"Why does it take at least five songwriters to write a chart-topper today when it used to take one or two? Are musicians just less talented?... If it’s not talent, then what is it? In my opinion, it comes down to three factors: money, the computer, and the changing definition of what songwriting is" - musician Chris Dalla Riva goes into the issue on Tedium.
Some really interesting thoughts by singer-songwriter Julia Jacklin in The New Cue about how songs come to life and how they change: "I feel like this record in particular, when we finished it, it was just like, ‘oh, OK, this is what I made, cool’. It wasn’t exactly what I imagined but also I was just very open to the journey and for it to be what it needed to be, which is a relaxing way to be sometimes... Sometimes I think crowd responses informs me what the song is and how it should be played, I think they can really transform on the road".
Groups representing songwriters, music publishers and record labels have reached an agreement about mechanical royalty rates in the US paid to songwriters for sales of physical music, as well as downloads, MBW reports. Since 2006, the mechanical rate paid to publishers/songwriters for music purchased on a physical disc (or a download) has been set at 9.1 cents per track. The new settlement proposes a 32% increase to that current royalty rate, to 12 cents per track. The agreement also provides that these songwriter royalties will increase automatically each year of the rate period in connection with the inflation.
Songwriter of, well, the most popular pop band in the history of pop music, has some ideas for underpaid songwriters, which he shared in an op/ed in the Guardian: "Record labels could encourage a 'songwriter in residence' model, where artists are paired with songwriters at the development stage, as a long-term partnership: the writers would effectively become part of the band, paid a regular salary... I suggest that streaming services allocate their royalty payments based on the behaviour of individual listeners. The subscription should be divided by the number of songs the individual listener has played during a month".
"Right now, when you get songwriters in the room, they're trying to write a radio hit, because that's the only way you make money. If we create an environment where songwriters are not worried about this, if they're not freaking out about paying their rent, and they're just able to focus on being creative, there will be a musical renaissance" - US writer Emily Warren tells BBC about her initiative The Pact, a group of the world's biggest songwriters who got together to stop the practice of pop-stars taking credit for songs they didn't write any part of. It used to be rare, but in recent years, artists have started demanding a share of the publishing "ninety-nine per cent of the time", says Tayla Parx, another Pact member, whose credits include Ariana Grande's 'Thank U Next' and 'High Hopes' by Panic! At The Disco. Warren, who recently received a Grammy nomination for her work on Dua Lipa's 'Don't Start Now', says that demands for co-writing credit start with a 1% share, rising as high as 20%, with an average of about 15%. Since The Pact launched two weeks ago, more than 1,000 people have signed the open letter.
The Pact, a group of top-level songwriters, released a letter calling for an end to one of the longest-running open secrets of the music industry: the practice of artists demanding credit and publishing for songs they did not write, Variety reports on the brave activism of music authors. Why now? - this rude practice has actually grown worse in recent years as the value of publishing and awareness of that value has risen. The Pact includes co-writers of songs by Dua Lipa (Emily Warren), Justin Bieber (Justin Tranter), Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande (Victoria Monet), the Jonas Brothers, Britney Spears, and many others.
Paying a minimum per diem of £75 / $120 to each songwriter working with your artist would be a sensible and structure-preserving measure. This per diem would be non-recoupable from the artist share - a group of over 300 songwriters wrote in an open letter to record labels to guarantee them and their peers a per diem payment for collaborating with artists. The reason? Songwriters' work in sessions isn't guaranteed to actually see the light of day, let alone become a hit. Songwriters who've signed up for the Pay Songwriters campaign include Andrew Lloyd-Webber, Stargate, Savan Kotecha, and dozens of others.
The last song written by just one songwriter to reach the No. 1 at the Billboard Hot 100 was Ed Sheeran’s 'Perfect' in December 2017. The last song written by a solitary female songwriter to reach No. 1 was Alicia Keys’ 'Fallin’' in August 2001. In the 1970s almost half the songs reaching No. 1 were written by just one person. Billboard wonders why and how has it come to this.A helping hand
Due to the rise of COVID-19, in-person songwriting sessions have been largely brought to a halt, but still, people are making songs, over Zoom or FaceTime or Google Hangouts. Not everybody likes it, some miss direct human-to-human interaction, there are technical difficulties (glitches, delays in sound transfer etc.), but it's a new normal now. Rolling Stone, however, points out one important thing - everyone can collaborate with anybody, no matter where they are. "It evens the playing field - anyone can be anywhere" - as Luke Laird, Kacey Musgraves, and Eric Church songwriter said.
“Five years ago, you had to have a massive chorus. Now, it’s not the rule” - Camille Purcell, who releases music as Kamille, told Guardian about writing potential hits now - it’s all about interesting beats, not hooks. Purcell cites the dominance of hip-hop as the cause of this trend, adding how she takes inspiration […]
“I just listen to who [artists] are as people. The most I can do is get inside their minds and see what they’re thinking” - American songwriter Starrah tells Billboard about how she makes songs. She wrote for Travis Scott, The Weeknd, Drake, Halsey, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, Camila Cabello, Maroon 5 and Rihanna, some of […]
