In every industry, there is the brain and there is the heart. I think we talked about the brains of the music industry the last time. Songwriters are definitely the hearts of music. They are the ones who write those beautiful words that we can relate to. They write songs that makes the eyes wet and the soul heal, the songwriters. Actually, call them the soul of the music industry.
Songwriters are like magicians and their wand is the pen. Their spells are the words that they write. I believe there is a song for almost everything and we have the songwriters to thank.
Most of the musicians are songwriters, especially the afro musicians. Afro musicians write their own songs because their genre is unique. They need to mix their rhymes by themselves, I think it’s a rule or something. If you follow Artistes in focus, you will notice that all the musicians are also songwriters. Does that mean that there are no songwriters in this part of the world? Of course not, there are songwriters in every part of the world.
You see, some people are so good with words and rhythms. They wake up and breathe beautiful music. The reason why most of them are not discovered yet is that everybody wants to be a musician, a performer. Everyone wants to rock the stage like Beyoncé, Tiwa Savage or Rihanna. It is necessary to understand that everyone is not made for that fame. Think about it; what if Ryan Tedder had not written halo for Beyoncé. What if he had recorded the song and released it as his, halo would have been just another song.
Sometimes, some songs and lyrics are meant to be sung by the best. One of the reasons some musicians keep singing about money and women is because they don’t use songwriters.
Songwriting is a serious job that should be embraced in the Afro setting. It goes beyond just paying someone for their words. In the music setting, a musician can invite a songwriter, tell talk about the idea he has on the song and even work with the songwriter to arrive at a hit song. Some people just have the gifts. Some people just know what you want to say and how you want to say it. As much as I love originality, it does not stop the about songwriting.
Songwriting should be recognized and acknowledged in the Afro world. It not not shameful to use songwriters. It only proves that the music industry is booming.
Songwriters are meant to be credited too. Yes you are paying them but it is not enough to pay them off. There is no harm in crediting who wrote those beautiful lyrics for you. It doesn’t change your copyright or the ownership of the song. When you buy a dress and credit the store you got it from, it doesn’t change the fact that the dress is still yours.
Songwriters are important and they should be given the chance to blossom.
So, if you are an upcoming musician, try to work with a songwriter and see how awesome your demo would sound now🙃
