Editing Songwriter (section)

{{Short description|Person who writes the words or music to songs}}
{{About}}
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[[File:Rodgers and Hart NYWTS.jpg|thumb|Songwriting partners [[Rodgers and Hart]] working on a song in 1936]]
A '''songwriter''' is a person who creates [[musical composition]]s or writes [[lyrics]] for [[song]]s, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a [[composer]], although this term tends to be used mainly in the [[classical music]] genre and film scoring. A songwriter who mainly writes the lyrics for a song is referred to as a [[lyricist]]. The pressure from the [[music industry]] to produce popular hits means that song writing is often an activity for which the tasks are distributed among a number of people.<ref name="emusician"/> For example, a songwriter who excels at writing lyrics might be paired with a songwriter with the task of creating original melodies. Pop songs may be composed by group members from the band or by staff writers – songwriters directly employed by [[Music publisher (popular music)|music publisher]]s.<ref name="emusician"/> Some songwriters serve as their own music publishers, while others have external publishers.<ref name="emusician"/>

The old-style apprenticeship approach to learning how to write songs is being supplemented by [[Bachelor of music|university degrees]], college diplomas and "rock schools".<ref name="emusician"/> Knowledge of modern music technology (sequencers, synthesizers, computer sound editing), songwriting elements and business skills are significant for modern songwriters.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davis |first=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x84sDwAAQBAJ&q=synthesizer&pg=PA1922 |title=Complete Guide to Film Scoring: The Art and Business of Writing Music for Movies and TV |date=2010-05-01 |publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |isbn=978-1-4950-3226-4 |language=en}}</ref> Several music colleges offer songwriting diplomas and degrees with music business modules.<ref name="emusician"/> Since songwriting and publishing [[royalty payment|royalties]] can be substantial sources of income, particularly if a song becomes a [[hit record]]; legally, in the US, songs written after 1934 may be copied only by the authors. The legal power to grant these permissions may be bought, sold or transferred. This is governed by international [[copyrights|copyright law]].<ref name="emusician"/>

Songwriters can be employed in a variety of different ways. They may exclusively write lyrics or compose music alongside another artist, present songs to [[Artists and repertoire|A&R]], publishers, agents and managers for consideration. Song pitching can be done on a songwriter's behalf by their publisher or independently using [[tip sheet]]s like ''RowFax'', the ''[[MusicRow]]'' publication and ''[[SongQuarters]]''.<ref name="emusician">{{cite web |url=http://emusician.com/tutorials/columns/pitching_songs_how/ |title=How to pitch your songs to industry insiders says Growden. |publisher=EMusician |date=1 July 2007 |access-date=25 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724185818/http://emusician.com/tutorials/columns/pitching_songs_how/ |archive-date=2010-07-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Skills associated with song-writing include entrepreneurism and creativity.<ref>''The quaternary entrepreneur, The avant garde of non-material capitalism'', Gian Paolo Prandstraller, 2009</ref> Staff writers do not necessarily get printed credit for their contributions to the song.