Future Meetings

By Ray Yates

December 6 — Election Day.

General election of new board members. This will be the final meeting for 1993. It is a very important meeting. Please attend.

December 20 — No Meeting. Happy Holidays.

January 11 — Board Meeting.

Next month's LASC Letter will announce the meeting location.

January 17 — Critique Session. Bring 15 copies of the lyric sheets with your tapes.

Meetings are held at the Federation of Musicians Union hall (rear), 1436 Bardstown Road, unless otherwise specified.

Success

The members of the Board of Trustees thank you for a great year. In the last year we have:

 Surveyed the membership to see what they want to get out of the LASC.

 Hosted several successful songwriter showcases.

 Conducted an internationally-recognized songwriting contest.

 Pitched hundreds of songs and placed approximately 70 tapes with local bands.

 Hosted a very successful Hit Makers '93 Showcase, Seminar, and Awards Banquet.

Near Success

In the 1993 membership survey, one of the things that LASC members indicated they wanted was to learn how to pitch their songs, and who to pitch them to. While some members have been — and continue to be — successful at these activities, others have had less success. The bottom line is that success leaves clues. Look at what successful members are doing, and do that. There is no magic formula.

The number of contest entries for 1993 was down and for the first time none of the winners were from this area. Could it be that all the good songwriters live somewhere else?
I don't think so! In this writer's opinion, many of the LASC's best songs simply did not get entered. Personally, I would rather be defeated by an LASC member than by a non-LASC member.

By entering the contest you:

1. Take a risk. Winners are always people who take risks.

2. Support your Co-op. The proceeds go to support other LASC activities.

3. Compete. The music business is one of the most competitive businesses in the world. LASC members have always been able to compete and win.

Well . . . not quite!

No one has yet taken a census of which bands are playing what LASC songs and let members know.

Getting the bands organized for the showcase was difficult, time-consuming and frustrating.

Some of the board members had changes in their jobs, families, etc. They were not able to participate as much as they would have liked. This caused the bulk of the work to shift to a few individuals, with the lion's share going to Paul Moffett.

Members able to contribute a few hours per month, to help maintain and build the organization, should consider running for a seat on the Board of Trustees. If you've been a member for a while or have just joined and would like to learn a lot about the music business, there is no better way that I know of than being on the board and working in the business for two years.

Anyone interested in joining the LASC or wanting more information can call me at 502-239-9200 or call the Louisville Music News at 502-231-5559.