Music publishers and A&R executives often talk about how important it is for new singer-songwriters to create their own unique style. But what they really mean is they simply want you to sound original.
In reality, your songs should not be completely different from anything music industry execs have ever heard before. Ideally, they want something that develops what is already out there – not a sudden leap that will leave a huge gap between you and the audience.
For your songs to be commercial and marketable so that they will sell (which, at the end of the day, is all that record companies and publishers are really interested in), your ‘unique’ songs still require a hint of familiarity so that people will be able to relate to them.
In other words, listen to what is currently being played across lots of different music genres – then carve your own niche by adding something new of your own.
One of the finest current examples of this approach is British singer-songwriter Laura Mvula.
One magazine has described her as a “musical magpie”; another reviewer referred to her musical style as “Nina Simone sings the Beach Boys”; while another even coined a brand new genre – “gospeldelia” – to encapsulate her soulful vocals and vivid soundscapes.
With a degree in composition from Birmingham Conservatoire in Birmingham, England, Laura Mvula has created her own distinctive sound by taking inspiration from many different genres – including choral baroque music, George Gershwin, Björk, the gospel-soul of Jill Scott, Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill, and the pop of Amy Winehouse.
She has created something fresh by taking elementary melodies from each of these genres and turning them into complex five-part harmonies and emotional vocals.
“I’ve always enjoyed bringing really simple elements together to make something that’s bigger or more interesting,” said 26-year-old Laura in a recent interview. “I’m just into things that circle round and round. It’s how my brain works.
“I drew on the soul icons I loved when growing up – Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill. But I’m not a wordsmith, so I tried to be expressive with my unashamed first love, harmony.”
Listen to ‘Green Garden’ from Laura Mvula’s Top 10 album Sing to the Moon HERE…
And you can hear her latest single ‘That’s Alright’ HERE…
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“How [Not] To Write A Hit Song! – 101 Common Mistakes To Avoid If You Want Songwriting Success” is available from Amazon as a paperback, or as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle Store, Apple’s iTunes Store (Books/Arts & Entertainment/Music) and Barnes & Noble’s Nook store.
Read a FREE sample of the book HERE (USA), HERE (UK) or HERE (Australia).
While a song’s title is often its strongest selling point, and the best way to attract the attention of music publishers, A&R executives and record buyers alike, coming up with a highly distinctive lyric line within a song can also instantly draw listeners in and hook their interest.
Most top songwriters confess to being envious of certain lyric lines written by other writers. The latest to join this group is US singer-songwriter Bruno Mars who has revealed the iconic lyrics that he most admires. They include lines from Amy Winehouse’s ‘Rehab’, ‘You Sexy Thing’ by Hot Chocolate, and ‘Big Poppa’ by The Notorious B.I.G.
The Grammy award-winning writer has admitted that he wishes he had come up with lines like: “They try to make me go to rehab, but I say No No No” … “I believe in miracles since you came along. You sexy thang. You sexy thang you” … and “Cause I see some ladies tonight who should be havin’ my baby….”.
Bruno recently admitted that he finds it difficult to come up with new material. “You know how hard it is to write a big song?,” he said in an interview with GQ magazine. “It’s so hard to do. Might be one of the hardest things to ever do.”
Which classic lyric line do you wish you had written?
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“How [Not] To Write A Hit Song! – 101 Common Mistakes To Avoid If You Want Songwriting Success” is now available from Amazon’s Kindle Store for only US$7.22 or GB£4.78.
Read a FREE sample of the book HERE (USA) and HERE (UK).
Also available from Apple’s iTunes Store (Books/Arts & Entertainment/Music).
Emeli Sandé – who recently won two Brit awards for ‘Best British Female’ and ‘Best British Album’ – could be in line for more prizes at this year’s prestigious Ivor Novello awards in London on May 16.
She has been nominated for two awards: ‘Best Song Musically & Lyrically’ (for ‘Next To Me’, which she co-wrote with Hugo Chegwin, Harry Craze and Anup Paul) and PRS for Music’s ‘Most Performed Work’ award (also for ‘Next To Me’).
However, she faces stiff competition in the ‘Best Song’ category from Jake Bugg’s ‘Two Fingers’ and ‘Laura’ by Bat For Lashes (pictured below, right).
The annual Ivor Novello Awards are presented by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA), in association with the UK collection society PRS For Music.
The event will also see prizes presented for ‘Songwriter of the Year’, ‘Outstanding Song Collection’ and ‘Outstanding Achievement’.
The awards are judged by the British writing community and are designed to celebrate, honour and reward excellence in songwriting and composing. They are regarded as the most important awards for UK music writers.
Watch the official video for Emeli Sandé’s ‘Next To Me’ HERE…
Watch the official video for Jake Bugg’s ‘Two Fingers’ HERE…
Watch the official video for ‘Laura’ by Bat For Lashes HERE…
Which song do you think deserves to win this year’s ‘Best Song’ Ivor award?
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“How [Not] To Write A Hit Song! – 101 Common Mistakes To Avoid If You Want Songwriting Success” is now available from Amazon’s Kindle Store for only US$7.22 or GB£4.78.
Read a FREE sample of the book HERE (USA) and HERE (UK).
Also available from Apple’s iTunes Store (Books/Arts & Entertainment/Music).
A new US TV commercial for Diet Coke shows Taylor Swift writing her latest single ‘22’ – supposedly being inspired by the can of Diet Coke that the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter is seen enjoying throughout the ad.
Filmed in Nashville, the TV ad – titled ‘Music That Moves’ – also features performances by Taylor’s fans singing and dancing along with the new song.
“Taylor is a true artist, deeply involved in the full creative process, from writing to production to release,” says Stuart Kronauge, general manager, Sparkling Beverages, Coca-Cola North America.
“The ‘Music That Moves’ ad shows Taylor in her natural element – penning lyrics that one day will speak volumes to millions of fans the world over … all while sipping on a Diet Coke. The commercial serves as a peek behind the curtain at an extraordinary day in the life of a true American superstar.
“Whether you’re writing a hit song like Taylor, or simply singing along, Diet Coke helps you Stay Extraordinary.”
You can judge for yourself HERE…
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“How (Not) To Write A Hit Song! – 101 Common Mistakes To Avoid If You Want Songwriting Success” is now available from Amazon’s Kindle Store for only US$7.22 or GB£4.78.
Read a FREE sample of the book HERE (USA) and HERE (UK).
Also available from Apple’s iTunes Store (Books/Arts & Entertainment/Music).
For a song to become a great song, it must be able to reach out and touch listeners and stimulate an emotional response within them. It should take them on a memorable and emotional journey. It should make them feel something.
That’s why Amy Grant, the Nashville-based Christian singer-songwriter, believes the greatest compliment a songwriter can receive is to have someone tell you that your song captures exactly what they’re feeling inside.
“The challenge of a songwriter is to articulate – in an accessible way – things we go through, if what you are trying to do is to make people feel connected to their own life, ” says Amy. “I’m inspired by specific situations and try to capture in a song what people feel.”
On May 14, the six-times Grammy award winner will release her first full album of all-new songs in 10 years.
Titled How Mercy Looks From Here, the new album was produced by Marshall Altman and includes guest vocalists James Taylor, Carole King, Sheryl Crow, Will Hoge, and Eric Pasley (who wrote the only song on the album not written by Grant). Amy’s husband, Vince Gill, also makes an appearance.
Watch the official video for Amy Grant’s 1991 hit ‘Good For Me’ HERE…
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“How [Not] To Write A Hit Song! – 101 Common Mistakes To Avoid If You Want Songwriting Success” is available from Amazon as a US paperback, UK paperback and as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle Store, Apple’s iTunes Store (Books/Arts & Entertainment/Music) and Barnes & Noble’s Nook store.
Read a FREE sample of the book HERE (USA), HERE (UK), HERE (Australia) and HERE (Canada).
Songwriters Hall of Fame chairman Jimmy Webb has announced that Elton John and Bernie Taupin will be the 2013 recipients of the prestigious Johnny Mercer Award at this year’s awards ceremony in New York on June 13.
John and Taupin have been one of the most prolific and successful songwriting partnerships of all time. Their award-winning relationship has spanned more than four decades and they have collaborated on more than 30 albums since they first met in 1967.
“Some catalogues are more significant than others not only because of their pertinence to the times in which they were written, but because their sheer mass is overpowering,” said Jimmy Webb. “It’s just not that easy to write 40 top 10 records. It’s kind of like swimming the English Channel with your hands tied behind your back.”
He added: “Elton’s readily identifiable melodic piano style has proven to be a perfect accompaniment to Bernie’s razor sharp lyrics about relationships and living on the edge of life both in good and bad times.”
The Johnny Mercer Award is the highest honour bestowed by the Songwriters Hall of Fame. It is exclusively reserved for songwriters or songwriting teams who have already been inducted in a prior year, and whose body of work is of such high quality and impact that it upholds the gold standard set by the legendary Johnny Mercer.
Past Johnny Mercer Award recipients have included songwriting giants: Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Phil Collins, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Paul Anka, Dolly Parton, Kris Kristofferson, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Carole King, Billy Joel, Jimmy Webb, Hal David, Burt Bacharach, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Paul Simon, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Stephen Sondheim, Cy Coleman, Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne.
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‘How (Not) To Write A Hit Song! – 101 Common Mistakes To Avoid If You Want Songwriting Success’ is now available from Amazon’s Kindle Store for only US$7.22 or GB£4.78.
Read a FREE sample of the book HERE (USA) and HERE (UK).
Also available from Apple’s iTunes Store (Books/Arts & Entertainment/Music).
When you start working on a new song don’t think about what you’re doing intellectually, just go with the creative flow and have fun, urges Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman. She calls it “creative flow songwriting”.
Beth recently told PRS for Music’s ‘M’ magazine: “The creative flow is just like oxygen flowing everywhere and people absorb different amounts of it depending on their capacity. I believe it’s where the best stuff comes through.
“One of the things I do when I teach a songwriting workshop is to encourage everybody to become more of a sponge for that creative flow.”
It’s an approach that has certainly worked well for Beth. She has written hits for artists such as Elton John, Neil Diamond, Emmylou Harris, Bette Midler, Bonnie Raitt, Trisha Yearwood, Roberta Flack, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. Her songs have also been featured in countless movies and TV shows.
“Of course it’s important to learn all of the technical skills of how to tighten up a song and how to recognize when a song could be better,” she told ‘M’, “but when I’m writing – especially when I’m starting the process of writing – I’m not looking at it intellectually. On the front end, I don’t want my brain driving the car.”
She added: ”I follow that creative flow blindly until something pops through, and it’s so much fun. I’ve learnt to trust it and I think that’s how the greatest songs are written.”
Here’s Beth Nielsen Chapman’s full interview with ‘M’ magazine…
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“How [Not] To Write A Hit Song! – 101 Common Mistakes To Avoid If You Want Songwriting Success” is available from Amazon as a US paperback, UK paperback and as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle Store, Apple’s iTunes Store (Books/Arts & Entertainment/Music) and Barnes & Noble’s Nook store.
Read a FREE sample of the book HERE (USA), HERE (UK), HERE (Australia) and HERE (Canada).
It’s the age old ‘chicken and egg’ songwriting question: Which should come first, the words or the music?
For nine times Grammy Award winner John Legend, it’s the music that leads the way every time.
“I have a structured songwriting process,” says the 34-year-old US singer-songwriter. “I start with the music and try to come up with musical ideas, then the melody, then the hook, and the lyrics come last.
“Some people start with the lyrics first because they know what they want to talk about and they just write a whole bunch of lyrical ideas, but for me the music tells me what to talk about.”
In recent months, Legend has been busy putting his songwriting approach into action and is about to release his first new album for nearly five years. Titled Love in the Future (executive produced by Kanye West and Dave Tozer), the new album follows Get Lifted (2004), Once Again (2006) and Evolver (2008).
The first official single from Love in the Future – a collaboration with Rick Ross called ‘Who Do We Think We Are’ – will be released later this month.
In the meantime, you can listen to a beautiful new song from the album, ‘The Beginning’, HERE…
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“How [Not] To Write A Hit Song! – 101 Common Mistakes To Avoid If You Want Songwriting Success” is now available from Amazon’s Kindle Store for only US$7.22 or GB£4.78.
Read a FREE sample of the book HERE (USA) and HERE (UK).
Also available from Apple’s iTunes Store (Books/Arts & Entertainment/Music).
Music publishers and A&R executives sometimes reject perfectly good songs by new writers because the songs lack that ‘special something’ that makes them stand out from the crowd.
The answer, according to US singer-songwriter Bruno Mars, is to try to “shock” people by writing a song that is so different and groundbreaking that it becomes “an event”. But he admits that writing this kind of “big” song is “one of the hardest things to ever do”.
Bruno recently revealed that Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is his favourite song. “That song’s an event,” he told GQ magazine. “And that’s what I want to do. I’m sure that song shocked the world.”
He also lists songs like Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’ and Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ as “events”. “Kurt Cobain put everything he got into that song, and he meant it. It’s that unexplainable high…That feeling that you keep on chasing and chasing. Because it’s nothing, man. It’s taking the air and turning it into something. That’s the feeling.”
Bruno Mars hit the music scene in 2010 with his first album Doo-Wops & Hooligans which included the worldwide number-one singles ‘Just the Way You Are’ and ‘Grenade’.
His second album, Unorthodox Jukebox, features the hit single ‘Locked Out of Heaven’ which some people felt was blasphemous. Bruno denies this and says it was “just poetry”. However, he concedes that some of his songs – such as ‘Grenade’, ‘Liquor Store Blues’, and ‘Talking to the Moon’ – do address darker subjects like self-destructive behaviour.
“I don’t ever want to come out with something safe,” he said.
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“How [Not] To Write A Hit Song! – 101 Common Mistakes To Avoid If You Want Songwriting Success” is now available from Amazon’s Kindle Store for only US$7.22 or GB£4.78.
Read a FREE sample of the book HERE (USA) and HERE (UK).
Also available from Apple’s iTunes Store (Books/Arts & Entertainment/Music).
Taylor Swift advises new songwriters to use their past relationships to inspire great song ideas.
The six times Grammy award winner always tries to draw on emotions she has actually experienced, she says, because she believes people can relate to songs more if they are based on real personal experiences.
But it seems 23-year-old Taylor’s ‘true life’ approach to songwriting is making life hell for One Direction’s Harry Styles, her former boyfriend.
Harry is said to be worried about what her next songwriting move is going to be. She has already written the hit song ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ about the break-up of their relationship, and she has reportedly aimed another jab at Harry in the promotional video for her new song ‘22’. The poor guy apparently doesn’t know what to expect next!
The 19-year-old One Direction star is reported to have told friends that he now regrets dating her because she keeps mocking him in her music. For Taylor, though, it’s all good material for her songs.
Different kinds of experiences inspire different kinds of songs, she says. “That’s why emotions are so beautiful to write about because they all sound so different to me.”
Taylor explains that real feelings can result in several types of songs – from ‘missing-him’ songs and ‘frustrated-and-confused, don’t-know-why-it-ended’ songs … to ‘I know we can’t be together but I miss you right now’ songs.
She says personal experiences can also inspire sad songs ‘tinged with anger’, guilt-laded songs, and sad songs that contain ‘a little bit of hope that he’ll come back’.
“I think songwriting is the ultimate form of being able to make anything that happens in your life productive,” Taylor insists. “If you get out of a bad relationship that was a complete waste of time, you can write about it and it can become a benefit to your career. How sweet is that?”
You can watch Taylor’s video for ‘22’ HERE…
The video for ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ can be seen HERE…
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“How [Not] To Write A Hit Song! – 101 Common Mistakes To Avoid If You Want Songwriting Success” is available from Amazon as a US paperback, UK paperback and as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle Store, Apple’s iTunes Store (Books/Arts & Entertainment/Music), Barnes & Noble’s Nook store, and from KoboBooks.
Read a FREE sample of the book HERE (USA), HERE (UK), HERE (Australia) and HERE (Canada).
SONGWRITING: THE HIT FORMULA 