With Taylor Swift’s fifth studio album expected to be released in October 2014, the seven-time Grammy winner has been dropping hints that her follow-up to multi-platinum Red will be very different from anything she has ever done before.
It is likely to push the boundaries of her sound by featuring greater cross-pollination between different music genres.
“It’s already evolved into a new sound, and that’s all I wanted,” the 24-year-old recently told Billboard magazine. “There’s a fusing of genres that makes me happy and excited.”
In an interview with the Associated Press (AP), she also stressed how important it is for songwriters not to simply put out a retread of songs they’ve already done: “The goal is to continue to change, and never change in the same way twice,” she said. On her new album, this involved writing in ways that she had never attempted before and using a sonic backdrop that she had not previously explored.
She said: “I love [collaborating with] people who have endless strange and exciting ideas about where music can go—people like Max Martin and Johan Shellback who are likely to ask ‘What if we made it weirder? What if we took it darker?’.”
Meanwhile, Taylor Swift’s good friend Ed Sheeran has also been exploring entirely new realms of sound for his next album, titled x, which will be released on June 23. “I’ve been writing very specific songs to different genres,” he explained.
Never a songwriter to stand still, Sheeran has recorded x at various locations around the world—adding new flavours to his music with the aid of producers such as Rick Rubin (Eminem, Jay-Z, Red Hot Chilli Peppers), Pharrell Williams (Daft Punk, Robin Thicke, N.E.R.D), Benny Blanco (Rhianna, Wiz Khalifa), and Jeff Bhasker (Alicia Keys, Jay-Z), as well as his key collaborators Johnny McDaid of Snow Patrol and Jake Gosling (who produced Sheeran’s first album +).
The first single from Sheeran’s new album is ‘Sing’. It was produced by Pharrell Williams—another singer/songwriter/producer who believes in marrying different elements together to create something fresh. “That is where I find the magic,” said Pharrell, “in trying to just blend different worlds together and mix it up.”
Commenting on his work with Pharrell Williams, Sheeran told Music Week magazine: “Pharrell took me way outside of my comfort zone, which was very, very helpful. He forced me to try new things.”
Here’s the Official Video for ‘Sing’ (featuring Ed the Puppet) …
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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).
Photo: Carlos Delgado
Multi award-winning Scottish DJ, singer, songwriter and record producer Calvin Harris has unveiled the official video for his new single ‘Summer’.
It is the first single from his forthcoming fourth studio album and is tipped to be one of this year’s biggest summertime hits.
‘Summer’ was written and produced by Harris, who won the Songwriter of the Year Award at PRS For Music’s Ivor Novello Awards in 2013. The feel-good track features Calvin himself on vocals for the first time since his multi-million selling single ‘Feel So Close’ in 2011.
Here’s the video for ‘Summer’ …
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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).
Last February, Grammy Award-winning Pharrell Williams urged songwriters to buck the trend toward sad-sounding songs by writing more tracks designed to make people feel happy.
“I believe there’s a need to lift people up emotionally,” Pharrell said. “There’s something to be said for making music that is jovial. Songs for people who need a break. Songs to bring joy.”
Now, British singer-songwriter Rita Ora is following Pharrell’s lead by releasing a new single, ‘I Will Never Let You Down’, which has been described as “the ultimate feel good love song”.
Written and produced by Calvin Harris, the single will be released on 11 May 2014.
“I love the fact this is such an uplifting love song,” says Rita. “I’m in a very good place and I really wanted people to see how I felt and how I want other people to feel when they listen to it … happy!”
‘I Will Never Let You Down’ is the first single from Rita’s forthcoming second album. Her platinum debut album, Ora, debuted at number one in the UK in 2012 and spawned the Number One singles: ‘R.I.P.’ and ‘How We Do (Party)’.
And here’s Rita lifting our spirits with the video for ‘I Will Never Let You Down’ …
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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).
Back in January, Sam Smith—the hotly tipped British soul singer-songwriter—urged songwriters to be “a voice for lonely people“. He pointed to what he sees as a gap in the music market for songs about “unrequited love”, instead of more common themes for love songs such as falling in love or breaking up.
Sam said he intended to focus on this kind of love song on his debut album, In The Lonely Hour, which is due to be released in May.
“I don’t think unrequited love is spoken about enough in music,” said Sam who came top of the BBC’s Sound Of 2014 list and won the 2014 BRIT Critics’ Choice Award. “I’ve been through unrequited love myself and I found it hard to find songs that were about that.”
Now, Sam is emphasizing his point by releasing a new single, titled ‘Stay With Me’, which is an epic ballad of unrequited love, designed to tug at listeners’ heartstrings.
Released on May 18, the new single is seen as the perfect pre-cursor to the release of his album, In The Lonely Hour, which will feature collaborations with Fraser T Smith, Two Inch Punch, Eg White, Disclosure, Zane Lowe, Tourist, and Sam’s long-time writing partner Jimmy Napes.
Here’s the official video for ‘Stay With Me’ …
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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) and HERE (UK).
Dedicated songwriters who craft intelligent, perceptive songs—but are frustrated by record companies’ growing emphasis on “hit today-gone tomorrow” throwaway pop music—have found a new ally in 87-year-old Tony Bennett.
The 17-time Grammy-winning jazz singer has always nurtured the art of literate songwriting, but is dismayed by the state of popular music today.
Bennett has been making records since 1951 and has recorded songs by some of the greatest songwriters of all time. He has built a 60-year career on classic songs from the Great American Songbook—he calls them “the silver lining songs”—but he is dismissive of the quality of many of today’s melodies and lyrics.
“The songs that are written today, most of them are terrible,” Bennett recently told BBC Radio 4. “It’s a very bad period, musically, throughout the world for popular music.”
But Bennett doesn’t think it is necessarily the artists and producers who are at fault for not cutting better-quality songs. He blames money-hungry labels for setting much lower standards instead of backing songs that will stand the test of time. He believes record company bosses have become obsessed with making sure their releases generate money quickly.
The legendary singer also accuses record labels of ‘dumbing down’ by refusing to release music that will engage listeners on an intellectual level.
“They think the public is ignorant, so their attitude is, ‘Don’t give them anything intelligent, because it won’t sell’,” said Bennett.
He added: “I grew up in an era where the record companies just sold records to everybody, and the whole family bought songs. Today, record companies are failing because they are putting their accent just on the young, and I think that’s rather silly. They’re missing out on thousands of people that would love to buy records but they don’t buy them because they don’t have a lasting quality.”
And here’s Tony Bennett and the late Amy Winehouse showing just what he means by songs that can stand the test of time. ‘Body and Soul’ was written 74 years ago, with music by Johnny Green and lyrics by Edward Heyman, Robert Sour and Frank Eyton.
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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).
Unless you’re collaborating with other writers, or writing for your own band, songwriting can be a solitary endeavor. It requires a lot of time alone. You’re left in your writing room day after day, night after day, fighting the twin demons of indecision and procrastination.
That’s why it can be very useful to have a songwriting buddy, says Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter Lorde.
“If you are writing on your own, have someone whose opinion you really trust and who cares about what you’re doing and isn’t gonna judge you in a weird way,” the 17-year-old New Zealander recently told Rookiemag.com. “Send them stuff and ask them what they think.”
Lorde added: “I started out writing music with Joel [New Zealand musician, producer and songwriter Joel Little], who is still my co-writer. I never showed my music to anyone else … but if I hadn’t had him as a sounding board, it would’ve been difficult.”
As Lorde found with Joel Little, 31, your buddy can be a musician friend or a fellow songwriter you respect – someone who will give you a chance to think out loud and be a sounding board for your new ideas.
Alternatively, your songwriting buddy could be a special person that you trust and who will always give you an honest opinion. It could be your girlfriend, boyfriend, best friend, husband or wife – someone you can play a new song to without feeling embarrassed or self-conscious.
Ideally, though, your buddy should be someone who understands songwriting and whose encouragement, experience and insight will help you gain momentum and confidence in your own writing.
“As a young songwriter, I would put a lot of pressure on myself,” Lorde told Rookiemag.com. “I’d write a line and then aggressively backspace … I would just censor myself so heavily. I felt like there wasn’t room for me to write a bad song or write something that didn’t necessarily fit with my vibe or whatever.”
Many writers will admit that they’re often not the best judge of their own material, regardless of their level of experience or success. It is easy to get so close to a song that you can’t tell if it is truly finished or still has some weaknesses.
That’s why a songwriting buddy can provide unbiased feedback at the crucial re-writing stage – before you start spending time and money on making a demo. He or she can give you valuable criticism (or praise) from an outside perspective.
“At the same time though, try not to get too hung up on what other people think,” said Lorde. “At the end of the day, if you think something’s cool and everyone else thinks it sucks then you’ve still made something which you’re proud of.”
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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).
The IFPI – the worldwide music industry trade body – has launched an innovative video designed to highlight the huge and constant impact that hit songs have had on people’s lives over the past 100 years.
Titled Music Remains, the 90-second video is a race through time filmed at London’s famous Abbey Road studios. It features British rapper MC Pepstar performing lyrics about what recorded music means to him over a soundtrack that moves through iconic music tracks of the last 100 years.
Produced by music industry creative director Steve Milbourne and film director Martin Stirling of Unit 9 Films, the video features an amazing ‘Recorded Music Rube Goldberg Machine’ (remember those clever Honda TV adverts?).
Filmed as a compelling one-shot video, the unique machine shows recorded music technologies changing over the decades. It uses an ingenious chain reaction which cascades through the generations, beginning with a gramophone and ending with an iPad.
Here’s the Music Remains video, followed by a ‘behind the scenes’ video which looks at how the amazing Rube Goldberg Machine was created …
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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).
Many new songwriters often make the mistake of simply trying to mimic songs that have already enjoyed chart success, instead of trying to add distinctive elements of their own to create something fresh.
Pharrell Williams firmly believes in the importance of not just imitating what’s already happening: “I feel like when you copy, you blend in, and when you blend in, you get lost,” he recently told Collider.com.
“If someone asks me what inspires me, I always say ‘That which is missing’ because I don’t want to copy everything that’s already happening,” he said. “When I make music, I try to make something you’ve never heard before.”
For new writers, though, it is equally important to make sure that your songs are not TOO different—otherwise you could end up writing in a form that many listeners just can’t understand. You have to strike a balance.
This is because there are specific conventions that are consistently found in the chord progressions, melodies, lyrics, rhymes and construction of all hit songs. Over the past 50 years in particular, listeners have subconsciously come to expect to hear these elements in all new songs.
To be sure of finding receptive ears in the music industry (and amongst record buyers), your songs therefore need to sound familiar—but not similar.
Previously unheard songs have to be easy enough on the listener’s ear to be commercial and marketable (which, at the end of the day, is all that record companies and music publishers are interested in). But instead of simply copying stuff that is happening, focus on taking what is already out there to a new level—whilst being careful not to make too big a leap that could leave a huge gap between you and your audience.
When someone once asked the legendary trumpet player Clark Terry what steps he felt newcomers should take to achieve success, he famously replied: “Imitate, assimilate, and innovate”.
In other words, listen to what’s being played on the radio and on streaming services, analyze the latest trends, absorb the key elements of current hit songs and emulate them—but carve your own niche by innovating and adding something new of your own.
As Pharrell Williams says: “Try to find that which is missing”…
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WRITING SONGS IN THE STREAMING AGE – 40 MISTAKES TO AVOID IF YOU WANT TO GET MORE STREAMS is available from Amazon as a US paperback, a UK paperback, a Canada paperback, an Australia paperback, and across Europe.
It is also available as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle store in the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia, and across Europe—as well as Apple Books, Barnes & Noble and Rakuten’s KoboBooks.
Read a FREE SAMPLE of the book HERE (USA)…HERE (UK)… HERE (CANADA)… and HERE (AUSTRALIA).
“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).
British singer-songwriter Molly Smitten-Downes will represent the United Kingdom in the Grand Final of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, with her self-penned song ‘Children of the Universe’.
The event will take place in Copenhagen on 10 May 2014.
‘Children of the Universe’ is described as “an anthemic, uplifting track specifically written with live performance in mind”.
Molly, aged 26, from Leicestershire, was discovered through BBC Radio’s BBC Introducing and was invited to compose and perform a song especially for the competition.
Molly has been singing and writing songs for over ten years and is well known within the UK live music scene. She was awarded Best Urban/Pop Act at Live and Unsigned in 2012, and in 2013 won ‘Best Song’ at the Best of British Unsigned Music Awards.
She has supported artists such as Jake Bugg, Tinie Tempah, Labrinth and Chase n Status.
“I’m so excited for everyone to hear ‘Children of The Universe’,” says Molly. “I’m so happy with it. To represent the United Kingdom in such a huge competition, not only as a singer and performer but as a songwriter is an unbelievable honour.”
Here’s a video showing Molly performing ‘Children of The Universe’ live…
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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).
‘Wake Me Up’ by Swedish DJ and music producer Avicii has now been streamed more than 200 million times on Spotify, making it the most-played song of all time on the platform.
The track has overtaken the previous record-holder, Imagine Dragons’ ‘Radioactive’, which has been streamed 183 million times.
The chord progression and melody for ‘Wake Me Up’ were written by Avicii and Incubus guitarist Mike Einzige, and the lyrics were supplied by LA-based soul singer Aloe Blacc who sings lead vocal on the track.
In September 2013, the Avicii hit became the fastest song ever to notch up 100 million streams on Spotify. It is now reportedly being streamed around 850,000 times a day on average.
The track has also accrued over 280 million plays on YouTube so far
Here’s the Official Video for Avicii’s ‘Wake Me Up’…
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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), HERE (Australia) and HERE (Canada).
SONGWRITING: THE HIT FORMULA 