n.
One who writes lyrics or tunes, or both, for songs. Also called songsmith, songster.
On this page
- Animal Life
- Business & Finance
- Cars & Vehicles
- Entertainment & Arts
- Food & Cooking
- Health
- History, Politics, Society
- Home & Garden
- Law & Legal Issues
- Literature & Language
- Miscellaneous
- Religion & Spirituality
- Science
- Sports
- Technology
- Travel & Places
- Q & A
songwriter
American Heritage Dictionary:
song·writ·er |
n.
One who writes lyrics or tunes, or both, for songs. Also called songsmith, songster.
|
Featured Videos:
|
Random House Word Menu:
categories related to 'songwriter' |
- Performance, Airplay, and the Recording Industry - songwriter: composer of music and sometimes lyrics for short musical pieces usu. made up of verses, chorus, and bridge
Rhymes:
songsmith |
Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary:
songwriter |
See crossword solutions for the clue Songsmith.
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Songwriter |
For other uses, see Songwriter (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with lyricist.
Not to be confused with composer.
A songwriter is an individual who writes songs. Although songwriters of the past commonly composed, arranged and played their own songs, more recently the pressure to produce popular hits has tended to distribute responsibility between a number of people.[1] Popular culture songs may be written by group members, but are now usually written by staff writers: songwriters directly employed by music publishers.[1]
Some songwriters serve as their own music publishers, while others have outside publishers.[1] Further more, songwriters no longer need labels to support their music. Technology has advanced to the point where anyone can record at home.
The old-style apprenticeship approach to learning how to write songs is being supplemented by some universities and colleges and rock schools.[1] A knowledge of modern music technology and business skills are seen as necessary to make a songwriting career, and music colleges offer songwriting diplomas and degrees with music business modules.[1]
Since songwriting and publishing royalties can be a substantial source of income, particularly if a song becomes a hit record, legally, in the US, songs written after 1934 may only be copied e authors. The legal power to grant these permissions may be bought, sold or transferred. This is governed by international copyright law.[1]
Professional songwriters can either be employed to write directly for or alongside a performing artist, or they pitch songs to A&R, publishers, agents and managers for consideration. Song pitching can be done on a songwriter's behalf by their publisher or independently using tip sheets like "RowFax", the MusicRow publication, and SongQuarters.[1]
The staff writer
Songwriters signed to an exclusive songwriting agreement with a publisher are known as "staff writers". Being a staff-writer effectively means that during the term of a songwriter's contract with a publisher, all their songs are automatically published by the company to which they signed, and can not be published elsewhere.[1]
In the Nashville country music scene there is a strong staff writer culture where contracted writers work normal "9-to-5" hours at the publishing office and are paid a regular salary. This salary is in effect the writer's 'draw', an advance for future earnings paid on a monthly basis so they are able to eat on it.[2] The copyright of the songs written during the term of the agreement is owned by the publisher for designated period, after which the copyright can be reclaimed.[2] In an interview with HitQuarters songwriter Dave Berg extolled the benefits of the set-up: "I was able to concentrate on writing the whole time and have always had enough money to live on."[3]
Staff writers are common across the whole industry, but without the more office-like working arrangements favoured in Nashville. All the major publishers employ writers under contract.[3] A staff writer contract with a publisher is a natural first step for any professional songwriting career, with some writers outgrowing the set-up once they achieve a degree of success and a desire for greater independence.[3] Songwriter Allan Eshuijs described his staff writer contract at Universal Music Publishing as a "starter deal", the success from which eventually allowed him to found his own publishing company so that he could "keep as much [publishing] as possible and say how it’s going to be done."[4]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "How to pitch your songs to industry insiders.". EMusician. 1 July 2007. http://emusician.com/tutorials/columns/pitching_songs_how/. Retrieved Aug 25, 2010.
- ^ a b "Interview with Roger Murrah". HitQuarters. 22 June 2009. http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview/opar/intrview_Roger_Murrah_Interview.html. Retrieved Aug 25, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Interview with Dave Berg". HitQuarters. 4 January 2010. http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview/opar/intrview_Dave_Berg_Interview.html. Retrieved Aug 25, 2010.
- ^ "Interview with Allan Eshuijs". HitQuarters. 6 September 2010. http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview/opar/intrview_Allan_Eshuijs_Interview.html. Retrieved Sep 7, 2010.
Further reading
- Rimler, Walter Not Fade Away Pierian Press (1984) ISBN 0-87650-159-5
- Waterman, J. Douglas, Ed. Song: The World's Best Songwriters on Creating the Music That Moves Us Writer's Digest (2007) ISBN 1-58297-424-1
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Translations:
Songwriter |
Dansk (Danish)
n. - sangskriver, visedigter, sangkomponist
Nederlands (Dutch)
liedjesschrijver
Français (French)
n. - parolier, auteur-compositeur de chansons
Deutsch (German)
n. - Songschreiber
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - τραγουδοποιός
Italiano (Italian)
autore di canzoni
Português (Portuguese)
n. - compositor (m)
Русский (Russian)
песенник (поэт или композитор)
Español (Spanish)
n. - compositor, autor de la letra, autor de canciones
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - visförfattare
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
歌曲的作者
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 歌曲的作者
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 作詞家, 作詞作曲家, ソングライター, 作曲家
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) ناظم أو ملحن ألاغاني ألشعبيه
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - משורר, כותב שירים, מחבר מוסיקה לשירים
If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.
To select your translation preferences click here.
Related topics:
 | songster |
| Radio & Rodeo Hits (1990 Album by Chris LeDoux) |
| Emmylou Harris (Actor, Music) |
Related answers:
 | What is the formula for a songwriters royalties how is the salery of a songwriter calculated how should I negotiate a songwriters salery? Read answer... |
| Where to go to be a songwriter? Read answer... |
| What deos a songwriter do? Read answer... |
Help us answer these:
 | Where does a songwriters work? |
| Who is leading songwriter? |
| Who is the songwriter of the singer? |
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
 |
 | American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| Random House Word Menu. © 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier. Write Brothers Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
Rhymes. Oxford University Press. © 2006, 2007 All rights reserved. Read more | |
 |
| Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary. Collins Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary © Anne Bradford, 1986, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008 HarperCollins Publishers All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| Wikipedia on Answers.com. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Songwriter. Read more |
 |
| Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more |
- How do you get a songwriter?
- What do songwriters have to do?
- Are you a songwriter?
- What do songwriter do?
- What belongs to the songwriter?
- Songwriter of who am i?
- When was songwriter Tyrone Ross songwriter born?
- Who is songwriter Sammy?
- Songwriters for the flute?
Featured guides
Follow us
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Mentioned in
- songster
- Radio & Rodeo Hits (1990 Album by Chris LeDoux)
- Emmylou Harris (Actor, Music)
- Neil Sedaka (Actor, Music/Comedy)
- Dixon, Willie (American musician and songwriter)
- Monroe, William Smith (American guitarist)
- Cohan, George M. (Fine Arts)
- Doyle Carver (Folk Artist, '80s, '90s)
- Michael Elwood (Folk Artist, '90s)
- Neal Gladstone (Folk Artist, '80s)
- Robin Greenstein (Folk Artist, '80s, '90s)
- Hobo Jim (Folk Artist, '70s)
- Bob Holmes (Folk Artist, '80s)
- Carol McComb (Women's Artist, '80s)
» More» More