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This article is from the Songwriting FAQ, by Greg Skinner gds@best.com.

27. I get conflicting messages from music business people. They tell me I need to be different, but on the radio I keep hearing the same old things. What's the story here?

Record companies and artists tend to be somewhat conservative when it
comes to releasing material. They tend to want to go with what has
worked in the past and what seems to be working (for their
competition) in the present. This means that a lot of songwriters
write similar-sounding and similar-feeling material targeted towards
certain types of artists. Publishers and labels can pretty much pick
and choose who they will accept material from, and they're likely to
go with someone who is already established in the business. As a new
songwriter, you can distinguish yourself by doing something slightly
different; taking a different approach to, say, a love song. Every once
in a while, artists, etc. will look for something fresh. If you have
something slightly different that looks like a possibility to them, they
may pick it up. As your reputation grows among artists, etc. will come
to you for tried-and-true styles as well as fresh things. However, don't
be limited by the tried-and-true methods if they just aren't your voice.

 

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• prev: 26. Why do I keep getting rejections, despite the fact that many people think my music is good?
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• next: 28. How do I get my music played on the radio?

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music, songwriting, recoding, publishing, lyrics