How To Write Songs That SELL, And How To SELL Your Songs
Posted by Davy on / 0 Comments
Have you ever asked yourself – how come some songwriters can write songs that sell and generate money on the radio, in commercials, on tv shows, movies, and your favorite department stores – and some songwriters just can’t figure it out, and their songs never quite make it?
We all heard that it takes 10,000 hours to master a craft, but that doesn’t mean that after 10,000 hours you’ll make a living at your craft! And while the emotional reward of writing a great song is like nothing else, your bank account won’t get filled up with emotional rewards. It takes cash to do that. So if you you want to know how to write songs that SELL, and how to SELL your songs, read on.
WRITING SONGS THAT SELL
In today’s world, recording music is very cheap compared to 20 years ago. Literally anyone with a laptop can write a song, record, produce and mix it, and then send it out into the world. With that kind of competition, your songs have to not only stand out, but they also have to be ACCESSIBLE.
What does that mean? It means that they have to be easy on the ear, in writing, and execution (production and recording). Here are a few tips to make your songs more listenable and competitive in today’s market:
Big Chorus: There’s nothing quite like it. When you write a memorable, easy to sing along to chorus, you feel like you’ve won the whole world. Some examples of songs with big choruses from the last ten years:
“Firework” by Katy Perry
“Born this way” by Lady Gaga
“Happy” by Pharrell Williams
“Just the way you are” By Bruno Mars
“Hello” By Adele.
When you hear a great big chorus, it’s undeniable. You want your songs to have those types of choruses. The more you write choruses, the better you’ll get at it, but it’s important that you set your intention on writing HUGE choruses. A few techniques that make a big chorus:
- Long held out notes (“Roar” Katy Perry, “Since U Been Gone” Kelly Clarkson)
- Memorable lyrics (“Someone like you” Adele)
- Repetition (“Get Lucky” Daft Punk, “Umbrella” Rihanna)
- High soaring melody (“Empire state of mind” by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys)
- Contrast: this is an advanced tool and a compelling one. Make your melody in the chorus contrast what came before it; if your verse had long notes, make the chorus have short notes. If it was low notes, your chorus should be high notes. Experiment with introducing elements in the melody that weren’t in the song before. (ex. “We are Young” by Fun. – the chorus here is in a different tempo!)
- Simplify! If it’s too complicated to sing, it’s not going to be memorable. Listen to a lot of songs with great big choruses, the ones that get stuck in your head. You want your chorus to get stuck in your head first, then in everyone else’s that hears it. You’ll know when you got one.
Structure: No need to reinvent the wheel here. People still haven’t gotten sick of the Verse-PreChorus-Chorus form. For your songs to be commercially viable, they should be in this form. Analyze songs that are selling in the market you’re going for and simply ‘borrow’ their form. Write the form down and make sure your song follows it. Do it as an exercise, and after a while, it will become second nature to you. Analyzing a song form can look like this:
Intro – 4 bars/Verse 1 – 8 bars/Pre Chorus – 8 bars/Chorus – 8 bars/
Post Chorus – 4 bars/Verse 2 – 8 bars/Pre Chorus – 4 bars/
Chorus – 8 bars/Post Chorus – 4 bars/Bridge – 8 bars/
Breakdown Chorus – 4 bars/Chorus – 8 bars/Chorus – 8 bars
The more of these you do, you’ll start seeing a pattern emerge. Stick to the forms that work, and your songs will be more listenable immediately.
Lyrics: There are a million books out there on lyric writing, a lot of them are great. I recommend picking up a few and reading everything you can get your hands on. Here are a few quick tips that apply to any song in any style:
- Phonetics: This is often overlooked; It’s how lyrics SOUND when sung. You can write the most poignant deepest line you’ve ever written, but if it doesn’t roll off the tongue and doesn’t fit your melody, it won’t work. It’s not enough to tell a great story. It has to sound good as well. The more comfortable a lyric is to sing, the more memorable the song will be.
- Opening Line: Super important! Your opening line is the entry to the song, bringing the listener in. Make it interesting, make the listener curious about what’s to come.
- Repetition is key: Repetition of lyrics drives the point home and make lyrics and melodies stick in the listeners head more.
- Trim the fat: Read back the entire lyric. Can you take out some lyrics? Especially look out for ‘and,’ ‘but,’ ‘if,’ and ’so.’ The more concise your lyrics are, the better.
Presentation: (the demo) This is everything. You got a great song, the form is right, your chorus is infectious. Now you have to record and produce it. This is a make or break step. Gone are the days of submitting songs with a tape recording of a piano and vocal demo. So, where do you start??
- The Track: If you don’t produce yourself, then link up with a producer friend who wants to partner up and produce your song. You might form a long-lasting mutually beneficial partnership! Without the song, the producer has nothing to produce, and without the track, your song doesn’t have the representation it needs. Make sure the track is complimenting the song, making it sound better than you could have imagined. It must sound current, fresh, exciting and fitting for the pitch.
- The Vocal: This is also a make or break step. An amazing song with an amazing track will NOT sell if the vocal isn’t SELLING it. If you don’t sing yourself, hire demo singers who will bring your song to life and make it sound like a million bucks. Make sure the vocal performance is powerful, emotional and convincing.
Also, don’t skip out on background vocals! Take the time, find the right parts, and stack your vocals. This is lots of fun! With today’s technology, you can do all of this at home with a laptop, a decent microphone, and a good recording room. You don’t have to spend thousands on expensive microphones, preamps or sound booths. - The Mix: Again, don’t spend thousands of dollars on mixing gear (if that’s not your thing), and you don’t necessarily need to pay someone lots of money to mix your demos. But you do want to have your songs mixed before you send them out for potential gigs. Find a friend, hire someone in your city who won’t charge you a lot, or learn how to mix yourself. There are tons of resources online on how to mix your songs. Knowledge is power!
Remember, writing, recording and producing great songs takes time. The more you do it, the better you’ll get at it.
HOW TO SELL YOUR SONGS
Now that your songs SOUND like money, how do you turn them INTO money? The music industry is continually changing, and navigating the different avenues of generating revenue, can be tricky. So let’s talk about a few of them here.
Writing songs for famous artists: Ah, the holy grail of songwriting. It would be so cool if we could get our song to Beyonce, she released it, and it was a big hit. But how does one do that?
Well, it’s not very simple. Usually, when a famous artist records a new project, they can listen to hundreds of songs, record 80, and release 12. So the odds of getting on the album are slim. Someone once said ‘Every cut is a miracle,’ and that’s very true. But you wrote a song that you think is amazing and would be perfect for Beyonce. Assuming that the song IS fantastic, here are a couple of things to think about:
- Pitching: So let’s say you got a great song, and your demo is rocking. How do you get the song into the hands of the artist’s A&R? Research, research, and more research! Read interviews, album notes, search google, ask around. If you can’t get to the A&R, many times, you can get a song to the artist by way of their management, lawyer, even personal assistants. If your song really is that good, people will want to forward it to the right place.
- Getting in the room: Another way of getting songs sold to artists is to be a part of the inner circle of writers and producers who are writing for an artist’s next project.
Also, not very easy to do, but it’s all about who you know. Befriend producers and other songwriters. Write with different people all the time, and develop creative relationships. You want to be known as the person people just HAVE to have in the room – be it for your lyrical genius, your emotional melodies or bangin’ beats.
Writing songs for local unsigned artists: Start where you are; you might not live in Los Angeles, New York or Nashville (where most of the music industry is), but there are people in your city and hometown who are dying to make albums and release music. Writing and producing songs for local talent is always a great way to hone your skills.
Here are some places you could look for potential clients: Craigslist.org, Soundbetter.com, or go check out local bands/singer/songwriters and offer your services. And of course, word of mouth is a tried and true way of getting these kinds of gigs. Set up a web page or a Facebook business page offering your services, with song examples, pictures of your studio setup, and your bio. You want to write and produce as much as possible, so when starting, any gig is a good one. If you set up an account on Soundbetter.com for example, you might get asked to write songs for birthdays, weddings, etc. It’s great practice! Start small and grow.
Writing songs for TV, film, and commercials: Again, start where you are! There might be a local business who need commercials for radio, TV or their website. Reach out to people by email, or go and talk to someone. Same with your local TV station, they always need music, and will often give a local musician a break. But in the internet age we live in, you could live anywhere and write music for TV and film; again, it’s who you know. Reach out to music supervisors (the people who decide what music gets played in movies or TV shows), set up a web page with examples
of your work, and network.
Another good way of getting in the door is writing with someone who already has connections to the TV and film world, who could get the work you do together heard. Partnerships in music are always beneficial for everyone involved; two (or three) are more powerful than one!
The most important thing to remember is to be persistent and patient. Selling your songs can take years sometimes. Years of practice, getting to be a better songwriter and producer, and years of rejection! It’s all part of it. Getting the cut sometimes is like climbing Mount Everest – it will take many years of trying, failing and getting back up. But once you get that Beyonce cut – you’ll be laughing all the way to the bank, and it’ll all be worth it.
Davy Nathan is a Grammy-nominated songwriter, producer, and musical director. His experience working with artists such as Christina Aguilera, Toni Braxton, Jason Derulo, NKOTB and others has put him at the center of the creative process for some of the greatest all time performers and writers in the industry. He is passionate about sharing his wealth of knowledge with the next generation of hitmakers.