We were lucky to catch up with Bart Herbison recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Bart, so happy you were able to devote some time to sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our community. So, we’ve always admired how you have seemingly never let nay-sayers or haters keep you down. Can you talk to us about how to persist despite the negative energy that so often is thrown at folks trying to do something special with their lives?
As Executive Director of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), I draw persistence from my love of music. I was a little over four years old when my late Uncle Billy Pullen said, “Barty, come over here for a minute.” Then he played me “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin” by Elvis Presley. I was never the same and have been around music in a professional capacity since I became a deejay on our local radio station WTPR in Paris, Tennessee at age sixteen. Around that time, I met Jimmy Stewart, not the actor, the songwriter. We have been best friends ever since. When he started having professional success after moving to Nashville, Jimmy and his fellow songwriters let me into their club. I knew that someday I would work on their behalf. So, when the going gets tough, and it does because as America’s premier songwriter advocacy group we often fight giants, I put on a song and keep moving forward.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
NSAI is the oldest and largest songwriter advocacy group in America. Songwriters are paid under antiquated laws from 1909 and in the streaming era of music have seen an unsustainable drop in their royalty income. We represent songwriters in Congress, courts, before federal regulatory agencies and are constantly fighting for fair compensation for them.
But we also get the incredible reward of celebrating songwriters. NSAI owns the legendary Bluebird Cafe where Taylor Swift and Garth Brooks, along with countless others, were discovered. We host the Nashville Songwriter Awards and the world’s largest songwriter festival called Tin Pan South.
Our organization oversees 100 global chapters.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Persistence, honesty and resilience.
When I find myself questioning decisions, I always read NSAI’s mission statement. Although it may be a difficult one, then the right answer is always clear.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
NSAI always welcomes support for our advocacy mission. That can take the form of financial assistance, influence or many different forms.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nashvillesongwriters.com
- Instagram: @nsaiofficial
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NSAIofficial/
- Twitter: nsaiofficial
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
