Tuned In with Katy Krassner: Songwriting Sessions: Collaborate and Conquer
I am music, and I write the songs
There are several reasons why writing with someone would be helpful: dealing with a bad case of writer’s block, working with an artist who needs fresh inspiration or just being able to have another person to bounce things off. Let’s take a look at the different types of songwriting setups.
So what, so what, so what’s the scenario?
- A successful artist is paired with a notable songwriter. Often, the successful artist has their pick of any songwriter they want, and the songwriter – no matter how notable they are – stands to make a lot of money by working with the artist. In most cases, the songwriter does the bulk of the work, but agrees to split the publishing, and the credit, with the artist, knowing that their album and/or single will sell. It’s a good business and financial choice, and less an artistic one.
- An artist has a buzz, but to “level up,” their label or management connects them to some songwriting sessions to see if the artist can get inspired by a more senior songwriting partner. In this scenario, the artist could meet with several songwriters and write music with all of them or hit it off with just one.
- A producer wants to build an artist from the ground up, and perhaps knows in advance that their songwriting skills are limited. A good example of this would be One Direction. At the beginning of their career, their songs were written FOR them, but as they developed as artists, they began to become more active in songwriting, yet they were never left entirely alone to write music.
- Hypothetical: There’s a good songwriter from Nashville. They feel in their bones that songwriting is where their skill lies, but they need a sounding board. This person may go to dozens of workshops or songwriting sessions until they click with someone– think of it as speed dating – and they write what they hope is a hit song. At that point, they both work their contacts to get the song in front of a big name to record it.
- Your music publisher represents you and puts you forth as a songwriting candidate to labels and managers. Music publishing is the business of monetizing and promoting musical compositions, so it makes it worthwhile for them to have a songwriters out there writing with other, especially if they share the same publisher.
If you’re going to do it, you want to make the most of your songwriting session(s). Always come prepared with some ideas you’re already working on -a riff, a chord, a lyric – anything that shows your intent when you walk through the door. Be upfront from the beginning -what are you each looking to get from this experience? When you start to create, tell each other about some personal experiences that may lead to song ideas. Share what your passions are, if you’re in a relationship, about a time you were really burned by love. Always lead with honesty, so if your co-writer puts down an idea you cannot stand, which I am sure occurs even with the best teams, explain why and do it with respect. Remember, not every session is going to end with a chart topper. You can put a deadline on your time together or trust the process. The beauty about songwriting with someone is if you’re not feeling it, you can take a break and start fresh the next day.
I can’t fight that feeling any more
Once that song is written and recorded – by you or someone else – you can follow its progress. When the song starts to get radio air play because you’re super savvy and used Play MPE’s Caster to get it out to the right stations and tastemakers, you will know because you’re also smart enough to plug in Play MPE’s MTR to track your airplay. Let the Royalties roll on in!
