DIY Music Distribution with Paul Gallagher

Our longtime friend of the Song Talk Meetup, Paul Gallagher, joined us to talk about everything he learning getting his latest EP out on streaming services, community radio, and other digital services. Download the extensive and handy documents Paul provided for this episode: 10 Key DIY Release Takeaways DIY Release Detailed Breakdown We talked about: Getting all your ducks in a row before releasing music, including written agreements with your co-writers Capturing a wider breadth of places for your music, beyond typical digital distribution services Registering with SOCAN for both reproduction and performance royalties – see this video about the new live music performance royalties and our episode about registration with Allister Bradley The importance of preparing and submitting metadata to various platforms Make sure your final master recordings are the best they can be How IRSC codes are the unique identifiers for your songs and are needed (and free) for tracking your songs on streaming services Paul also submitted individually to a ton community radio stations, or you can also use the !earshot… Read the rest

Happy new year to all our listeners and supporters! For our first episode of 2026, we had Alex Whorms back on the show to talk about her latest collaboration with Garrett Lajoie and Gavin McLeod. Download the lyrics to Let You Down to follow along.… Read the rest

For our final episode of 2025, we reminisced over the past year, and talked about Neel’s ongoing exploration of his songwriting challenge song. We talked about: Some of our favourite episode from 2025 Sync Songwriting with Chris SD Songwriting Tips (mostly) for Beginners Songwriting through writer’s block with Dexter Sloan Breaking the rules with intention with Zoe Thiessen Heather Feather: Children’s songs with a message Mistakes that “amateur” songwriters make 5 tips that will make your band sound better today Neel’s further exploration of his songwriting challenge song Neel plays with a polymeter for his songwriting challenge answer Suno’s interpretation of the lyric using the AI prompt “Create an epic orchestral gothic rock song similar to Evanescence using this chord and lyric sheet.”… Read the rest

Canadian singer-songwriter Kaleb Hikele joined us for the third time to talk about writing and producing the first single from his upcoming album in 2026. Download the lyrics for Slowly to follow along. We talked about: Using a simple drone-like chord progression in the verse, and adding more movement of chord changes in the refrain Using metaphors to tell a love song How Kaleb decided to not use a capo for this song Getting inspired by a Beatles riff when producing Embracing the gear in the recording studio to inspire different directions for the arrangement and production Is it a good idea to demo your songs at home before getting into a pro studio?… Read the rest

For this special episode, Neel shared his answer to the songwriting challenge from Song Studio to write a song based on the word “shadow.” Download the lyrics and chords to Silence, absence, stillness to follow along. We talked about: Replies from our listeners to their featured songs on our songwriting challenge to write a song in an odd time signature Use Newsletters spam test by mail-tester.com… Read the rest

We showcased and reviewed songs from Dan D’Agostino, Lynn Moe, and Steve Johnson as answers to our Songwriting Challenge 2025, to write a song in an odd time signature. Dan D’Agostino shared his song October Morning.  Download the lyrics, including the time signatures, to follow along.… Read the rest

Phil shared his answer to our songwriting challenge for 2025, to write a song in an odd time signature. He played around with 7/8 time, for the first time ever! We talked about: The #1 Country song on Billboard’s Digital Songs Chart is generated by AI How much of a challenge it is to play a riff in 7/4 naturally How Phil glued together a 4/4 beat and a 3/4 beat for his verses, but made a true 7/8 drum part for the chorus How Phil is still playing around with the lyrics, the key (to find the sweet spot in his voice), and maybe adding a bridge Stretching outside your comfort zone (is a good thing) Working on a song until it “lights a fire” for yourself and you consider it better than “good enough” … Read the rest

We showcased and reviewed songs from Old Wooley and Paul Gallagher, as answers to our Songwriting Challenge 2025, to write a song in an odd time signature. Old Wooley shared his song Driving Through The Desert. Download the lyrics, including the time signatures, to follow along.… Read the rest

Rachel Cousins joined us to talk about writing prolifically and from inner feelings. We also talk about AI in songwriting. Rachel shared her song Little Help. Download the lyrics to follow along. We talked about: Our songwriting challenge for 2025 to write a song in an odd time signature.… Read the rest

For Neel’s answer to the 2025 songwriting challenge, he wrote a baroque-esqe song using multiple time signatures and polymeter sections. Download the lyrics to Vice and Rack to follow along. We talked about: The song Cup of Coffee by Garbage and how they used a polymeter (which Neel incorrectly labelled compound time) How Neel incorporated four different time signatures in his song, including a polymeter of “3 against 4” (3/4 and 4/4 simultaneously) Using a 7/4 time signature with alternating 3+4 and 4+3 emphases The appearance of odd time signatures in classical Indian music How Neel’s approach to the bridge resulted in a modulation for the final chorus How Neel used a metronome and selectively muting tracks to compose the polymeter section … Read the rest