Songwriters Guild Amateur Songwriter Makes The Jump
To Professional In Dramatic Fashion

 

For aspiring songwriters, the task of breaking into the music business can be as daunting as breaking into Fort Knox. But after years of trying, longtime Guild member Ed Silver has finally gotten through to the gold. Silver recently learned that one of his songs was used on multiple episodes of the ABC daytime drama “All My Children” as the musical centerpiece for the breakup of its two main characters. The news arrived as a complete surprise.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Silver said. “My first royalty statement from SESAC came in the mail, and when I opened the envelope my eyes nearly popped out of my sockets. It was the day before a family trip to Disney World and I swear I felt like the winning quarterback in the Super Bowl.”

Silver isn’t exactly sure how his song found its way to ABC’s music supervisors or why he wasn’t notified at the time it was placed, but he reckons that it may have been plucked from a music library that was liquidated after being acquired by another company. Apparently, the cue sheets went straight to SESAC, which channeled the royalties directly to him.

For any songwriter, getting that first placement is a feeling like no other. For Silver, the good news is the culmination of years of dedication, sacrifice – and no shortage of disappointment along the way. In 1995, he left his high-profile career as a journalist for Newsweek magazine after taking a voluntary severance package. Silver used the windfall to finance what he thought would be a few months to develop his musical ideas while he looked for another job. But months soon turned into years as the positions he was looking for in journalism became harder to find. At the same time, Silver’s songs started gaining traction.

“I kept getting nibbles and some bites with my music – winning a song contest here and being offered a publishing contract there,” Silver said. “I thought it would be just a short time before the industry would be knocking at my door, but nothing panned out. Little did I know how naïve I was. The hardest part was learning how to manage my expectations.”

With his new mindset about what it would take to be successful, and a bank account that had dwindled to $49, Silver took a series of odd jobs to keep his musical hopes alive. “I felt I had to keep going,” he said. “I had gotten so close with my songs that I couldn’t give up, even if it meant killing my journalism career.”

“I really threw myself into it, honing my craft by attending every event the Songwriters Guild was offering – workshops, professional critiques, pitch events. I learned as much as I could and made it a point to write and seek out new opportunities for my music every day.”

Staying focused has certainly paid off. Silver’s songs are currently being performed internationally and his material is being considered for a variety of album projects in the U.S. and abroad. Publishing offers are starting to come in as well. “It’s a really good place to be. All those moments wondering if I was doing the right thing with my life, wondering if my friends and family still believed in me – those doubts have melted away. It’s been truly liberating. Now I can get on with the business of doing what I’ve always loved: making music all day long.”

To learn more about Silver, visit his MySpace website at: www.myspace.com/edwardalansilver.

©2009, Further Communications