Work

The Benefits of Collaborative Popular Music Songwriting: A Spectrum of Artist-Songwriter Involvement

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: This article explores the often overlooked role of professional songwriters in popular music, who occupy the spectrum between craftspeople and artists. Drawing on seventeen episodes of the Sodajerker podcast featuring songwriters who write for and with popular artists, we outline the role of professional songwriters in the popular music industry and how collaboration between songwriters and artists shapes and refines songs. On this basis, we propose a five-tiered spectrum of artist-songwriter involvement, ranging from independent songwriting by professionals without a specific artist brief to scenarios where artists are mostly self-sufficient but receive musical or psychological support from co-writers as needed.

Source: Popular Music & Society

DOI: 10.1080/03007766.2024.2428035

Authors: Jan-Peter Herbst, Katherine Williams, Ingrid M. Tolstad, Simon Barber

Institutions: University of Huddersfield, OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University, Birmingham City University

Language: English

Topic: Music History and Culture

Subfield: Music

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council

Awards: G3395473557, G4611249066, Songwriting Camps in the 21st Century (SC21)