How music streaming is having a profound impact on songwriting and song structure…
Songwriters who want to get more plays on Spotify and other streaming platforms need to rethink their approach to songwriting and song structure to meet the needs of streaming audiences. Streaming listeners who are spoiled for choice are increasingly likely to ‘click and skip’ to the next track if a song doesn’t grab them in the first 20 seconds.
These are two of the key messages from a new book titled: “How [Not] to Write Songs in the Streaming Age – 40 Mistakes to Avoid If You Want to Get More Streams”. The book aims to help new songwriters create more streaming-friendly songs.
“Successful streaming now requires a different type of song,” says the book’s author Brian Oliver, an experienced music publisher. “Streaming has not only revolutionized the way people consume music, it is also transforming the way songs are being written and recorded. Streaming is changing the whole methodology of songwriting.”
“How [Not] to Write Songs in the Streaming Age” shows how the global dominance of music streaming is having a far-reaching impact on songwriting and the structure of songs. It reveals how songs that connect in the streaming world are no longer the same as songs that work on traditional media, such as radio.
“Songwriters are facing a period of great change,” Oliver warns. “To succeed in the highly competitive streaming marketplace, creators need to adapt to the new songwriting conventions that are emerging in this algorithm-driven musical environment.”
Oliver says song structures that have been at the heart of hit songs for over 60 years are now being replaced by a song form that has one overriding objective: Keep streaming audiences listening for at least the first 30 seconds—otherwise a play won’t count as a stream…. the song may be downgraded on the streaming service’s database….and nobody gets paid.
With more songs now being designed to please the streaming companies’ algorithms, “How [Not] to Write Songs in the Streaming Age” aims to help provide a better understanding of the changing building blocks of song structure in the streaming age. It’s an era in which the verse has gained a new importance because ‘click and skip’ streaming listeners don’t always stick around for the chorus.
The book examines the essential elements that are consistently found in the construction, melodies and lyrics of the biggest streaming hits. Crucially, it highlights the most common errors made when these key components are built into a song. In doing so, it aims to help new and aspiring songwriters avoid such mistakes in their own songs.
The book provides 40 insightful tips and essential advice. It also includes a comprehensive Checklist designed to help new songwriters overcome the most frequent mistakes that are made when trying to write streaming-friendly songs.
“How [Not] to Write Songs in the Streaming Age – 40 Mistakes to Avoid If You Want to Get More Streams” is now available from Amazon as a paperback and eBook in all territories, and also from leading eBook retailers such as Apple Books, Kobo and Barnes & Noble.
It is also available as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle store in the United States, the UK, Canada, Australia, and across Europe—as well as Apple Books, Barnes & Noble and Rakuten’s KoboBooks.
“HOW [NOT] TO WRITE SONGS IN THE STREAMING AGE – 40 MISTAKES TO AVOID IF YOU WANT TO GET MORE STREAMS” - This book shows how the dominance of music streaming is having a profound impact on songwriting and the structure of songs. Songs that connect in the streaming world are no longer the same as songs that work on traditional media, like radio. Successful streaming now requires a different type of song. This means songwriters who want more plays on streaming platforms need to rethink their songwriting approach in order to meet the specific needs of streaming audiences. This book aims to provide a better understanding of the new building blocks of song structure in the streaming age. It examines essential elements found in the construction, melodies and lyrics of the biggest streaming hits – and highlights the most common errors made when these key components are built into a song. To help new songwriters avoid such mistakes in their own songs, the book provides 40 insightful tips and a comprehensive Checklist for creating more streaming-friendly songs. The book is now available from Amazon as a paperback and eBook, and also from leading eBook retailers like Apple Books, Kobo and Barnes & Noble.
‘HOW (NOT) TO WRITE A HIT SONG! – 101 COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID IF YOU WANT SONGWRITING SUCCESS’
With a 5-star rating at Amazon, this book takes a close look at the essential elements that are consistently found in the structure, melodies and lyrics of all hit songs.
It highlights the most common errors that are made when these key components are built into a song, so that new writers can try to avoid such mistakes in their own songs.
Most writers have had to endure the disappointment of having their songs rejected, and ended up asking: “Could I have done more to make my songs better?”.
“How [Not] To Write A Hit Song!” aims to help writers recognize weaknesses in their songs, so they can re-work them, make them stronger, and hopefully achieve the breakthrough they’re striving for.
The book includes a detailed checklist of 101 common mistakes that writers can measure their own songs against.
“HOW (NOT) TO WRITE GREAT LYRICS! 40 COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN WRITING LYRICS FOR YOUR SONGS”
The 40 most common lyric writing mistakes are exposed in this new book by experienced music publisher and music consultant Brian Oliver.
Written in an easy, non-technical style, the book identifies the most frequent causes of lyric writing problems and aims to help aspiring songwriters steer clear of the many traps that they can easily fall into when writing lyrics for their songs.
“How [Not] To Write Great Lyrics!” gives new writers a wide range of valuable advice – from how to prevent common errors in the basic construction of their song lyrics … through to the perils of making bad choices when it comes to titles, opening lines, lyrical hooks, verb selection, clichés, rhyming patterns, and many other issues.
The book includes a comprehensive checklist of more than 100 potential hazards that writers can measure their own lyrics against.
“SURPRISING RHYMING FOR SONGWRITERS AND POETS -THE ALTERNATIVE RHYMING DICTIONARY”
With more new songs being written than ever before, songwriters are finding it harder to sound original and craft rhymes that have not already been used. “SURPRISING RHYMING” is a new kind of rhyming dictionary that aims to make it easier for writers to avoid clichés and create rhymes people may not have heard before.
Based on an in-depth study of the ingenious rhymes used by some of the world’s greatest songwriters and lyricists, this book offers an astonishing array of thousands of alternative rhyme options. It contains rhyme types much broader than those found in traditional rhyming dictionaries which tend to stick to ‘perfect’ rhymes. Instead, it focuses on ‘imperfect’ rhymes that are less predictable than ‘pure’ rhymes—and are therefore more likely to surprise an audience. The book also includes many new words that have been added to standard dictionaries in recent years.
With 624 pages, the book is laid out clearly to make it quick and easy to find the perfect word to achieve a memorable rhyme. There are separate sections for one-, two- and three-syllable rhymes, along with many useful tips on rhyming.
“SURPRISING RHYMING” is available from Amazon as a paperback and an eBook. It’s also available as an eBook from Apple’s iTunes Store, Barnes & Noble and Rakuten’s KoboBooks.
SONGWRITING: THE HIT FORMULA 