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Michael R J Roth

The Pr
The Price Of A Songice Of A Song

The Price of a Song” was the lyric winner of number of awards for different songs over the
the NSAI/CMT competition, the years, mainly as a lyricist. I’m featured in the
Mid-Atlantic Song Contest, and the Dallas Great American Song Hall of Fame, NSAI has
Songwriters Association last year, and was named me “One to Watch” a couple times.
just released on an EP, "I've Been Dragging Lori McKenna called me “brilliant.” That was
These Old Songs Around, my first studio the best prize.
recording in a while, recorded live in front of
a student audience by Prof. Sam Negri and his So my perspective is a little different from
Mesa Studio at the University of New Mexico. that of a 20-year-old just starting out, even
though in many ways we face the same
Inspiration For The Lyric situation. Right now, I’m focused on gigging
and possibly touring, though I have some
Songs are central to our lives. I would even reservations about that. I have been doing
say that our lives are songs. I think if songs mainly raw guitar-and-vocal recordings at
were taken away, we would know a kind of home, distributing through CD Baby as well
thirst we never realized existed. Thirst, as my website. I was in the Washington, DC,
Sarah hunger, suffocation – we know what those area before I moved out to New Mexico,
Macmullan are, but I can’t think of a word we use for a where I currently reside. I also have made
famine of music. Maybe it’s because it’s built forays to Nashville, Seattle, Austin, and
in to us, and we expect we can always make Tucson. Every time you move, you need to
it when we need it. But songwriters, who reinvent yourself and get to know the
struggle to get that next song out, know how community. I really like that part, because I’m
precarious this condition is. always discovering great new songwriters. I
find my fellow songwriters are my best
All songwriters know the frustration of trying inspiration and encouragement.
to “make it” in the music business, but in
the last few years we have seen an implosion Song link:
of the music industry that has affected not https://easyheroes.com/track/2255353/the-
only songwriters, but performers, producers, price-of-a-song
distributors, engineers, musicians, and others
who make their living in the business. At the On Spotify:
same time, consumers have grown https://open.spotify.com/track/1Gz3xNls-
accustomed to getting music for free. No 3mCs0qUhDXHOY9
one buys music anymore, venues want us to
perform for free, audiences don’t tip, and on Hear Now
down the line. And yet at the root of this is https://michaelrjroth.hearnow.com/
the song, the thing that everyone wants – “We
all want something for nothin’” – without Website
thinking about the price. So I wrote this little http://easyheroes.com
anthem to songwriters, to reflect the hidden
cost of songwriting, what it takes to get that CD Baby
song out. https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/MichaelR-
JRoth
Eryn Michel (https://erynmichel.com/)
co-wrote the music on this song. Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/michaelrjroth/
Music Career To Date
YouTube
I’m a 67-year-old singer-songwriter getting https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu-
back into the music scene after a long FAK7m-MeYveBK5ifATCzw
hiatus. I retired from my day job a couple
years ago, and have won awards in a number Instagram
of song contests since that time, most notably @michaelrjroth
for “The Price of a Song,” which was the lyric https://www.instagram.com/michaelrjroth/
winner of the NSAI/CMT competition, the
Mid-Atlantic Song Contest, and the Dallas
Songwriters Association last year. I’ve won a

www.writeawaymag.co.uk 37