My name is Callum Fitzgerald. I am a First Year Undergraduate Songwriting student at Leeds Conservatoire. For my research portfolio, I will be researching the profession of Songwriting.
In terms of the academic and professional qualifications and experience needed to enter this profession, although an academic qualification isn’t essential to work in this field, a qualification in music or songwriting can go a long way in your credibility in the industry and your understanding of the business and music/music theory in general. An academic qualification could make you stand out compared to someone without one. Studying your profession at university will help you develop a sense of how to survive and excel in the industry. You will be given the opportunity to work with a plethora of musicians during your studies, which is valuable experience that will go a long way in this profession. You may also make industry connections during your studies, which is something that is particularly important in songwriting, when writing for yourself or others. Studying music theory can go a long way in being a songwriter, as having theory knowledge will help you become a more diverse and knowledgeable musician, able to write in multiple genres, effectively communicate music/musical ideas to clients and others through notation and write music for a wide range of instruments. Knowing music theory can also help you write quicker, which can be an essential skill for a songwriter if they have many clients – ‘Music Theory can help composers save time by allowing them to make educated choices about how to organise their songs. They can spot and correct errors without wondering why something doesn’t sound right.’ (Alla’s Music Studio, 2023) Experience unrelated to theory that is beneficial to a songwriter include experience in self-employment. Whilst you do not have to of worked for yourself in for a living exactly, being able to manage your own promotion, finance, portfolio etc, is an essential skill for a career, especially to begin as you won’t have a personal team and a manager to organise you.
Some knowledge and skills a songwriter may need include- networking. Networking is a very important skill for a songwriter as before you have a personal team/manager, you will be working DIY so having the skills to make connections within the industry is especially important. ‘The most important part of building a career as a songwriter is building a network, establishing good contacts, and schmoozing.’ (Keppie, 2021) Another skill essential for songwriters is communication, a crucial skill as you may choose to write for other people so you will have to be able to communicate your ideas to them. ‘I feel that composers have to master the art of “musical” communication just like we all have to master effective verbal communication to get our ideas across.’ (Nabors, B.R 2021) An integral skill for a songwriter is promotional skills. Before you have others to manage your promotional endeavours, you will need to effectively promote yourself to appeal to potential clients. More knowledge needed to be a songwriter are- songwriting structure. Being able to produce strong song structures will make it easier and more enjoyable for the listener listening to your compositions. Being knowledgeable of how to make original music. This is because people are also looking to hear original sounding music, since the industry has been watered down with unoriginal songs, original music is what ultimately makes you stand out. Also, writing a song that closely resembles another can get you in trouble and fined money due to copyright. Here is an example of copyright infringement in popular music from the past ten years – ‘Radiohead or their people claim that Lana Del Rey’s tune “Get Free” is stolen from “Creep.”’ (Rick Beato, 2018)
Although there is not a “typical day” of work for a songwriter, an example of an activity that a songwriter does is demoing. Demoing/portfolio work is essential in songwriting. Whether you’re writing for yourself or somebody else, working on songs for your portfolio is essential, as without writing any music you would not be considered a “songwriter”. Demoing is especially crucial in: communicating your ideas to others, experimenting with your songs, being able to show you’re track to a producer/label before booking studio time, etc. Another responsibility of a songwriter is promotional material. Whether it is promoting yourself to other artists, promoting gigs, etc- promotion is essential. The most crucial responsibility for songwriters is setting up your licenses. If you do not set up your PRS licenses for example, you will not be able to claim any of the royalties for your music. ‘PRS for Music Ltd (the PRS stands for “Performing Right Society”) represents the interests of its members who compose and write music and lyrics i.e. composers, songwriters and publishers of music. PRS for Music licenses the public performance of original musical works, however performed (i.e. live or otherwise).’ (Durham Fringe Festival 2025, 2024)
As stated before, in terms of legal issues for songwriters, copyright is one of the biggest. Copyright is also an especially important thing to set up as a songwriter, as it offers a layer of protection for your music, preventing it from being copied or distributed by others. Setting up copyright means you have a public record of your ownership claim, meaning you can take legal action if somebody else copies your work. If you do not set this up, you will not be able to take legal action for infringement. Another legal issue is unfair loyalty shares. When working with others, particularly bigger artists, many can be inclined to take as much of the royalties as possible even if they didn’t have much input during the songwriting process. This means that the songwriter will not get paid as much as they should for their work. This can lead to the problem potentially being brought to court, and often if the bigger artist has a better lawyer, you could lose the case. ‘In 2015, Mr Silveria sued the band, claiming that he was not given his fair share of royalties since he left the band. Korn issued a counter-claim against their former drummer…’ (Briffa, 2019)
In terms of marketing and promoting yourself as a songwriter, there are many ways to do it. One enormously powerful form of promotion in the modern industry is social media. In an age where most people have multiple social media accounts, social media is an accessible way of discovering new music for everyone. However, there are correct ways of marketing yourself on social media depending on the platform you are using. For example, TikTok is a social media platform which relies heavily on trends and fast-paced content. If you want to gain as many viewers as possible on TikTok, you need to use trending hashtags that a lot of people from your target audience are following. Due to the fast-paced nature of TikTok, you also need to make sure that your post catches people’s attention. For example, one way you can do this is by using a “hook” line at the beginning of your post to prevent people from scrolling past your video. This is because the average TikTok user has a shorter attention span, meaning you need to grab your audience’s attention straight away. ‘A study conducted by ‘Microsoft, published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior, served up some eye-opening findings. After just 20 minutes on TikTok, users experienced a “significant decrease” in attention span…’ (Vikrant, N, 2024) In terms of marketing yourself outside of social media, a great way of doing this is by attending a large number of events and playing live music on a regular basis. By doing this, you can network with many other musicians, music fans and even industry representatives.
Some of the intellectual and personal issues a songwriter might run into can significantly affect workflow. For example, writer’s block is a huge issue for songwriters; writer’s block is where a songwriter is unable to produce new music due to many reasons. These reasons include: perfectionism, burnout, over-planning, apathy, etc. One example of a musician who experienced writers block is Radiohead’s Thom Yorke. After touring the band’s third album “OK Computer” (Parlophone and Capitol, 1997) ,Yorke experienced writer’s block – “It kind of shut me down, and so whenever I tried to write something[…] I sort of froze[…] I remember sitting, endlessly, endlessly playing the riff for ‘Everything in its Right Place,’ sort of trying to meditate my way out of it and not being able to.” (Bell, K, 2021) Issues like this can be fixed by, for example, trying a new method of writing. When a writer is dependent on one particular method of writing, they can hit a wall and not be able to write as well with it, so trying out new methodologies is a clever way of overcoming this issue. One thing a lot of songwriters struggle with is not finishing a song because they don’t think it’s good enough. This can be a substantial issue; often writers may not make a client’s deadline as they cannot produce a composition they deem to be “good enough” which can end up with writers ending up in legal trouble if they’re contracted to finish said song before the deadline. This can also be a huge issue for new songwriters, as they may take a long time to build up a portfolio, preventing them from making further steps in their careers. A way of fixing this problem is by listening to new music. When we listen to the same music repeatedly, it is fresh in our minds so taking a break from listening to the music in question and listening to new music is a good way of refreshing our minds, allowing us to write music without being in question of minute details that ultimately don’t matter.
There are some very interesting and exciting career progression/development opportunities for songwriters. One extremely exciting opportunity for songwriters is writing music for films. Writing music for films is an exciting career opportunity for songwriters. Writing film music can teach you new songwriting techniques and open up a whole new mindset for writing music, whilst still expanding on your portfolio due to the nature of the opportunity proving your flexibility as a writer. Multi-instrumentalist and one of the songwriters of Radiohead – Jonny Greenwood, has gone onto write scores for a wide array of films. ‘Greenwood also writes a lot of film music that’s more avant garde, but some of the avant garde music is influenced by his love of baroque. He studied classical music when he was young, played in a youth orchestra and has been a composer in residence at the BBC Concert Orchestra.’ (NPR Music, 2022) Another exciting way a songwriter can progress in the field is by writing music for bigger artists. Some of the world’s biggest artists have songwriters to write music for/with them, opening up an array of other opportunities for songwriters along the way. One extremely famous example of this is songwriter – Bernie Taupin. Taupin has been writing lyrics for Elton John for over half a century-‘Taupin and John are responsible for more than 35 gold and 25 platinum albums, 30 consecutive U.S. Top 40 hits, have sold more than 255 million records worldwide, and hold the record for the biggest-selling single of all time, Candle In the Wind ’97, with more than 33 million copies sold.’ (Bertram, C, 2023) Songwriters can also go on to work in the field of “jingle writing”. “Jingles” are a type of short composition, often used in advertisements. Adverts for companies such as Go Compare are often known for not only their companies’ services but also their famous jingles. ‘The Go Compare jingle was the most-played piece of music in radio and TV adverts last year.’ (Sweeney, M, 2013) Writers can make a huge amount of income from royalties due to the fact that their jingle could be played a huge number of times on Television to millions of people.
Bibliography
Alla’s Music Studio (2023) – How Can Music Theory Help Me With Songwriting Or Composing Music? – https://allasmusicstudio.com.au/how-can-music-theory-help-me-with-songwriting-or-composing-music/#:~:text=In%20conclusion%2C%20music%20theory%20is,and%20communicate%20your%20ideas%20effectively
Accessed – 23rd December 2024
Keppie (2021) – How to Successfully Network as a Songwriter – my answer to a slightly petulant question on my YouTube channel – https://howtowritesongs.org/2021/12/27/how-to-successfully-network-as-a-songwriter-my-answer-to-a-slightly-petulant-question-on-my-youtube-channel/
Accessed – 26th December 2024
Nabors, B.R (2021) – Composing: Effective Communication with Your Listeners Through Your Music…My two cents… – https://www.briannabors.com/post/composing-effective-communication-with-your-listeners-through-your-music-my-two-cents
Accessed – 26th December 2024
Rick Beato (2018) – Radiohead vs Lana Del Rey | Did They Write The Same Song – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV8jYTfxJTI&t=139s
Accessed – 27th December 2024
Durham Fringe Festival 2025 (2024) – PRS and PPL explained – https://durhamfringe.co.uk/prs-ppl-explained/
Accessed – 28th December 2024
Briffa (2019) – When musicians sue their own band over money – https://www.briffa.com/blog/litigation-when-musicians-sue-own-band-over-money/
Accessed – 28th December 2024
Vikrant, N (2024) – Attention Span: The Goldfish, TikTok and Us – https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/attention-span-goldfish-tiktok-us-vikrant-neb-luwaf#:~:text=A%20study%20conducted%20by%20Microsoft,attention%20span%20and%20working%20memory.
Accessed – 29th December 2024
Bell, K (2021) – Thom Yorke Discusses His Debilitating Writer’s Block When Making Radiohead’s ‘Kid A’ – https://exclaim.ca/music/article/thom_yorke_discusses_his_debilitating_writers_block_when_making_radioheads_kid_a
Accessed – 2nd January 2025
Radiohead (1997) – OK Computer – Parlophone and Capitol
Accessed – 2nd January 2025
NPR Music (2022) – For Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, there are no rules to composing for film – https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1078802881
Accessed – 3rd January 2025
Bertram, C (2023) – Meet Bernie Taupin, the Writer Behind Elton John’s Biggest Hits – https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-bernie-taupin
Accessed – 3rd January 2025
Sweeney, M (2013) – Go Compare jingle was most-played music in adverts last year – https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/may/02/go-compare-jingle-most-played-adverts
Accessed – 3rd January 2025
