Songwriter...Are You A One Trick Pony?
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Definition of one-trick pony: one that is skilled in only one area
Grohl has never been mistaken for a one-trick pony.
— Lars Brandle, Billboard, 25 May 2021
Times have changed for songwriters. I’m not talking about the pure act of writing a song. It will always take inspiration and skill that you’ll have to summon up from inside but, more about the tools needed to succeed as a songwriter in 2021. If you’re writing just for the sake of writing, then you can stop here, but…if you want this to be your livelihood, read on.
Love it or hate it, we’re in a time of co-writing. Just look at the songwriting credits of the top ten around the world. You’ll see anywhere from 2 or 3 names up to 7 or 8. Crazy, no? All to do with the skill set of the writers involved. Can they sing or play well enough to create a finished product? Production skills? These alone can make a writer invaluable to the process. You’re seeing the writer credits reflect a track person, a top liner and…yep…even a “vibe master”.
In an era where publishers look at your social media numbers when deciding to offer a deal, it makes perfect sense that the more you bring to the table, the better your chances of getting that holy grail of a publishing deal.
This can take the form of you developing a young artist and co-writing with them, being able to record great demos from your home studio, bringing your social media followers to a project or even being an aspiring artist yourself.
Point is, the more you bring to the table, the more attractive you are to a publisher and that ups your odds of doing this for a living. Be at least a two-trick pony, just develop one more thing that makes you more than just a good songwriter.
Mark Cawley
Nashville, Tennessee
Image: Shutterstock
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Mark Cawley iDoCoach.com
Mark Cawley is a hit songwriter, best-selling author, in demand speaker, songwriting coach, and popular blogger. As a songwriter his songs have been on more than 16 million records to date with cuts ranging from Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan and Diana Ross to Wynonna Judd, Taylor Dayne, Paul Carrack, The Spice Girls and many more. Through his coaching service iDoCoach.com, he has coached thousands of songwriters worldwide.
His book, Song Journey, was released in April 2019 and went to #1 in 6 categories on Amazon. Mark is a past judge for the UK Songwriting Contest, Nashville Rising Star, Belmont University’s Commercial Music program, and West Coast Songwriter events. He’s also a contributing author to USA Songwriting, InTune Magazine, Songwriter Magazine, a sponsor for the Australian Songwriting Association, and a past mentor for The Songwriting Academy UK. Born in Syracuse, New York, Mark has lived in Boston, Los Angeles, Indianapolis and London. Mark now resides in Nashville, Tennessee. The Daily Song Journal is his second book.
Here is a link to “ The Daily Song Journal” on Amazon
You can also find Song Journey on Amazon.
