THE SONGWRITER
Singer-Songwriter Ne-Yo
Though there are many musicians out there such as singer-songwriter Ne-Yo, who write their own songs, there are many artists that do not or they decide to get a bit of help. A songwriter is just that, a person who writes songs. Professional songwriters may be hired to write a song directly for an artist or to work alongside the artist where both the songwriter and the artist work together. It's not uncommon for an artists' album to consist of more than one songwriter. A staff writer is a songwriter who is signed to an agreement with a publisher which means all their songs are published by the company they have the agreement with and cannot be published anywhere else. The talent of a songwriter is just as important as the talent of a musical artist.
This was a very informative blog, and it sounds very congruent with what I expected from the music industry. However, do you think it makes an artist, in a sense less genuine, when they consult songwriters, than if they had written their own lyrics?
ReplyDeleteAlthough I don't recognize most of the artists mentioned in this blog, the insights into the various roles in the music industry are very enlightening. It is an industry after all, one worth multibillions.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Keyonne's post, I don't believe that it makes an 'artist' seem less genuine, although I do believe artist may not be the right word. Some people are singers, some people are songwriters. And in the industry, there are several more people involved. Gone are the days when one person would be responsible for the whole piece. If that happens again, I'll call it a work of art.
But no, we can't all be both. Take for example Sir Elton John. Credited as being one of the most recognized 'artists' of all time. Great singer, decent songwriter. His writing partner Bernie Taupin has worked with him since 1967. Credited by Elton, certainly, but not recognized as much by the general populace. But some people do prefer to work from the shadows, out of the limelight, and who am I to judge.
In response to Keyonne's post, I don't believe consulting songwriters make an artist less genuine at all. Those who only sing and have songwriters writing their lyrics, I believe would have a lot of input as to what it is that the song is about. There are some musicians who are considered "sell outs" and sing about things that they necessarily do not want to sing about but they do so because it's what the record label wants. Those artists are what I would consider less genuine. The one's who have songwriters, or are also songwriters themselves and sometimes look to other songwriters for help, as long as they stay true to themselves and truly believe in what they are singing about then they are just as genuine in my eyes as those who write all their music without help.
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