SongHubs held back-to-back in Nashville & Los Angeles will generate 65 new songs
A.B. Original, M-Phazes, Georgi Kay, Gretta Ray and Gin Wigmore are among Australia and New Zealand songwriters and producers working with international talent at SongHubs in Nashville and Los Angeles.
The sessions, organised by APRA AMCOS, were held over a two-week period to create commercial results and professional opportunities.
After five days in Nashville, the collaborations have moved to Los Angeles.
The 53rd SongHubs, which was held at Nashville’s Third & Verse Studios, brought together some of Music City’s finest.
The five days were curated by Evanescence founding member David Hodges and APRA AMCOS ambassador David Ryan Harris.
They invited in guest collaborators including Taylor Swift co-writer Liz Rose and Australian songwriter/producers Phil Barton and Whaikaio Taahi to work with talent including Ray, Kay, Xavier Dunn, Penelope Austin, Grammy-winner Ben Fields, and 17 year-old Rory Adams, who now returns home to Adelaide for his final week of exams.
“I’ve had the most inspiring week here collaborating with some of the most talented people in the music industry,” Austin says.
“It lit me up from the inside out. I feel different. I’ve learnt so much about myself.”
For SongHubs #54, starting Monday in LA at 4 Sound Studios, APRA Music Award-winning writer/producer Louis Schoorl (Jessica Mauboy, Guy Sebastian, Kesha) is curating.
A.B. Original duo Briggs and Trials will be getting down to work alongside Wigmore, Demi Louise and more, collaborating with a global roster of music creatives from Colombia, UK, Canada, the Netherlands, South Africa and beyond.
They include LA-based Australian writer/producers M-Phazes and Tushar Apte, chart-topping songwriter Livvi Franc (Britney Spears, Rihanna, Zara Larsson), UK hitmaker Fran Hall (Charlie XCX, Ellie Goulding, Selena Gomez) and Ariana Grande collaborator Tommy Brown.
In celebration of five years of SongHubs, one APRA AMCOS member was selected for a Double SongHubs Experience.
Sydney-based songwriter, singer and topliner Isabella Kearney-Nurse, who has collaborated with Jessica Mauboy, Nicole Millar, and The Veronicas, jumped at the offer to head to both cities for an all-expenses-paid songwriting trip.
Milly Petriella, APRA AMCOS director member relations, says, “The Nashville and LA SongHubs are testament to how globally-networked songwriting is.
“It’s so important for us to provide opportunities in those creative hubs, with more of our members living and working overseas than ever before.”
She adds:
“We not only furnish the safe creative spaces for new songs, we also provide opportunities for lifelong relationships, friendships, and in some cases, provide the encouragement to venture beyond home and compete on the global songwriting stage.
“’I’ve been waking up to daily updates and new songs in my inbox every morning and cannot wait for the world to hear what has come out of these sessions.”
By the end of the two weeks, participants will have produced more than 65 new works.
These bring the total SongHubs output to over 700 songs.
To date, SongHubs releases have generated $1.5 million in songwriting royalties for the collaborators.
2018 alone has seen releases including Woodes’ Change My Mind, Alex the Astronaut’s Waste of Time, Ainslie Wills’ Society, The Chainsmokers’ You Owe Me, written by Chelsea Jade and Emily Warren at Auckland SongHubs 2016, and the 88rising release of Warpaint, which was written at SongHubs The Tower 2017 by Wills, US writer-producer Bram Inscore, and Sydney-based solo artist Jessica Nitties who performs as Sparrows.
That recording has also secured a major Air Asia sync.