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I conducted weekly song critique sessions at the Songwriters Guild
of America (SGA) from 1981 to 1988. During this time,
I was frequently asked to conduct group critique sessions for various songwriter organizations and universities, such as the Connecticut Songwriters Association (CSA), Northeastern University
and the Berklee College of Music in Boston, considered to be the best music college in the U.S. I was invited to do these sessions
on a regular basis.
In 1988, I began my 18-year tenure as the national projects director
for the prestigious Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) and its parent organization, the National Academy of Popular Music (NAPM).
In 1990, after setting up a songwriting workshop program
for the organization, I created the Songwriters Showcase program.
Between 1990 and 2006, I organized, produced and hosted 59 of these standing-room-only events, which were held four times a year.
As many as 200 submissions were reviewed by me for each showcase, after which I chose eight artists, each of whom performed two original songs. These slots were very much desired by songwriters
because the showcases were consistently attended by many music industry professionals -- label executives, music publishers and record producers, as well as the directors of the three performing rights organizations, ASCAP, BMI and SESAC.
Many of those I featured signed publishing, production and record deals as a result of their performances and some had their songs chosen for film and TV soundtracks. Every genre of music
was represented at these events, including pop, rock, R&B, rap, country, soul, hip hop and dance. Performances ranged from an artist accompanying themselves on a solo instrument to full bands
with backup singers and dancers and everything in between.
These showcases, considered to be the best in the country, were consistently praised in music industry publications, including the most respected of them all, Billboard magazine, the "bible" of the music industry. This was because among those featured in these showcases were the most talented artists and songwriters in the world.
Over those 18 years, from 1988 to 2006, more than 500 artists, some from countries outside of the U.S., including Canada and the U.K., participated in this unique program. Many of these artists, unknown
at the time, are now stars -- Lady GaGa, Lana Del Rey, John Legend, Joan Osbourne, Rachel Platten and Lucy Woodward, among them.
Of all of the things I have accomplished in my life as a music industry professional, what I am most proud of are these 59 showcases
that I produced for the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
In 2015, I was invited to be a featured guest at a group song critique session sponsored by Recording Artists Development (RAD).
RAD conducts these listening sessions several times a year
and it is here that music industry professionals critique and evaluate songs written by RAD members. I'm proud to say that at the end of that year, I was voted by the RAD membership as their favorite critiquer.
Bob Leone