Today we will be discussing a very important role in music today: songwriters. As well as giving them credit. Today we are able to enjoy multiple genres of great music, but one of the biggest reasons we choose the music we choose is because of the words or message in the song.

A big part of the message created through songs are because of the songwriters. The job of a songwriter is to write certain parts for songs for an artist to record. It’s often seen as the idea of someone else or suggestions that would make the song sound better. Songwriters and composers help come up with ideas for the song and help complete a song for an artist. Songwriters receive credit as an author and can receive awards and royalties from the success of the songs that they write.

Another type of songwriter is a ghost writer. A ghost writer, writes entire songs for someone else who is named author, which is why they are considered a ghost. When hired every song written by the ghostwriter is considered property of the music artist. This often becomes a big part of an music artist’s career and music when they blow up and are constantly on tour. Music artists often don’t have much free time to write so they hire a Ghostwriter. It is often discredited because one is expected to write their own song, especially a rapper. When these songs become popular and it’s due to the composition of the song, it seems as though the music artist isn't as good as we think. Music fans see them as an actor/actress rather than an rapper or music artist. Ghost writers are not credited as a writer on the song, which makes them ineligible for any awards, and they only receive a one-time payment instead of royalties.

As we can see songwriters are a very important part of the music we hear today, we really have to take time to appreciate our songwriters, and it is great to know that if you don’t actually want to perform music but still love making music you too can still be apart of the music heard worldwide today!

Interested in learning songwriting & composition?