A few weeks ago, I did a quick interview with Lior Shamir, director of We Are Listening (WAL). WAL is a London-based artist development company primarily giving opportunity through songwriting contests and their extensive and experienced list of content judges. Enjoy the interview. 

Kavit: Lior, thanks for doing this short Q&A. Could you share a little about your background and how you came to start up We Are Listening? What inspired you to start WAL?

Lior: I’m a Berklee College of Music graduate with a background in songwriting and post-production. After graduating, I knew I wanted to position myself on the business end of music (as opposed to the creative) because I felt that there were many others more talented than me as musicians, writers, producers etc. and, quite honestly, I felt that I was rather business savvy for a music guy. We Are Listening blossomed out of a kitchen table project along with a number of other new-media related initiatives.

Kavit: As far as I understand, We Are Listening primarily promotes songwriting contests. Can you share why you feel contests are useful and what you feel makes one successful as a songwriter contest winner?

Lior: Mainly because of the high return of a reward from a contest verses the risk of participation (or fee) and the relatively promising odds of winning. But, also, because the very nature of contests puts the participants in front of ‘people in the know’, win or lose, so there is always the value of exposure - which is a valuable commodity in the music space.

Kavit: Can you share a success story or two from your previous contests and what they have gone on to do so we have some idea of what’s possible with these contests?

Lior: We’ve taken unheard of artists and put them on 200 US radio stations. We’ve secured sync licenses for indies with networks such as MTV. We’ve made it possible for fledgling artists to work with big name producers, songwriters and executives. This is what we do and how we justify the entry fees.

Kavit: What do you believe to be the three most important success attributes or traits for music businesses?

Lior: 1. Know your shit. 2. Get online. 3. Make sure it sounds - and looks - fabulous!

Kavit: Where do you see the independent music industry heading and what can musicians do right now to jump on the bandwagon and get ahead in their career before the year is out?

Lior: I think LiveNation, TicketMaster, Radiohead and NIN have the right idea - but is that indie? As an artist/manager, if you’re not already very familiar with the various online tools and services available to you for self promotion (many of which are free), you will lose. Also, most artists think they’re great and, as we all know, most artists suck so try to be objective and focus on your strengths.

Kavit: So Lior, before we end, what can we all look forward to seeing happening in the world of WAL and Lior Shamir in 2008 and onwards?

Lior: Oooh… many wonderful things! We Are Listening is currently undergoing a facelift and we’re working with a number of up-and-coming brands that will make your head spin in terms of ‘getting ahead’.

Some interesting points in the above interview. I have never been a fan of promoting songwriting contests although if there’s a good enough reward at the end of it, I believe it’s worth the effort. It will help you move to the next level quite rapidly but it’s important you sustain yourself at the end by continuing your own promotion. Many of these types of contests offer promotion packages, but they don’t last a lifetime and you’ll need to pick up again and continue your own promotion unless you can afford to pay someone.

Here are some places you’ll find contests:

1. Jodi Krangle of The Muse’s Muse lists Songwriting Contests.
2. The UK Songwriting Contest
3. World of Music and Lyric Writer Awards from We Are Listening

What are your thoughts on this avenue (songwriting contests) into the music business? Have you had any experience and could you share your stories or tips for others…?

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