As part of my 2009 “Backstage Pass with Nils” Interview series I had a conversation with Brian Simpson and we touched on the subject of the changes in the music business. Record labels started to feel the shift from CD sales to downloads. Many Smooth Jazz radio Stations changed format so the outlet for this type of music shrank considerably. Just think that in 2005, when my hit song “Pacific Coast Highway” was # 1 it took 750 spins per week to hold that spot. This week Brian Culbertson’s brilliant song “Think Free” holds the spot solid with 300 spins and 40 spins lead to #2. It’s easy to understand why labels got nervous and many musicians too.
But as I discovered in the interview, Brian was staying very busy. He worked as Dave Koz’s music director, kept writing his own material and he is still going strong today. One thing that stuck out in the interview was that Brian said the format needs more original material. I’m paraphrasing: “ It needs to evolve, otherwise it’s going to die, and the only way to do that is by introducing more new original material.” That is a sentiment I whole-heartedly agree with. Brian went on to say that he always works on writing as much new and good material as he can, and when he runs out of ideas he approaches other songwriters to supply him with tunes.
Brian has been doing well in the last years since this interview. He just released a new CD entitled “Out of a Dream”. And I am happy to see him in the charts. True to his believes he approached various songwriters to help him and collaborate on the CD. I was one of them. The opening track “One of a kind” was my contribution. Brian took my idea and put his own spin on it. The result is a nice mix of Nils’ upbeat grooves and Brian’s sensual piano playing.
Brian recognized that the key to an artist’s resilience is flexibility and good original material. This attitude has served him well. Every great artist I can think of is associated, if not defined by an original song.
I have been writing more songs the last two years alone, than in the 5 years before. I expanded my work into producing new and upcoming artists, as well as writing songs for established artists. Of course I try to keep the best stuff for myself. And therefore I feel that my upcoming album, to be released later this year, will be the strongest work I have done in years.
The only advice I can give is to write as much as you can. Realize that not every song is going to be a masterpiece. But if you keep writing eventually you’ll come up with something great. And if you can’t and need more material to make your album stand out, give me a call.
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