Writing Hit Songs - Myths

[ggalen]

I was just reading " 7 Myths and 7 Realities about Songwriting and Commercial Success" by music producer and musical analysis veteran Wayne Chase.Here are a few to get you started thinking, and then the link...Do you agree with this?" Myth #2: Billboard-charted hit songs are great songs.REALITY: No, Billboard-charted hits are not great songs, for the most part.Empirical evidence shows that the great majority of Billboard hits are merely average songs, no different from the average songs written by ordinary songwriters all over the world. After a stint on the charts, nearly all Billboard hits fade away and are totally forgotten. They do not become classics, because they never were good songs in the first place.Songs become Billboard hits for reasons that have nothing to do with song quality. The main reasons: • Pure luck. A mediocre song (one of millions) catches the ear of an influential industry person who decides the song has commercial potential. • Charismatic appeal of the recording artist. • Media hype. A performer catches the ear of an influential music critic. Others in the media jump on the bandwagon. • Cumulative advantage, also known as “the rich get richer” effect, or “first mover” advantage. Music consumers buy what they see others buying, regardless of quality. Recordings by famous performers sell millions, regardless of song quality. • Massive, expensive marketing push. • Strong record production values.At any given time, hardly any genuinely great new songs are available for artists to record, whether self-written or not. As a result, thanks to the above factors, it’s mostly ordinary, undistinguished songs (slickly produced and sung by charismatic performers) that become Billboard hits. Myth #3: If you work hard at writing songs aimed squarely at the “hit song” market, you will eventually succeed as a hit songwriter. The only way to achieve commercial success as a songwriter is to write songs similar to the songs on the Billboard charts.REALITY: No, you probably will not succeed as a “hit songwriter.” And no, chart success is not, by any means, the only way to become commercially successful as a songwriter.Millions of songwriters waste large amounts of time—years or decades of their lives—working hard at writing songs with “the market” in mind. Hardly any songwriters who “write for the market” actually achieve any significant commercial success.If you take the route of writing for the hit song market, the odds are very poor that you will ever make a good, full-time living on your songwriting.On the other hand, if you learn the skills and techniques that great songwriters use, you will have an excellent shot at commercial success, because you will have no competition. There always has been, and always will be, a huge market for brilliant songs. The supply is very limited because hardly any songwriters know what they’re doing. They simply do not have the skills to write brilliant songs.To reiterate ... Great songs have always been in extremely high demand, but there is an extremely low supply.LINK:http://www.howmusicreallyworks.com/PGS_ ... m#Myth%201

[ibanez468]

Uh-oh! I feel a debate brewing!

[ggalen]

Quote:Uh-oh! I feel a debate brewing!Yeah, this was disconcerting. I'm sure there are other views here from people who may know more about this than I do. It would be interesting to hear their take on it.I know this fellow is selling a book. But is he actually correct or just basically full of crap?

[andreh]

Quote:Uh-oh! I feel a debate brewing!Me too! I'm even trying to hold myself back... André

[sgs4u]

I ain't a skert. the guy is selling a book, so he's likely going to make statements designed to get people discussing his points of view. The part about having no competition, reads like bullshit to me. I simply think there is always more than one effective road to personal satisfaction, nirvana, or songwriting success.carry on...

[davekershaw]

Quote:The part about having no competition, reads like bullshit to me. Couldn't agree more!"less" competition might have got by, but that's not as controversial.

[matto]

It's a sales pitch...Although, saying that most writers who get their songs on the Billboard charts are "ordinary" and basically just hacks who got lucky, is perhaps just a tad ridiculous coming from somebody who apparently has never written or produced anything musical of note. I'm sure he knows how to...he's just too busy writing all these books matto

[sgs4u]

Glen, if i wrote a book, would you read it? If I wrote a book about songwriting, production and marketing, what should be in it?What is most inexplicably never mentioned about making music for profit?

[ciskokidd]

Man, what a load of BS!Almost every single song that has become a "classic" charted at one point or another.If you don't write "for the market" how the hell are you supposed to write anything even remotely resembling a hit song? Once again, let me point to all the great Nashville songwriters who do nothing but write "for the market", not to mention pretty much every great pop songwriter in history. What were all the Motown, Stax, and Brill Building writers writing for? Oh yeah, "for the market"!!I wonder if this guy is writing books "for the market". Let me take a wild guess and say ABSOFRICKENLUTELY!!!Is he maybe a tad bit jealous of all the great songwriters out there and maybe even all the great writers period? HMMM?Okay, tirade over.Cisko

[ggalen]

I don't know what to think. I am trying to figure it out, as are we all.The part about no competition sounds wrong. Unless he means that if you write truly great songs then you won't have real competition.As with most things, there is probably both hype here and some truth...just have to sort it out. Guess that's our individual task. Looking to hear what others with more experience than I think about it all.