This is a private 3-hour online collaborative session with an
experienced professional songwriter that takes place in the SongU.com
audio and video enabled e-Classroom. The purpose of a SongU.com Mentor Pro-write
is to give you an opportunity to learn about co-writing, gain confidence
and experience in the co-writing process, as well as take part in
an active co-writing session. Note: Monies from Private Sessions go
directly to the pro writer to pay for their
instructional writing time and to pay for the e-Classroom.
You may want to book a session if you are a "lyric-only" or "music-only" writer,
or if you are nervous about co-writing because you have never done it before. Or,
you may also want to book a session if you already have co-writing experience
but are looking for an opportunity to "write-up" with a professional. These are
all valid reasons. Your pro-mentor
will be able to customize the session to fit your personal experience and goals.
It is always a good idea to come to any writing session with at least a
few song titles and/or lyrical or musical ideas. These may not ultimately
be the ones you work on, but they will be a good starting-off point. In addition,
feel free to bring your questions or concerns about co-writing to your
pro-mentor so they can address them. Finally, make sure you have downloaded
the e-classroom software and have tested it out on your computer at least 48 hours
before your session (see question below) to give you plenty of time to receive
tech assistance if necessary .
The e-Classroom for your Pro Mentor Co-Write Session opens 15 minutes before start time. Before that time, you can gain familiarity and test your audio/video connection in the Virtual Writer's Room which is found by going to the Co-Writing Activity area. The Virtual Writer’s Room is set-up similarly to your Private Session e-classroom. Remember to click on the CALL USING COMPUTER link which will automatically connect your audio/video to the session. If you are having technical problems you may use the call-in number instead.
To reschedule, you must cancel your current session first, then submit a new request to rebook. Please provide at least a 12 hour notice to cancel a private session by clicking the link to cancel in the My Private Sessions Activity area. The instructor will automatically be notified of the cancellation and your SongU.com credits will be refunded to your account. Cancellations with less than 12 hours’ notice must be done by contacting Support. Refunds can only be guaranteed with a 12 hour notice.
Due to both the creative and educational nature of this session,
there is no guarantee that a song will be fully completed in the 3-hour
co-writing session. The goal is not to quickly write a song for the
sake of writing one, but to learn and grow as a co-writer. For example, you
may want your pro-mentor to take some time during the session to explain or
"teach" you about various aspects of collaboration if necessary. Rather than
jumping right into the first idea that comes up, your pro-mentor may want to
spend some time talking about titles. You will probably discuss various angles on
how to approach an idea and find a unique perspective to write about. This kind of
back and forth discussion
during a collaborative session is common among professional writers.
If you have not completed your song during the 3-hour session, you
will want to decide whether to book an additional session with your
pro mentor to complete the song. For follow-up purposes, you
may choose to book for any of the session length options: 30-minutes, 1 hour, or
another 3-hour block of time (see "Book a Private Session"). Note: We discourage you from spending more than 6 hours total on one song. If you have not finished a song after working on it for 6 hours and you still want to continue, we leave it to the discretion of the pro-mentor to decide whether or not they feel it is beneficial to continue working on that song. Again, the goal of a Mentor Pro-Write session is to give you
experience and confidence to grow as a co-writer, not necessarily to finish a song.
You and your pro-mentor will need to discuss honestly about
whether or not to demo the song. Publishing companies usually only
demo a handful of songs that their signed writers turn into the company. So deciding
on whether or not a song is worth the investment of additional time and money to
demo is part of the educational process. Please note that should you decide to demo a
complete song, you will be fully responsible for any demo costs. If you have the
song professionally demoed, please keep the receipts. Should the song generate income
at or above the cost of the demo,
the pro-mentor will reimburse half of the demo cost from any royalties they receive.
All copyright ownership of the song is split 50/50 between you and
your pro-mentor. You may pitch the song to a publisher or for other placement
opportunities.
The pro-mentor may also pitch the song but is under no obligation to do so.
Your pro-mentor will record your mentor co-write session. You will
be able to download the audio/video transcript to your computer about 1 hour
after the session is complete. Your pro mentor will also make
sure you have a "worktape"
version of the song (or however much of the song you
have completed) on the transcript.