Country Songwriting

[evanmcgill]

[/quote]
Hi Dorothy

Country's a pretty tough nut to crack. It has the highest songwriting "bar" out there. To get a solid publisher to sign a song or get the attention of an aritst, it has to literally walk on water. There are exceptions, but in general, writing a great country song isn't something someone who writes another genre such as pop/rock can just take a shot at. You either spend years honing the craft or it's unlikely you'll find success.

Not meaning to come off super-negative. You may have a great song and I'm commenting without hearing it. It's just that from what I've seen it's rare that someone gets a country placement by just dabbling in country writing.

Nevertheless, when you are ready, I'd love to hear your song! I hope it does kick butt!

Best,
Casey[/quote]

Would you say country is a harder genre to write? I've only been writing for a years and I'm still trying to find my niche (Pop, Country, etc)! I've experimented a little here and there. What is the key to go a good country song? I under lyrically it's different than pop. Any explanation from the experts to the newbie would be appreciated!

[mojobone]

By fairly conservative estimates, there are 20,000 country songwriters in Nashville alone; about half of those don't write anything but country, and about half that many have had a cut. In a given year, about thirty country albums will break even or better. Times roughly ten songs, that's about 300 songs that'll likely earn any money, and maybe fifty will earn significant money for their writers.

Them's long odds. Is it harder to write? No, but I'd say it's harder to write well. Country music has been through a lot of changes, but country lyrics haven't changed all that much, and I think that's the key. Unless it's something totally dance-oriented, you have to start by having something to say that's worth saying, and it goes without saying that everything worth saying's been said several times over, so you also have to figure out a fresh way to say it. (the hard part) The good news is that the time-honored themes of country music are all about stuff everybody goes through; growing up, love, lost love, fun, nostalgia, cheatin' drinkin', murder, God and death. (though some folks are able to bypass the cheatin' and drinkin', and not everybody kills somebody or gets murdered, thankfully) That stuff's pretty much universal, so say something truthful about it and you're halfway there. (easy) The trick is to use fine personal detail to reveal universal truths.

By comparison, the blues is very literal; when you love somebody, you sing, "I love you". (and that's trite, by nearly any standard, but you rely on an extremely passionate performance to make it compelling) In country music, you might sing, "You're the reason God made Oklahoma".

[evanmcgill]

Hmmmm. I'm intrigued! Great information as always. I'm going to see if I can write something country. I've had 1 idea and 1 melody for a while, so let me see what I can put on paper. Gotta try everything once!

Thank you as always.

BTW - "Non-political" picture on the way!

[ottlukk]

Mojo:
"You're the reason God made Oklahoma"? Geezz, i can hear the wind blow over the plain . . . oh wait, that's from some musical. Actually, I spent some time at Fort Sill (Lawton, Oklahoma), don't believe that God made it for me, or any other people who were there . . .
Sorry, feeling metaphysical this evening. Wishing, ala one of all those recent movies that disregard reality, that we could move all those Nashville songwriters to a parallell universe. I'm still working on the script, but country artists would then call Michael, and say, 'I won't even demand half of the songwriting anymore, just because I wrote the comma in the middle of the second chorus" and ask for any country song he's got. Because 20,000 songwriters mysteriously went missing . . . and now Nashville would actually have to consider outside writers . . . at the last moment, before the original 20,000 writers are about to disappear into a black hole, Taxi members have to decide whether to bring them back on the escaping spaceship back to earth (all their agents & publishers have all been previoulsy zapped by arbitrators of another planet's good taste, so have shuffled off all mortal coils, not to mention chart listings). . .
Yet I digress. I suspect my script writing abilities are quite suspect . . . yet, wishing might make it so . . .
Ott

[cameron]

By fairly conservative estimates, there are 20,000 country songwriters in Nashville alone; about half of those don't write anything but country, and about half that many have had a cut. In a given year, about thirty country albums will break even or better. Times roughly ten songs, that's about 300 songs that'll likely earn any money, and maybe fifty will earn significant money for their writers.

One more stat: About 60% of the country songs getting cut now are co-written with the artist. That means you not only have to be a good co-writer, but someone who artists like to hang with.

The part I find discouraging, is that of all the talented songwriters (hundreds perhaps?) I've met in the 2+ years I've been doing this, only one has broken through and had a major cut. That's Jennifer Adan, who had a #1 hit with Blake Shelton's "She Wouldn't Be Gone" which she co-wrote with an established writer. I don't believe that led to a deal for Jen though, and I she's right back in the trenches with the rest of us now, although with a little fatter wallet and a lot more credibility.

Andrew Scott Wills (former Taxi member) has come close by getting a cut on Andy Griggs through winning a contest in which Andy G. himself picked the winning song. Andy Griggs isn't the hot property he was in 1999, but it's still a pretty major accomplishment.

If I can write a song like Allen Reynolds "Dreaming My Dreams" or Bob McDill's "Good Ol Boys Like Me" I'll be a success in my own mind, whether it gets cut or not. That's what keeps me going.

Cam

[evanmcgill]

I've only been in this game for 2 years and TAXI member since Feb, but everything intrigues me. Can't wait to meet so much talent at the Rally!

[Jasonmoshier]

Check out that Mark Wills Song, he changes up the chorus (lyrics) but keeps the meter flow and cadence....."1970's Something?"