My quantity of songs went up in 2021. Sometimes if you're not careful you write more songs but the quality of the songs goes down. That was a fear of mine. Anyone can write fifty songs. It is the quality of songs that matters.

   I have NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International) evaluators listen to my song and give me their opinions. These are professional songwriters that have publishing deal, maybe they even have hit songs. They offer critique and encouragement. I need both of these.

   NSAI has about eight evaluators. They do all genres of music. Here is a list- Country, rock , contemporary, Pop, Americana/folk, Hip Hop, Rap, R&B, Tracks, Contemporary Christian, Jazz, Praise, Worship, and Gospel. Hopefully the songs you are writing would fall in one of these categories. 

   You get the opportunity to pick your evaluator. If your evaluator is busy, you can pick an alternate to evaluate your song. Or you can just let NSAI pick one for you. I use the same evaluator all the time. I don't know her or his name but if I had to guess, I would guess a girl.

   In the old days at NSAI you knew the name of your evaluator. What they had done in the music business. What they were doing now. You got to know them. I have even written songs with one of my evaluators and had lunch with him in Nashville. NSAI does not allow this anymore. The reason is because of liability of misuse of a song.

    If you write a good song, good not great they give you an award called Songwriter to Watch. If you were to write a great song, you can get an award for that too. It is called a Grammy. If I am lucky, I might get a Songwriter to Watch once or twice a year. This year I had five songs get Songwriter to Watch awards. I had four in a row skipped a month and had another one. I must of have been in a zone where everything works. I'll probably go through a stage where I never get a songwriter watch award again.