FindItMore | Everyone gets a song stuck in their head from time to time. These lyrics, cycling, and repeating may inspire us to listen to music again to appreciate them. As a songwriter, this is the dream. To be able to use your creativity to invent something that stays in someone’s mind and either affects them emotionally or gets them into motion dancing and singing along!
Many don’t understand how this job works, though!
If you have a dream to write hit songs, and you’ve already come up with some of your own: here’s how to make it an official job.
Write Some Demo Music
Take a couple of months to write out lyrics and music for some songs that are brand new. Make this your best work possible. Since you’re trying to sell the music and not your voice, it’s okay if you sing over it to show the sound: but you can also partner up with a local performer like Pamela Rose Rodriguez, who can voice the track for you. This action will give you better sound and help your music come off as more professional.
Freelance To Build A Library of Samples
Having a good tracklist of music and practices to share with those you apply to is necessary. You can say you’re a good songwriter, but it’s not going to be worth anything if you have no proof. Create at least four or five songs to show off your best skills, and try to keep to one or two genres. Although you may think spreading yourself out over many genres is a great idea: it’s not worth it if your portfolio is a mess of different styles.
Keep Practicing and Honing Your Skills
Unfortunately, a job in the music industry doesn’t happen immediately. You have to work hard to prove yourself, create enough that people know what to expect with you: and be lucky to some degree. Luckily you have less pressure than singers and performers, but you still need to practice and hone your art.
One of the best ways to practice songwriting is to create lyrics based on a song you didn’t write. You can do this by seeking out karaoke versions of popular songs and then reinventing them. This practice should only be warmed up; unless you’re a parody artist, don’t try to pass these off as entirely your work.
If you also write tunes, you can practice by trying to theme a song of something random or practice creating melodies to evoke specific reactions and emotions.
Songwriting takes practice and hard work to set yourself apart from everyone else. If you don’t practice, you’re going to end up creating the same things again and again, and it’ll be nearly impossible to find work.
Apply With Your Samples
Finally, apply to some targeted companies or individuals looking for songwriters. Include your songs, your rates per song, and how long each takes to create. If you’re confident, professional, and your songs are of good caliber: they’ll get back to you. Be respectful if you’re declined, and keep working. Practice can help you improve and get chosen.