Songs are king for launching the career of an artist, and with the rapid spread of social networking and promotion, the craft of songwriting has hit bottom.

Diane Warren has penned more than 800 songs, inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and has written more than 90 top-ten hits.

She usually finishes a song within a week and puts a lot into every note and every lyrics, until it’s perfect.

In many cases she sets a specific tempo to begin a song.

“I usually write with verse, chorus, verse, bridge and chorus. Sometimes the structure of my song changes according to the feel of the song. Sometimes it just feels right to change the structure to make the song work” (D. Warren)

Where do Diane Warren’s great melodies and chord progressions come from? While some songs take a lot of frustrating work, the most successful songs write themselves.

“What works best for myself is driving alone on a freeway in the middle of the night. No stereo. No music. Rhythms and chord progressions start playing in my head. The melodies come later. Lyrics are always last. That’s just me. Is it necessary to be with an instrument? Sometimes, yeah, but it’s surprising what comes in those odd, non-thinking moments when no instrument is handy. Sometimes a song is fully-completed in a dream, and it’s so great to wake up to THAT!” (D. Warren)

She also gives advice to aspiring songwriters.

“I can say that songwriting is a skill and takes practice, patience, and perseverance. There is a lot of rejection in the songwriting business..” (D. Warren)

The Beatles sold more than 450,000 albums and over 2 million songs in the first week since their music went live on iTunes.

The best selling songs were Here Comes the Sun, Let It Be, In My Life, Come Together, and Blackbird.

The best selling album is Abbey Road.

The Beatles are one of the best and most important bands in rock history, as well as having an interesting story.

The American Music Awards marked an all-time ratings low for the award show, tumbling down 22% from last year’s show.

Ironically, The Hollywood Reporter recently interviewed Scooter Braun, manager of Justin Bieber, and asked the question “What do you think is the biggest problem plaguing the music business right now?

Scooter replies, “A lack of understanding that we’re no longer a music business”.

I couldn’t agree more with Scooter, we are no longer a music business, but a business plagued by manufactured prototypes such as Justin Bieber. This is a compelling cause why a large demographic has lost interest in the American Music Awards. Sure other causes exist, but let’s deal with one at a time.

Also, Sunday was a great night of TV for viewers but it was NFL football, not the American Music Awards. Besides total viewers, the network also won the night among adults 18-49 (6.6 rating/16 share), as well as in the adults 25-54 and male demos, according to preliminary.

Please tell me this, do you know a 20 year old purchasing a Justin Bieber ticket? Yet, the American Music Awards built there foundation on a 16 year old boy from Canada with a fake accent.

Besides The Monkeys and The Beatles, Susan Boyle is the first woman to top both the US and UK music charts at the same time with her latest Christmas CD. Whitney Houston never accomplished this either.

Of course adults are buying the CD’s because younger people tend to download and focus on singles.

The music industry and radio has ignored the adult demographic, thus, paid a heavy price – not Boyle though, she demands a big price.

Her first album sold 10+ million records worldwide. The solution? Every music executive should be searching for another Boyle. Sure, she received her press and exposure via Britain’s Got Talent, but the music biz can no longer hinge on reality TV shows.

I just got out of a meeting at the White House and it looks like I received funding for a new label called Stimulus Records via Government Music Group. I asked for 30 million instead they offered 30 billion, I agreed to it.

Follow Dean Cramer via Kings on Twitter and I will keep everybody posted.
Please send all music submissions to Dean@kingsofar.com