If you’re a musician or singer songwriter, sometimes it’s easy to get lost in the creative moment and overlook those pesky business details that need attending to. Whether you’re recording in the studio or branding yourself on social media, having a handle on the business side of music can be hugely beneficial. Cowriting is no exception, and in this blog post I’ll go over some important terms and suggestions to make your cowrite a success from start to finish.
In our artist development business, Mike and I do a lot of cowriting. We cowrite with each other, we cowrite with clients, and we cowrite with fellow artists who we contact or who contact us. It’s a great way to collaborate and can be a super positive and rewarding experience. However, it can also be a disaster if you’re not prepared or don’t know what to expect before, during, or after the process. We’ve had great cowrites, confusing cowrites, and cowrites where the other person didn’t even realize they were cowriting with us! It’s certainly been a learning experience through the years and we’ve made plenty of mistakes that have taught us some valuable lessons on the dos and don’ts from a business perspective. If you’re new to cowriting or confused about the process, read on for how to avoid some common pitfalls.
Why cowrite?
The main reason to cowrite with someone is because you believe they can bring added value to the process. If you’re not great at lyrics but your strength is melody, look for strong lyricists to write with. If you’re a topliner, seek out musicians who are good composers. If you’re a great instrumentalist but don’t sing, find some great topliners to collab with. You get the picture! Or perhaps you just admire someone’s songwriting ability and feel like you could create something amazing together. That’s great, too! Just be mindful that all parties are looking for others to bring value to the write. If you are an inexperienced songwriter, first try finding other songwriters on your level who are open to writing together. The best way to learn about the creative process of cowriting is through experience. If you need to work on your songwriting craft to prepare yourself for writing with songwriters on a higher level, you can also offer to pay an experienced songwriter to mentor you. There are also many great songwriting resources online and some great camps and retreats to help you improve your craft. At DME, Mike and I offer songwriting guidance sessions for those writers just getting started or who are struggling with the process. It’s okay to ask for help!
What is the topline?
The topline is the lyrics and melody. We consider the topline half of the song, and the music the other half. Surprisingly, some people don’t understand that the music is also part of the song during the cowriting process when that process is happening organically with just voices, ideas and a guitar. We’ve had several situations where a client expected to recieve 100% credit for a song because they wrote the topline. These are sometimes the individuals who don’t understand they are cowriting when Mike is coming up with the music! So remember, just because you write the lyrics and melody does not mean you wrote the entire song.
What is a split sheet?
A split sheet is a publishing document stating who wrote what percentage of the song during a cowrite. ALWAYS USE SPLIT SHEETS! I can’t emphasize this enough. You can find templates online, or if you’re a client we can give you a blank one to copy. Here is how we do the breakdown: topline is 50% and music is 50%. So if you’re a lyricist who provides 100% of the lyrics but do not contribute anything to the melody or music, you would have written 25% of the song. If you wrote all the music but none of the topline, you would have written 50% of the song. This is just how we do our splits, but others may do them differently. Make sure to discuss with your cowriters how they normally divide up the song. Of course, many cowrites involve everyone in the room contributing to all facets of the song (concept, lyrics, melody, music), so it is then up to all the writers to decide who contributed what. Conversely, you can also “write a word, take a third,”as they say in Nashville. This means that everyone in the room during a write gets an equal piece of the pie, regardless of how much they’ve contributed. So it’s up to you and your fellow writers to agree on how to do your splits. Just make sure to fill them out as soon as the writing process is complete and memories are fresh.
Make sure you have your publishing in order.
If you’re filling out a split sheet, you want to make sure you have your publishing in order so that you can receive potential royalties for the song. That means having signed up with your PRO, Sound Exchange, your distribution company, a publishing administrator, and knowing how to copyright a song. Publishing is complex and can be confusing, but if you want to receive royalties it’s worth understanding the basics. Whether the song you cowrote is streaming online, getting non-interactive digital play, or being played on terrestrial radio, you want to make sure you’re being paid for your percentage of the song (which is why you filled out a split sheet!). If all of this is new to you or sounds overwhelming, don’t worry. I will be delving into self publishing more in my next blog post to simplify things.
Give credit!
Another problem we consistently run into is the situation where artists refuse to publically credit their cowriters on social media. Having cowriters does not take anything away from you. Crediting them shows professionalism and respect (and many times honoring the terms of your split sheet). If you are an artist with a single that you cowrote, it’s perfectly ok to refer to the song as “my new single,” or “my original song.” Just don’t say something like, “I hope you enjoy my new single that I wrote,” or list yourself as a writer but leave out your cowriters. As always, just use your common sense and treat others how you wish to be treated.
We welcome your questions or feedback.
I hope you found this first blog post to be helpful! Please feel free leave your feedback and let me know if you have any questions or comments on cowriting. We are always learning and love to broaden our horizons, so hearing about your experiences is always welcome.
Caroline and Mike
