Some artists would have you believe that becoming a songwriter is a gift bestowed upon you from the Gods and I plan to convince you that this is not true.
Writing songs is hard work and sometimes a lot of trial and error takes place.
Some artists don’t receive popular recognition straight away and spend a few albums refining and developing as writers: this was true for Queen, David Bowie, The National and Snow Patrol, just to name a few.
My point being, if Michael Jackson had to write between 110 -120 songs in his career then you’ve got to put in the effort if you want to write songs that will stand out and speak to others – and sometimes that means getting some help writing songs.
One of the issues that I personally have with songwriters receiving help is when writing credit is not given, and when our perspective is purposely manipulated to believe that certain artists write all their own songs independently. There has been an influx of singer-songwriters who are dominating the charts over the past few years such as Ed Sheeran, George Ezra and Taylor Swift. We are lead to believe that they receive no help when writing songs when in reality they work with an army of writers and producers regularly.
Research by the by Music Week magazine shows that an average of 4.53 writers are used to create a hit single. Hits such as ‘Uptown Funk’ started with 4 writers but eventually finished with an astounding 13 writers!
Personally, there is nothing more disappointing to me when you discover one of your favourite artists has an army of co-writers. My issue is not that they are receiving help but rather being misinformed and purposely being lead to believe they have done it themselves. When artists tweet saying that ‘I’m proud of the songs I have written’, it sickens me because, in reality, it was them and three other writers.
Although there are artists who rely on only one writer on their albums such as Twenty One Pilots, Stereophonics and Noel Gallagher, the issue with the music industry is that record companies want instant results and if you are not making hit after hit, they want you gone. As a result, there is more pressure on artists and a way to relieve the pressure is to get help from other writers.
Going back to the question: ‘Is It Okay to Get Help Writing Songs?’ I believe it is a matter of personal preference and there is no shame in receiving help. The king himself, Mr Elvis Presley, only co-wrote 4 songs in his career – this was no secret and credit was always given.
Getting help doesn’t necessarily mean working with co-writers, going to Brit school or songwriting camp, it may simply be by asking others their opinion who share a similar love of music as yourself or developing your writing capacities through studying and research. If you want radio play then doing your research is important as most radio stations will have certain criteria you will need, such as song length.
Being a songwriter myself, there are people who I will trial my songs on, so learning to take advice can help you see things from a different perspective. Unfortunately, most writers want to hear that their song is amazing but not all your songs will be – and that’s alright. Going back to one of the first points I made is that writing is diligent work – it’s trial and error. So is it okay to get help writing songs? Yes, as long as you give credit.
If you would like to express your thoughts and opinions, please contact the NE Volume team at info@nevolume.co.uk.
