Simple Ways to Make Lots of Money As a Songwriter

 

A fallacy among Nigerians is that a Music artist who do not write his own song isn't talented. This is completely false. Hiring a songwriter isn't bad, in fact, it's a norm everywhere. Even Beyonce had 104 songwriters on her Renaissance album. Nigerians therefore have to get familiar with the culture of their favorite artistes hiring songwriters.

Writing and performing music are two different talents. Some music artists have both talents while some only have singing talents so they have to hire songwriters. Not every song written by the creator must be performed by the creator. Songs can be sold to other acts who are best suited to it or those whose fame will help promote it more.

Just like being a musician, songwriting is a profession on its own. It's a means to earn from the million dollar industry without been a performing artist. If you're talented in writing good musical lyrics it doesn't matter if you're an upcoming artist or not, this career path is for you.

Songwriting is one job or side hustle where you don’t need any “official” qualifications to become a professional. It requires experience, talent and perseverance. Of course you do need to have a way with language That being said, it is possible to get paid to write song lyrics for all different kinds of projects, most of which do not involve you becoming famous. Although writing hit songs for pop-stars might be your first thought, there are actually a lot of other career options to consider, including:

1.     Staff Writer for a Record Label 

Being a staff writer for a record label is a great career. As salaried staff writer for a major recording label you will have stable, reliable work and be part of a team. This is the most lucrative way to get paid to write lyrics but also not easy to get into. You will write in collaboration with others and will need to be open to edits and changes in your lyrics (this is often the hardest part for artists).

2.      Freelance Lyricist

As a  freelance lyricist, you won't be a full staff of an organization. You need to build a name for yourself by networking which will help people identify you as a great songwriter. You can send your demos and lyric samples out to various organizations and pitch them your work to get started . You can also sell your songs on websites like ditto music, lyrics.com etc. Job opportunities are also on job matching platforms like upwork, twine etc.

3.      Public Royalties

This is an absolute great deal when it comes to writing song lyrics for money. How does this work? - after getting paid for a song, you are entitled to royalties every time the song is performed at a concert or event or is broadcast on the radio.

4.      Mechanical Royalties:

Here, you get paid when every time your song is downloaded or bought.

5.    Placement Fees: If your song or jingle is featured in an advertisement, TV show or video then you will be paid placement fees. The funny thing is that many songs become hits after they appear on commercials so this can actually be a great way to get started.

6.    Record Deals: Obviously this is your holy grail for getting paid to write song lyrics. If you manage to get yourself a record deal then you will get paid an advance for writing a certain number of songs for one or several artists.

From submitting your work to songwriting sites, hustling on social media and looking for gigs on the freelancer sites, there are plenty of opportunities for songwriters to make some money doing what they love. Now is the time for you to explore!