Nashville with Jeannie C. Riley’s “Good Enough to Be Your Wife.” By 1976, Murphy and Roger Cook opened Picalic Music in Nashville, which published more of his hits, including Crystal Gayle’s “Half the Way” and Ronnie Milsap’s “He Got You.” His book Murphy’s Laws of Songwriting has been used in curricula by colleges, universities and songwriter organizations, where he is a frequent and in demand speaker.
An advocate for songwriters’ rights, Murphy is a former President of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), President of the Nashville Chapter of the Recording Academy, and has served the music industry in numerous other capacities including the board of the Canadian Country Music Association.
Previous winners of the Jo Walker-Meador Award include:
1994 Trisha Walker-Cunningham, TWI
1995 CMT: Country Music Television
1996 Bob Saporiti, Warner/Reprise Records Nashville
1997 Barry Coburn, Ten Ten Management
1998 Judy Seale, Refugee International
1999 Sarah Brosmer & Kate Farmer, MCA Nashville & Universal International
2000 Jeffrey Stothers, Gone Country Promotions
2001 Iain Snodgrass, Universal Music International, UK
2002 Sheila Hamilton, Canadian Country Music Association, Canada
2003 Meryl Gross, Australia
2004 Jeff Green, R&R, USA
2005 Greg Swain, Telstra, Australia
2006 Alan McBlane, Mcb3, UK
2007 Heather Ostertag, FACTOR, Canada
2008 Mark Moffatt, USA
2009 Michael Chugg, Michael Chugg Entertainment, Australia
2010 John Lomax III, Roots Music Exporters, USA
Murphy’s Laws of Songwriting 2010
Was 2010 the end of a volatile time in country music, or the calm before the storm? Well no matter what your personal perception was, 2010 was an interesting year at #1 for songwriters. In 2010, 71 songwriters contributed to twenty-nine #1 records. Because a few of those songwriters wrote on more than one #1, the total # of writers that actually had a #1 or more in 2010 was 53.
’09 The Year of More….And Less!
Last Updated on Saturday, 30 April 2011 22:20 Written by Ralph Murphy Monday, 08 March 2010 22:31
I get a lot of heat for studying only #1 records. Strangely enough, not from the writers, publishers or artists that have one. My feeling is that if the “business” feels it is worth promoting, pushing, bullying or outright buying a record to the top, they must be pretty confident in the “foundation” that the artist’s career is built on…..the song. So, no matter how they got to the dance, here are the songs that went to the #1 ball. In line with “no one throws a # 2 party” this is a look at what made it to No. 1 in 2009.
The number one songs of 2009 continued a trend that started at the beginning of the decade. For the last ten years, there has been a substantial increase in the number of #1 records. For instance, this year, ’09, there were 31 #1s up from 26 last year ‘08, and 21 back in ’04.
Looking Back on What's to Come
Last Updated on Saturday, 30 April 2011 22:20 Written by Ralph Murphy Monday, 08 March 2010 02:43
I'm straying from our usual format just a bit because I feel the need to speak to you about how to make your songs stronger in the long-term rather than in the short term.
Like most writers starting out in the music business, I was fortunate to have been adopted by several fine veteran writers. Why they took the time to give me a few words of advice, a moment of praise, a hard jab of criticism, or a cold beer of consolation was always a mystery to me. I never quite understood when they told me that a songwriter's best friend was not an artist, a label, a publisher, or a radio or TV station, but another songwriter.
Your Best Bet for a #1 Song
Last Updated on Saturday, 30 April 2011 22:23 Written by Ralph Murphy Monday, 08 March 2010 02:42
For a small business owner such as a songwriter/publisher, knowing the market is vital. Budgeting for success means looking at income (when it decides to come in!) and making informed decisions about how to spend it most effectively. Up near the top of the list of expenditures (almost right next to eating) are demo costs. The financial outlay for demonstration recordings has risen to $750 - $1,000 per song. So, if you write 30 songs a year and only have $10,000 in your demo budget, you're going to have to make some hard choices.
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