DALLAS AUSTIN, JOHN LEGEND AND OTHERS ATTEND SONGWRITERS PANEL

Dallas Austin (TLC’s “Unpretty”), John Legend (“Ordinary People”), Sean Garrett (Usher’s “Yeah!”), Kara DioGuardi (Christina Aguilera’s “Ain’t No Ther Man”), Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump (“Sugar”) Butch Walker (Bowling For Soup’s “Girl All The Bad Boys Want”), and Jeffrey Steele (Rascal Flatt’s “What Hurt The Most”) were the songwriters who attended BMI and the Los Angeles Times’ sold out panel, How I Wrote That Song.

The event was held on February 10th during Grammy Week at the Key Club in Los Angeles. The panel was led by Los Angeles Times Chief Pop Music Critic Ann Powers and BMI Writer/Publisher Relations VP Catherine Brewton. Each songwriter got a chance to perform one of their songs.

“Well I put myself in the background on purpose for a lot of years because I wanted to be taken serious as a real songwriter and producer. More a songwriter than as a producer because you’ll see a million producers come and go. Just in the fad, ‘Hey man I came up with a great track you know.’ I just felt like I needed to pace myself for a long enough time and do a couple of important records every year instead of flooding myself. And at the time I start to be exposed which is really now, then all that stuff will be like, ‘Oh man,’ be part of my legend. And then now I get to come out and like say, ‘Okay I am a writer producer, everybody else said I was, sold millions of records so.’ It’s kind of like a solid thing.”

Austin explained that he has been pacing himself over the years and that now he truly considers himself to be a songwriter.

Austin has produced hits for Michael Jackson, Madonna, Usher, Gwen Stefani, Monica, After 7, Boyz II Men, and others.