Arizona Songwriter Showcase

The Arizona Songwriter Showcase
Showcasing Arizona Songwriters, promoting their performances and the venues that support live, original music, and providing insight into the songwriting process and the songwriting experience.

About Your Host:

Matthew Moran is an author and nationally known public speaker.  He began playing music after listening to his father - a banjo player - record "Blowing In The Wind" on a cassette recorder.  After many years pursuing business, he decided to return to his first love - writing and was fortunate enough to have several articles and then a book published by a major publishing house.  That dream realized, he returned to his first love, music, and in 2006 began playing small venues around Arizona.

The push to start the Arizona Songwriter Showcase was instigated through conversations with several local - Phoenix area songwriters - and my own personal experience.

I have been playing various open mics and small venue shows in Arizona for the past year or so.  During that time I have seen some singer/songwriters who aren’t so good - me included at times.  But, I’ve also seen some talent.

In discussions with some of those songwriters I admire a common theme surface.  If you have a band or mostly play cover music, you can find the occasional paying gig.  But for the singer/songwriter, paying venues in Arizona are few and far between.  Furthermore, many musicians struggle to promote their work and their shows.  The two challenges actually go hand-in-hand.  Venues that have book songwriters to play - perhaps staying open a bit later to do so - have found their businesses empty during the show.

The critical truth is that venues are not going to pay musicians to play if they cannot sell food, drink, and/or tickets.

The Arizona Songwriter Showcase is meant to help songwriters both learn some methods and tools for marketing what they do and to promote those venues that do, in fact, pay songwriters to perform their music.

The first order of business for me was to devise a plan.  That plan is in the works; the first step, create a weekly Internet based radio program that will showcase songwriters, their songs, venues, and anything else pertinent to helping the songwriter market what they do.

Ideas are welcome.  Also, if you are a venue or business that promotes and supports songwriter efforts and original music, consider sponsoring the program and this website.