How to Topline as a Traditional Singer Songwriter

If you’re a traditional songwriter, you will probably have more traditional habits of writing. Toplining can seem like an entirely new world that is intimidating, especially if you are writing in a new genre, but it’s a great form of songwriting that stretches writing muscles in an interesting way. It is also nice to not have to focus on every aspect of the song and the choices you need to make (if you write melody/lyrics/harmony all together, like many songwriters do). Here are some great steps to help you topline for the first time, as well as things to keep in mind.

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8 songwriting mistakes beginners often make, and how to fix them

There are probably as many ways to approach songwriting as there are songwriters.

But beginner songwriters are often only equipped with a handful of tools that results in them producing songs that are subpar at best.

We must all start somewhere, so that’s not the issue. Our skills develop with practice.

But you can increase the quality of your songs significantly if you avoid common mistakes.

Here are eight songwriting mistakes beginners often make and how to avoid them.

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Here’s A Tax Loophole Just Songwriters

Guest post from Soundfly’s Flypaper. This article originally appeared on the Royalty Exchange Blog

Most of us songwriters have no idea that there’s a special tax loophole created just for us. For some artists, this change cuts our taxes right in half.

In 2006, Congress lowered the tax rate for songwriters who sell a part of their catalogs. It did this by reclassifying income from the sale of a catalog as “capital gains” instead of “ordinary income.”

Don’t worry, we’re not going to go full tax accountant on you. Here’s the simple explanation of what this means.

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How Imagine Dragons Writes Memorable Melodies

What gets us to remember a tune?

Have you ever remembered a song well enough to sing along to it the next time you heard it? Maybe you didn’t know the words, but you could at least hum along. Or have you ever played “name that tune”? What made you win some rounds so easily and yet lose others? One answer lies in how, precisely, the melody is set up.

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How Singer/Songwriters Can Save $100K Right Now - Today!

$100 K. I thought that would get everyone’s attention. And it’s the first thing I say when I meet with young singer/songwriters and their parents as we start the educational process of moving up from the basic performance skills of singing their own songs and playing guitar or piano to the rarefied air of the art of entertaining. That’s what I do these days as a live music performance coach.

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5 Out-Of-The-Box Ways To Hone Your Songwriting Craft

By Rorie Kelly, Co-Executive Director of GoGirlsMusic.com

It can be tough to find time to sit down and write songs with all the career-building tasks musicians have these days. On top of that, switching gears is hard and writers’ block is real. What do we do when we’re no longer beginners but we still want to grow, or need to rekindle that love affair with musicmaking? For those who are sick of the usual advice, here are five out-of-the-box ways to hone your songwriting craft.

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The Top Five Things Every Singer/Songwriter Is Doing That Need To Be Fixed

There are at least a hundred ways for every singer/songwriter to improve his or her chances of success, but these are the five I already know that need to be addressed without even seeing your show. They are inherent the performance of virtually all aspiring (and sadly many seasoned) singer/songwriters.

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How Music Production Costs Are Impacting Songwriters

Maybe you have written some good song lyrics and believe you’re a good songwriter (or at least have been told so). So now, all you need to make it big is to record the right songs that will get picked up by a major label, artist, or publisher, right?

Well, not exactly. Not according to industry statistics, which have painted a dismal picture for the music creation fraternity; especially songwriters. To begin with, approximately 19 out of every 20 songwriters, who have had their music published, do not earn enough from their craft to live comfortably. That is, according to figures released by several performing rights organizations in the U.S.

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How The Right Lyric Can Fortify The Listeners' Creative Mind

The lyrics in a song are much more than just content. Constructing well-timed and well-placed lyrics is an art, which can set apart great songwriters from the average.

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3 Memorable Tips For Writing A Chorus

In any song, the chorus is often the part most anticipated by the listener. However, it is also one of the most difficult parts of a song to compose for many songwriters, as it has to sound just right to complement the rest of the song, while at the same time leave a lasting effect on the listener.

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Join SongwriterLink's Free 30-Day Co-Writing Challenge (Starts February 1)

Did you set a New Year’s resolution to become a better songwriter? If you’re serious about achieving your songwriting goals this year, there’s no better way to turn words into action than by joining SongwriterLink’s FREE 30-day co-writing challenge, starting February 1.

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Five Common Hurdles Novice Songwriters Face And How To Overcome Them

Whether it’s a chorus that sticks in your head for days, an infectious hook, a toe-tapping beat, or an ambient synth that somehow both warms and chills you at the same time – there are certain musical moments that make you stop in your tracks and wonder: How did they write that? As music fans, we’ve all been there. It’s easy to forget that these moments all started out the same: as ideas.

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