DSA Monthly Meetings

DSA MEETS THE SECOND THURSDAY OF EACH MONTH Except August

Education • Networking • Encouragement • Advocacy

Learning Opportunity presented by the Dallas Songwriters

* Monthly Workshops which feature guest speakers from all fields of the music industry.

• Critique sessions that give honest, creative, and helpful advice on improving writing style and technique.

MMotivating and UUplifting SSongwriters through EEducation

Showing posts with label song evaluation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label song evaluation. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 10, 2026

DSA MONTHLY MEETING AND WORKSHOP FOR JUNE AND JULY 2026

DSA Monthly Meeting & Song Critiques - Thursday, JULY 9

Location: Your home via ZOOM
6:30 pm: Open portal and networking 
7:00 pm: Program followed by song critiques for members
Zoom ID # 617 432 0082  Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting
 
Our Guest Speaker is         Jamie Dominguez
Jamie Dominguez is the National Director of Industry Relations at the Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC), where she builds and strengthens relationships with songwriters, publishers, and music industry stakeholders while advancing The MLC’s mission to ensure songwriters and music publishers receive their U.S. mechanical streaming royalties. She represents The MLC at key industry events and conferences across the music ecosystem. Prior to joining The MLC, Jamie spent 19 years at SESAC, most recently as Senior Director of Creative Services, and later helped launch Sound Royalties’ New York presence.
Our Guest Speaker is from the MLC   
The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) is a U.S. nonprofit organization created by the Music Modernization Act of 2018 to ensure songwriters, composers, lyricists, and music publishers accurately receive their digital audio mechanical royalties. They issue blanket mechanical licenses to streaming services and distribute royalties without administrative deductions.
If you distribute your own music or operate a publishing company in the U.S., you can check your eligibility or register your compositions by visiting The MLC Membership.

Key Functions of The MLC

Royalty Collection:
The MLC collects mechanical royalties generated by interactive streaming and downloads from U.S. digital service providers (DSPs) like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music
Free Distribution: Because their operating expenses are covered by the DSPs, they distribute 100% of the royalties collected directly to rights holders without deducting a commission
Public Database: They maintain a comprehensive and publicly accessible musical works database that ensures transparency in tracking song ownership shares
Member Hub: Independent, self-administered songwriters and music publishers can join for free to register their songs and claim their royalties
 
 
 DSA Monthly Meeting & Song Critiques - Thursday, JUNE 11
 
Our Guest Speaker is Will Townsley  
 Will is a professional composer/arranger/film composer/sound designer/songwriter, and Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Texas at Arlington! Plus, he is also a member of the Dallas Songwriters Association and has performed at several DSA showcases!
Will Townsley who is from Arlington, Texas won a Grand Prize Honorable Mention for his song,"Nothing To Do With You" in the 2023 Dallas songwriters Song Contest.  A former writer for Curb Publishing and Al Jolson/Black and White Music, both out of Nashville, Will Townsley’s songs have been recorded by Jason Ashley, Colt Prather, and others.
Will has performed with artists that include Sammy Kershaw and Joe Nichols and opened for Jake Owen, Brett Young, Chris Jansen, Richie McDonald (Lodestar), Larry Stewart (Restless Heart), Tim Rushlow (Little Texas), Blues Traveler, and The Wilder Blue. He has performed for major organizations including the Dallas Cowboys and was invited to perform at songwriter showcases that include the world-famous Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Tennessee and the Wildflower Music Festival.
Will teaches currently teaches music industry courses at the University of Texas–Arlington.
Will is going to talk about his musical journey and answer any questions you may have, so don't miss it! http://www.townsleymusic.com/song-portfolio.html
     Also, get your song critiqued by industry pros Barbe McMillen and Joe Milton and be considered for the 2026 Member Song Contest and Songwriter of the Year. Limit of 3 songs per meeting. You can pay online via the critique form, and the cost is $10 per song. However, please be advised that songs that make use of Artificial Intelligence for any lyrics, melody or production will not be considered for the Member Song Contests.

 BEST SONGS OF THE MEETING CONTESTS
Started over in January for 2026
members only pay $10 here in our Square store
https://checkout.square.site/merchant/02JSQHH1RYQP5/checkout/MRGZLHJH5IRTCVIRCKPBBKKG
  
Upload lyrics in pdf file format and audio file in mp3 format on our Google drive.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1nz_0TRsPERTYVG-eSzFMRF13JYqpfqvE?usp=sharing

Tuesday, May 3, 2022

DSA Monthly Meeting - Thursday, May 5th

 DSA Monthly Meeting - Thursday, May 5th


Location: Your home

6:30 pm: Networking and visiting

7:00 pm: Program followed by song critiques for members

Zoom ID # 617 432 0082 - PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A NEW ID CODE

Meeting ID: 617 432 0082

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6174320082


Featuring Bradley Banning


We are very pleased to have as our guest speaker this month Bradley Banning!  Bradley is a singer/songwriter, producer and creative director with strong Texas rootsHe currently lives in the Dallas area and has a 15 year history in the entertainment industry, 10 of which were spent in Nashville where he graduated from Belmont University with a BBA and a major in Music BusinessHe spent most of his time in Nashville in performing, artist development, tour management and business management for music artists. He will be talking about various ways he has helped singer/songwriters make money in the music business so you will want to hear what he has to say!


Also, be sure to get in your songs to be critiqued by industry pros Barbe McMillen and Joe Milton and considered for the 2022 Member Song Contest and Songwriter of the YearWe will use Zoom to play your recorded songs via your own computer and post the lyrics at the same time, or you can play them live.  Cost is $10 per song. You can pay online for critiques at

https://dallassongwriters.org/song-critique/

https://squareup.com/store/dallas-songwriters-association 

http://www.dallassongwriters.org


Saturday, May 29, 2021

DSA Monthly Meeting and Song Critiques - June 3

 DSA Monthly Meeting and Song Critiques

Date: Thursday, June 3, 6:30 - 9:30

Zoom ID # 907 852 000

Featuring Harry Hewlett!  Hewlett History - 

What makes Harry tick


Harry grew up near Lubbock, Tx, and went to Texas Tech, where he sang and played guitar in a 4-piece band, playing for frat parties and HS dances. He began songwriting years later, while living in NYC, where he joined the Songwriters Guild and Nashville Songwriters Assoc He’s been writing and entertaining ever since. Now retired, he lives in Dallas, and has three CDs, World Class Dirty Old Man, Tahoka Daisy, and Garbageman. He is currently serving as A/R & Showcase Director for DSA, plus, Co-Director of the Song Contest He is our Songwriter of the Year for 2019-2020 and won Song of The Year 2020 for his song, She's So Texas, which was co-written with Chuck Ehrmann. Harry is the power that keeps DSA singing, the wizard behind the curtain that enables our DSA program whether live or on Zoom.