I was reminded this week of an occurrence that happened to me as well as a few other writers I know a couple of months ago. Someone, it seems, has been targeting the songwriting community, a community notorious for having sooooooo much money……, & scamming us.
I received a message a few months ago over Instagram DM. It was a “father” requesting that I, a songwriter, write his son, Solomon, a song for his birthday. I asked for details; what was he looking for, what level of production, what artists he liked, what things he wanted included in the song, etc. Here are the details I was given:
-It was Solomon’s 6th birthday
-Solomon loves Spider-man & Cat-Boy
-Solomon’s best friend’s name is Jena
-Solomon’s dog is named Maxxy
-Solomon’s father likes to “swing him around the room” so he can pretend to be Spider-Man
-He has Cat-Boy pajamas that he runs around the house in
-Solomon’s favorite artists are Jack Harlow, Justin Bieber, & Ed Sheeran
These were all the details I was given to include in this “birthday song” & it was to be in the style of one of the listed artists above. His “father” had also stated that an acoustic demo of the song would be fine, just vocal & acoustic guitar or piano. He was also apparently offering $500 dollars for this song.
I recruited Evan to help me with the song, offering to split the fee with him & we sat down & wrote the damned thing. I had been communicating with the client back & forth regarding the pay & how it would be sent. We’d agreed to PayPal I believe instead of a direct deposit & we were going to do $200 upon completion of the lyrics & the remaining $300 for the finished song & file.
After completing the song I messaged him & told him I was sending over lyrics for his approval & once he signed off on them I’d & got paid I’d send the song over. He then tried to pull some story about how one of his assistants had over extended his account on PayPal so it’d be a week or two before he could send money that way so instead he wanted to send the money direct deposit. I told him I wasn’t comfortable sending my account info over text but would request a direct pay if he could send me his phone number attached to the account. This is when he stopped responding.
I waited a few days before I reached out again, asking if he still wanted the song. No response. I tried again a few days later. No response. I waited a week, again, nothing.
I eventually let it go until we were having game night one night via zoom with our friends, Leena & Max, who live in Australia. I brought up this strange occurrence & they both immediately went white.
Apparently this account, or several other accounts of the like, had been going around targeting songwriters, asking them to write a song with the exact above listed details, & then stealing money from them. How were they doing that? Well, instead of $500 they’d send you several thousand, over extending your account which they’d ask you to refund. They’d then claim somewhere, whether it was their bank or wherever that they never got the funds returned & it would pull an additional several thousand from your account. Apparently this occurrence was happening all over the songwriting worlds of Nashville & LA specifically amongst up & coming or unsigned writers who aren’t exactly rolling in dough.
The reason I bring this up & chose this as my blog topic this week was because I was once again reached out to by a “father” asking me to write a birthday song for his “son, Solomon.”
If you are a writer reading this I want you to heed my warning & report these people. We have a hard enough time getting paid by the avenues that are supposed to pay us, looking at you streaming services, & many of us jump at an opportunity to make easy money like this but it’s a trap.
I’m going to post the lyrics to “Solomon’s Song” below so it doesn’t feel completely wasted, keep in mind we wrote it with the intent of modifications which, naturally, it never received. Enjoy I guess haha.
SOLOMON’S SONG
V1:
Solly, I see it slipping by
How you grow up every night
Something’s older in your eyes
And I’m blessed to get to be there by your side
So take me catboy to the fray
Grab your mask & Maxxy & let’s play
On our grand adventure tell me how you’ll save the day
C:
So I’ll keep swinging you around like Spider-Man
Just as long as these two arms of mine can stand.
I’ll place you high upon my shoulders
Through the endless world before you.
I promise I’ll do all I can
Solomon
V2:
Solly, I can’t believe that
The last six years have come & passed,
I’ve tried my best to make them last
But time’s a gift that we don’t get back
C:
So I’ll keep swinging you around like Spider-Man
Just as long as these two arms of mine can stand.
I’ll place you high upon my shoulders
Through the endless world before you.
I promise I’ll do all I can
Solomon
B:
So take me catboy to the fray
Grab your jams & Jena & let’s play
What grand adventure will you take us on today?
C:
So I’ll keep swinging you around like Spider-Man
Just as long as these two arms of mine can stand.
I’ll place you high upon my shoulders
Through the endless world before you.
I promise I’ll do all I can
Solomon