Hi Pat,


This is not directed at you or your specific comments, but at the issue you have referred to.

Surrounding the "song posting controversy" I felt I needed to make a few observations here since I was one of the people involved in the latest skirmish regarding song postings and song posters. Perhaps I was the most vitriolic of all in what I felt was a clear duty to stand up for song posters in the face of what I would call a few clear-cut examples of vicious and unprovoked attacks from the sidelines.

However, I made some friends along the way. As Hear to Learn stated, we had a long conversation on the phone about what was going on for more than an hour. We had a great time, and a lot of laughs and became buddies at the end. Maybe it was because we picked up the phone and called one another instead of just typing.

I for one do not think I have had too many "confrontational" moments since I started in 2015. I have tried to spend most of my time supporting and encouraging as my thousands of encouraging posts and suggestions to writers will validate.

But there were certain things that lend themselves to "creating boundaries" as psychologists would say. I have to be pushed pretty far until I seek to set boundaries but several things did it for me.

1.) Many comments started to appear along the lines of "those song posters need to...should...oughta..can't..." etc. etc. etc. Most of the "shoulds" involved "should not pat one another on the back so much" or "say they think they have a hit" etc.

2.) 99.99 % of these comments came from people who don't post songs and many of them were rude and snarky.

3.) To me, many of them were profoundly presumptuous. Some implied: "If you listen to me I can tell you what a hit sounds like or how to mix one." Although I have never actually created a song--or maybe two.

4.) Those who went on the offense against the posters started it--they declared war, so to speak. And their comments were generalized to all song posters. I will never get controversial in any area of my life unless you start it. But if you start it--you should probably be ready because under the right circumstances I will come back and I will come back hard. I come back most vehemently against generalized comments.

4.) It seemed that some of these people wanted freedom of speech to "fire away" but were aghast and appalled that anyone would "fight back." I have found this to be the case in most forums where the anonymous folks go on the offensive. If the non-anonymous folks call them out and fire back they almost always cite "it's my freedom speech to say what I want!!!!" Sure, and it is my freedom of speech to say I think what you just said was either ridiculous or woefully misinformed.

5.) If once or twice in your life you feel the need to fire back, this does not mean you are stirring up controversy, it just means you have had enough.

6.) It is not the responsibility of the song posters to play Woodstock and walk around with flowers in their hair and smile to keep the peace, just to keep the peace, if outrageous things are being said by other people.


But, as stated, I for one decided to stand up against some things I thought were getting wacky and after some volatile moments, I declared a truce with several members on the opposite side of the fence. But I guess we all said what we felt we needed to say.

However, I do know for a fact that people who write songs and are artists (and this is evidenced by the fact that they write and post, thus making it clear that they have been working) will have artistic temperaments.

People who have artistic temperaments will flare up when someone starts telling them that they have a special knowledge or insights on what "good is" or what "great is" or what "professional is" or or "modern is" or what anything is.

Since the dawn of time, artists and critics have mixed about as well as oil and water.

Artists and critics ARE different. To any critic, an artist's first response has always been and will always be: "Yeah, and who the...are you?"

But, if this artistic instinct did not exist you would have 0 songs on the song forum and there would be nothing to get controversial about because there would be zero activity.

Unless the forum decided to create a special thread to talk about toilet stoppers or something.

My 3 cents. Or maybe that was 10. Or 11. No more than 13.

David Snyder
Songwriter/Renaissance Man
Studio + Fingers

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