Archive for the ‘Songwriting’ Category

I wanted to stick up a very quick post to bring hope to aspiring artists, yet also hammer home once again our core argument.

Maybe we’re finally getting to the time where a few artists really can break ‘big time’ without the record company machine, thanks to their own online efforts. Maybe.

Adam Young – he is Owl City – is an inspiration to the DIY musician using MySpace (still….) as their primary marketing tool. The story goes that Adam started recording in his basement and posting material to his MySpace profile with no real plan to speak of. (I’d heard the buzz and then Bob Lefsetz mentioned him today – and I got to thinking!)

Soon enough, people began to take notice and word spread – in the viral and natural way that online music discovery has long promised and only occasionally delivered. Two self-released albums and mammoth MySpace attention led to the moment of truth, and Adam, understandably, went for the old-school record deal with Universal.

Did he need to?

I think we’re still at the point in time that an international Major record company can push an artist with a groundswell of support far more successfully than they can on their own. Whilst the internet was fundamental to his early success and awareness, the world remains a big place in which to ship physical stock (and more than half the people still want CD’s!) and to drive radio and TV exposure. Sure, a lot of kids find new music on the web, but many don’t and all sorts of people still rely on the mainstream media to push things at them rather than discovering for themselves. Add to that, ‘offline buzz’ and personal recommendation, both of which can be amplified by the cash injection and expertise offered by those dinosaur record companies.

My view – they still have a lot to offer.

On the other hand, what he was doing to get noticed by those companies is exactly the same stuff that needs to be done to build the online buzz about your band and build a real fanbase – so do it anyway.

What can we learn from his experience?

1. He’s very talented and his material is great – you know we bang on about this a lot, but all the web promotion and Social Networking in the world is pointless if your material is crap. Study your craft, hone your skills and then present to the world.

2. He’s very prolific – Owl City was the third or fourth project that he had worked on. And he didn’t just sit there and do it half-heartedly. He finished songs, finished recordings, put them on the web. All the time perfecting his art and learning skills to promote himself – through experience.

3. He engaged with the feedback that he got – honestly and openly. If you’re seeking to build a following these days, you need to be available to your fans in a way that old school stars never were. It’s a mutually beneficial journey now – not you and the fan divided by awe. Look at how Imogen Heap talks to her artists and revels in their intense feedback.

4. Now that he is signed to Universal, they have amplified his web-presence with a light but skilled touch. Have a good look around his official site and see what they now offer – loads of information, his personal blog, streamed music, buy links, radio request telephone numbers, links to all his Social Networks, Street Team sign-up, mailing list, a forum, wallpapers and banners…… The site is a lesson in how to do it right. Not too flash, just nicely designed and stuffed with content that shouts out his appreciation of his fans. The only thing I’d add is a dedicated YouTube channel and Flickr page.

So, look & learn – be great at your art, push it out there, communicate and climb higher. If you do and the Major record label A&R guy comes calling, it might be the right thing to do, or, maybe, just maybe, you’ll decide to keep going it alone – and soon that really will be an option.

Read about Adam Young and Owl City below:

Owl City Official Site

Owl City Wiki

Star Tribune – article on Owl City success

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A Guest Post by Fraser Smith

What makes a great song? It’s a big question, and one that has been written about endlessly in an attempt to unravel the “formula” for creating a world dominating smash hit record. Sure, there are some basic rules and if you were to examine a handful of the most successful or popular songs of the last four decades, they do have certain things in common. Intro, verse, bridge, chorus, verse, bridge, chorus, middle 8, chorus, chorus etc springs to mind!

We can examine things like structure, melody and production very easily but for a greater understanding of the “smash”, we need to look at concepts. Have you ever wondered why some songs seem to “connect” with people and others don’t? When asked why people like a song, they will usually say something along the lines of “I like the tune” or “it’s got a great beat”. Very rarely will the average music consumer tell you they love a song because of the clever way it’s been written, or because the music sounds like it was really hard to play. People simply aren’t interested in that stuff. They’re interested in the elusive combination of a great melody and a lyric that they can relate to, and preferably sing along to.

Of course this isn’t true of all genres of music, but for the purposes of this piece I’m referring mainly to pop music, as this is the domain of the hit single! Yes, there are lots of brilliant, intelligent musicians and songwriters out there whose music isn’t even near the radio and probably never will be. Whilst the music industry is partly responsible for this, it doesn’t change the fact that (generally speaking) if you want to have a big song, you have to be able to connect with lots of people. And that means delivering a message that is clear, simple, catchy and easy to relate to.

This means thinking very carefully about what you’re song is actually about. It can be so easy to get wrapped up in the details of the music itself, such as which chords to use? How the melody should go?  How should the snare drum sound? Sometimes the central concept of the song can often end up as an afterthought.

As a producer and songwriter, I get to hear lot of demos from new artists, some of whom are quick to tell me very confidently which of their songs are the singles, or “radio friendly”. More often than not, the song they point out is the one they’ve laboured over the most, or the song with the lyrics about their ex girlfriend / boyfriend. Sometimes this can mean their lyrics are so personal to them that they’re in danger of not meaning anything to anyone else! So it helps a lot if you are able to step back from your work and ask yourself – if I had never heard this song, what would I think about it? Do I know what it’s about? More importantly, do I care what it’s about?

Let’s look at a couple of recent example of the smash hit song. Love him or hate him, James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful” was undeniably one of the big pop songs of 2005, launching a multi-million selling worldwide career for the artist. Cynics will point out that there was a major label and some powerful marketing behind him, which is also true, but they were marketing something that was already going to be relatively easy to sell, because of the simplicity of the concept, the music and the lyrics. I don’t think it’s too unreasonable to suggest that without this song, the level of his success wouldn’t have been as great, and it certainly wouldn’t have happened as quickly.

The sentiment behind Blunt’s song is extremely simple. Perhaps this is why people connected with it? It’s essentially a “grass is greener” song, where the main character is imagining a relationship with a stranger he’s just encountered. It’s also very memorable, even from a first listen. You may not know all the words to the verses straight away, but the chorus is instant. There is never a moment where you’re not sure what the lyrics are because “you can’t hear them properly”.

Now imagine the same music, but with cryptic, clever lyrics that only you understand. Does the song still have the same ability to connect with a large audience? Or just to you? (This can lead us into a whole other area – who are you writing music for, but that’s another topic in itself!) Now try it the other way around; take the lyrics and sing them with a new melody over some complex chords in a clever time signature – is it still a hit? it’s very unlikely!

In 2007, Rihanna’s “Umbrella” had a similar impact on the world of pop. The song is built on an infectious beat and very few chords, and again there is a strong concept behind this song. If you look at the lyrics it’s more than just another “I love you baby” type thing, but it also has a very simple main hook, which hits you the first time you get to what I call the “pay off”,  the “ella – ella – ella – eh – eh – eh” bit, an infuriatingly catchy modern pop moment!

Would the song stand up without this hook / gimmick? Yes I think it would, because the gimmick sounds like an addition to the concept, not the concept itself. In other words “Umbrella” is already strong without it, but as a pop record this hook puts into a whole other league. 

What I’m getting at here is the importance of considering exactly what it is you’re saying in your songs. It’s not usually enough just to have a great beat or a great riff, try and think of these things as the starting point!

It’s also important not to confuse “simple” ideas with “dumb” ideas.  Writing complicated pop lyrics is relatively easy compared with writing good simple pop lyrics, and great lyricists will write on several levels providing you with deeper meanings if you want to look for them. This is a skill that is harder than it sounds and can take a long time to develop.

Early Motown records are a good example of this sort of thing, where the writers provided a catchy “surface” meaning that sounded like great pop music, but underneath there was often another motivation (sometimes with social or political overtones). Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye were among those who dabbled with this sort of writing, and were responsible for creating some staple pop hits that were accessible to everyone, but often had a second “layer” of meaning.

So you don’t have to “dumb down” your masterpiece to get your message across, just try disguising it a bit, and you’ll be adding depth to your work and you’ll be in good company!

Of course the most important part in focusing on the concept of your song is having a concept to begin with. What do people want to hear about? Themes of love and loss are the most popular; anecdotes about feeding your cat will not grab people’s attention the same way. If you spend a bit of time considering what you’re actually saying, and how people will interpret your “message”, you should be able give your work a better chance of connecting with your audience.

Instead of spending three hours on the snare drum, spend three hours on making your central idea something people can relate to, as generally people don’t listen to songs because of how the drums sound! And you never know, you may even be giving yourself a greater chance at that world dominating chart-topping success in the process…..

Fraser Smith
Fraser Smith is a record producer, songwriter and musician. Currently signed to Notting Hill Music, he has written, produced and mixed records for many artists worldwide, as well as enjoying top 40 success with his previous band Shed Seven. 

A version of this article has previously appeared on IXL

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What is the number one thing that you need to know in order to make it in the music industry?

It’s the thing that the greatest artists all know and it’s the one thing that all record company A&R guys and managers are actually really looking for – no matter what other bullshit they might feed you.

Imagine what you can do for your career when you actually face up to this fact and this challenge.

And it’s simple. You must learn how to write a great song and also learn how to identify it when you’ve done it. Simple, but I’m afraid it’s not easy.

This is an edited version of one of the 10 Key Steps that we talk about in the guide that you can get from us by signing up over there on the sidebar at the right.

I decided to cut it down and use it as our second post as it is the most essential piece of advice you will ever get about how to make it as a recording and performing artist. Period!

This is the golden rule. Make no bones about it – without this you may as well pack it in now and go and do something much more sensible.

I’m really just handing on two of the greatest pieces of advice that I was ever given in this industry about songs:

(i) All the greatest songs are either basically ‘I Love You’ or ‘I Hate You / Don’t Need You / Am Better Off Without You’ etc; and

(ii) There are very, very, very few great songs and most bands / acts / artists only have one, or a handful, and that can sustain them for a career.

These are two pretty strong but simple, perhaps even obvious, statements but they need clarification and a pinch of salt for all their brilliance.

On the first point, if you look at your national music chart I guarantee that more than half the Top 40 or 20 or Hot 100 or whatever you have where you live, will be essentially conforming to that ‘I love you / I hate you’ paradigm. If you include general self-empowerment, I’ll bet its more like two-thirds. Not all of them will have an obvious title containing ‘love’ or ‘hate’ words but the basic lyrical theme will be on that topic.

In most cases, great songs are about raw human emotion.

On the second point, look at a career band once they have made four or five albums, and you are likely going to see something around 50 to 75 songs that they have recorded and released. How many of them are poor, how many are average, how many are good, how many are very good and how many are truly great? The answer is, not many, a handful.

It’s such a hard thing to define, but being truly great must mean that it’s a song that emotionally connects, moves you on a basic level and is so hooky that it’s in your head all day long. You know when you hear one, but they are hard to capture, hard to define, and crucially, really bloody hard to write!

But you know from your own experience that it really can take just one great song to break a band or act, and one per album from then on is enough to sustain the career momentum. If that is backed up with a bunch of very good songs, then even better. We all know of bands that seemed to go on and on for years with mediocre material after one huge smash.

Don’t set out at the start of your musical journey trying to write a hit song. You need to do some practice and it’s going to take time. What people forget is that songwriting is a craft.

Like any craft, experience and learning are key. You should study hit songs and try to take them apart and see why they emotionally touch you and why they work. You should try and identify the tricks of the trade. And then, later, you should set the toolkit that you have built to work at writing great songs.

I’m afraid I can’t teach you how to do it though! Sorry, I’ve been behind the scenes in the Music Industry, not out there being creative. There is good advice out there, but what I would hope you’d take in from this post is that you need to learn and perfect the skill.

I do know that for most songwriters I have worked with, they let the melody come first and let it dictate the flow of the lyrics. A melody isn’t good enough if you can’t easily remember it. Simplicity is a key part of their toolkit too. All too often a great talent fails because they over complicate a song and ruining it. K.I.S.S – Keep It Simple Stupid!

One last thing. Don’t think that a song has to be the way you first came up with it – there is always room for improvement. Smokey Robinson, not content with having written ‘My Guy’ for Mary Wells (fulfilling the golden rule above – unconditional love from a female perspective), then went a year later and wrote the flip version of that for the Temptations – ‘My Girl’. But, so the story goes, he and Ronald White knocked the song out in an hour or two and played it to Berry Gordy at Motown convinced that it was a hit.

He wasn’t impressed and they had to go away, rewrite and re-pitch it at least three more times, spending 50 hours plus on it before he agreed. They changed notes around, moved lines from the bridge to the intro, honed lyrics etc. Maybe it’s a myth, maybe it’s all true, but the lesson is clear. Keep honing a song until you know it’s a smash.

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