A new revised and expanded Second Edition of “How (Not) To Write A Hit Song! – 101 Common Mistakes To Avoid If You Want Songwriting Success” 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.
The latest version of the book takes a close look at the essential elements consistently found in the structure, melodies, and lyrics of today’s hit songs.
The book’s author, Brian Oliver—an experienced music publisher, songwriter, and music consultant—says: “The music industry has been going through major changes in recent years, largely driven by the dominance of the music streaming companies. Streaming is now impacting the way songs are being written and recorded. It’s changing the whole methodology of songwriting.”
He adds: “This revised and expanded Second Edition examines how these changes are affecting the key elements found in all hit songs today.”
The new book highlights the most common errors made when these essential components are built into a song—so that new writers can try to avoid such mistakes in their own songs.
As Oliver explains: “Most writers have, at some stage, had to endure the hurt and disappointment of having songs rejected by music publishers or record companies—and ended up asking themselves: ‘Could I have done more to make my songs better?’. This book aims to help writers recognise any weaknesses in their songs, so that they can re-work them, make them stronger, and hopefully achieve the breakthrough they’re seeking.”
The new edition points out that the way in which the leading streaming platforms’ algorithms focus on individual songs means the music business is effectively a ‘singles market’ again.
As a result, there are now even greater opportunities for new writers who are capable of crafting potential hit songs with memorable melodies and lyrics. But competition is intense. So, it’s more important than ever for beginning songwriters to make sure their songs stand out from the crowd by avoiding the traps and pitfalls that inexperienced songwriters often fall into.
Written in an easy, non-technical style, the book identifies many frequent causes of songwriting problems—from common mistakes in basic song structure … to having the wrong mental attitude and an unsatisfactory songwriting environment. From getting the blend of core ingredients wrong … to flawed choices when it comes to titles, melodies, lyrics, hooks, choruses, intros, bridges, pre-choruses, post-choruses—and even the song demo itself.
The book warns that aspiring songwriters’ chances of success could be hampered if they fail to spend enough time polishing their songs and eradicating weaknesses in their songwriting.
Oliver says: “That’s why this book sets out to help new writers develop their own unique writing style while avoiding fundamental errors at each key stage in the song development process.”
“How (Not) To Write A Hit Song! – 101 Common Mistakes To Avoid If You Want Songwriting Success” [Second Edition] includes important tips on fixing and strengthening songs—along with a detailed checklist of 101 common mistakes that writers can measure their own songs against … no matter how ‘finished’ they think their songs are.
The book 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.
“If I can sit down and write an amazing song with my guitar about what’s going on in life, then that’s the greatest therapy for me,” Miley Cyrus once remarked. As if to prove it, her new single ‘Flowers’ has just broken the Spotify record for most streams in a single week.
Written by Miley Cyrus, Gregory Aldae Hein and Michael Pollack, ‘Flowers’ has set a new record by gaining over 101 million streams on Spotify within the first week of release. It is set to become one of the biggest hits of Cyrus’s career.
‘Flowers’ is a powerful anthem about finding your strength after a breakup. Like other massive streaming hits cited in the new book How [Not] to Write Songs in the Streaming Age, ‘Flowers’ features many of the new songwriting components that are emerging in the algorithm-driven streaming market. For example, ‘Flowers’ gets straight to the point with only a 5-second intro, an infectious post-chorus, and no fade-out at the end.
The song has clear disco and funk influences and some observers have suggested that it interpolates features from Gloria Gaynor’s 1978 song ‘I Will Survive’ (which has a similar message about self-empowerment).
In the song, which many people see as a response to the break-up of her relationship with ex-husband Liam Hemsworth, Cyrus celebrates her freedom and herself, letting the world know that she can love herself better than anyone else can. “I can buy myself flowers…,” she sings.
Streams of ‘Flowers’ grew each day during its first week on Spotify. On the day it was released, the song had 7.71 million streams. By its third day, it had passed 10 million. On the fourth day, the song exceeded 15 million streams and it has had over 17 million every day since then, leading to a peak of almost 18 million streams in a single day.
The song is expected to be Cyrus’s first Top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100 since 2017’s ‘Malibu’ – and her first number-one since ‘Wrecking Ball’ in 2013.
‘Flowers’ will be featured on Miley Cyrus’s upcoming album Endless Summer Vacation, which is out on March 10.
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.
“SURPRISING RHYMING” – The Alternative Rhyming Dictionary for Songwriters and Poets – is available from Amazon as a US paperback, a UK paperback, and across Europe. It is also available as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle store in the United States, the UK and Europe.
A 5-star rated book at Amazon, “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, a UK paperback and as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle Store. It is also available from Apple’s iTunes Book Store, Barnes & Noble’s Nook store, and Rakuten’s KoboBooks.
“How [Not] To Write Great Lyrics! – 40 Common Mistakes To Avoid When Writing Lyrics For Your Songs” is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble as a US paperback, UK paperback and as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle Store. It is also available from Apple’s iTunes Book Store, Barnes & Noble’s Nook store, 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.
“SURPRISING RHYMING” – The Alternative Rhyming Dictionary for Songwriters and Poets – is available from Amazon as a US paperback, a UK paperback, and across Europe. It is also available as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle store in the United States, the UK and Europe.![“HOW [NOT] TO WRITE A HIT SONG! - 101 COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID IF YOU WANT SONGWRITING SUCCESS” is available from Amazon as a paperback and also as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle Store, Apple's iTunes Store, Barnes and Noble's Nook store, and from KoboBooks.com.](https://thehitformula.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/how-not-to-write-a-hit-song-smashwords-cover-blog-widgit-188x282.jpg)
A 5-star rated book at Amazon, “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, a UK paperback and as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle Store. It is also available from Apple’s iTunes Book Store, Barnes & Noble’s Nook store, and Rakuten’s KoboBooks.
“How [Not] To Write Great Lyrics! – 40 Common Mistakes To Avoid When Writing Lyrics For Your Songs” is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble as a US paperback, UK paperback and as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle Store. It is also available from Apple’s iTunes Book Store, Barnes & Noble’s Nook store, and Rakuten’s KoboBooks.
SONGWRITING: THE HIT FORMULA 