Exactly what makes a hit song today?

This is brilliant and scary at the same time.

Might be that the very last thing you want as a DIY musician is a so-called 'formula' for a hit.

There are many other factors causing you to be a musician and pursuit of pop fame may well not be amongst them.

Good for you.

But, people, such as Jay Frank whose work I love, are putting songs under the microscope and working out what they can about how measurable factors affect their hit potential.

This may miss the point as far as lyrical, musical and emotional nuance is concerned but at the very least this data tells you what radio wants to play and therefore make a hit.

Read Jay's book - Future Hit DNA - and check out this post about the latest US data for this year.

Here's some of their up to the minute conclusions:

• The current song length average is 3:51.

• The current intro length average is 0:13.

• The average time that it takes for the first chorus to hit in top 10 hit Pop songs is 0:39.  This number has been stable over the last two quarters.

• Love/relationship themed songs have been in a steep decline since Q3-2010 (where they accounted for 63% of all songs), and now account for just 17% of all top 10 hit Pop songs. Hooking up themed songs have been on the rise since Q3-2010, and how account for the majority of top 10 hit Pop songs at 38%.  Inspirational themed songs have also been seeing a steady increase in number, climbing form 0% of songs in Q3-2010 to a now second place 25% of songs in Q2-2011.

I'd maintain that 'hooking up' is essentially the same subject material as 'love', but you get the point!

Read the whole thing here.

 

 

 

Great Songwriters

There's lots of little gems of advice in this piece from the Guardian where 5 songwriters pick their own favourite songwriter.

In each case there's a bit about what they think makes the other great - technique, subject matter, etc.

For example, Dianne Warren on Paul McCartney:

As a songwriter you need a gift for melody, and for saying something you've heard a million times in a different way. There are only so many notes and ideas, but you twist it and turn it and make it new, by the chords or melodies or a weird key change. In just a few years, the Beatles created this genius body of work, and those songs will never go away.

Well worth a read.

How to write great songs

And, from the same series as the previous post, here's very good advice on how to write great songs from people who have actually done it.

Like I said in the post on the main site yesterday - A song a day - one of the key steps to success as an aspiring musician is learning the skills you need. Learn them from experts and model your efforts on the techniques they use.

You can get some of that training in songwriting from this video.

Hit song metrics for 2011 - so far

I am very impressed by the data crunching that Jay Frank does in his book Future Hit DNA - we've looked at his stuff before here.

So, when he analyses all the hits of THIS year so far and tells you exactly what the science tells you about what is making a song a massive hit right now, I would take the time to take notice.

THE AVERAGE LENGTH OF INTROS IS 4.88 SECONDS
Intros are getting significantly shorter. Compared to last year, the average intro decreased by 37%. The Top 25 had an average intro length of 2.96 seconds. In fact, there were only two songs with an intro over 7 seconds. Last year, it was 2 of the Top 10. Now it’s 2 of the Top 25. And sales increased as a result. Expand to the Top 50 and it’s only 20% of the titles with intros longer than 7 seconds. That’s down from 48% last year. The chances of a song with a longer intro succeeding continue to decrease every year.

See what else he says here.

 

What makes a hit song - is it science?

We've had a few of these posts lately about what makes a song a hit - look back at the posts over the last few weeks to find them if you missed them.

Here's another one - and this time it's about whether you can use all the data that now exists about songs themselves and their commercial success to make any judgements about what it is that makes a hit.

In some ways it's similar to Jay Frank's findings (although, for me, his data delving is way deeper and his conclusions more thorough), but it has some interesting facts that might help you when you're penning your next global mega-smash.

What do hit songs have in common over the years, and how are they changing? And what does it all say about who we were, and who we’re becoming?

Two Rutgers master’s degree candidates delved into this with a presentation called “Visualizing a Hit” that maps popular songs against some of their musical attributes in an effort to find out what they share, and how they have changed over time.

Read it here.

Finding your 'hit zone'

I thought that we might've posted this already but I can't find it, and it's excellent and well worth reading - so here goes.

What I like about this piece is that it states that you need to be trying to write hits, but not by selling out - and, the best way to get to a hit is by being true to your convictions and your art.

Finding your Hit Zone is essential if you’re an emerging songwriter, artist or producer, because without it:

• Most or all of your marketing, online networking and live shows will be useless;
• You’ll have a hard time building a fan base;
• You’ll probably only sell your music to your friends and family;
• You won’t get TV/film licenses;
• You’ll have a hard time getting signed;
• And so on…

Yes, your Hit Zone is that important.  It’s the most important thing you can do as an artist to attract fans, make more money and achieve success.  It’s like the g-spot: if you haven’t found it, you’re just flailing around and wasting your time.

Read the piece here.

How to write a hit rock song

I found this post on a new service which is set to be like a Digg for music (I would tell you what it is, but I'm not sure I'm supposed to, but I will when it's out of Beta)

This post is an old one that has turned up there as people like it - and it's full of tips on how to write a hit rock song.

Whether you think it's all great advice or not, it's a very useful piece as it follows the writer through the stages of crafting the song with videos of him playing the sections. If you're new to songwriting it's going to give you, at the very least, a reference to how someone else gets from idea to song.

I remember being a kid listening to my favorite bands of the day and wondering, “how do they do that?” It seemed totally amazing to me that someone could take an instrument and create this piece of music that made me have so many strong feelings be it happiness, anger, joy, and write these words that seemed to speak to me.

I still have that same feeling sometimes when I hear great new bands, except now I understand after my many years of studying music, writing music and performing it in front of people there is more to it then just writing for writing’s sake.

Read the piece here.

10 seconds is all you have

I went to a talk by Jay Frank last night put on by @thisisnewmusic.

It was very revealing.

Jay is a respected authority on what makes a song a hit in the post filesharing, online music dicovery world. This is all revealed in his excellent book - Future Hit DNA.

I encourage you to go and check out Jay's site and if you're serious about writing hits, try and see him speak or buy the book.

Here's a few nuggets from last night. Apologies to Jay if I miss the detail!:

• All music discovery online occurs at 0 seconds because an embedded player, YouTube video etc starts at the beginning. This might seem obvious but it was never like this before when you would usually switch on the radio and maybe hear a song halfway through.

• About half the people only hear the first 10 seconds of the track, no matter how they discovered it. But, if they get past 10 seconds they are likely to listen to the whole thing. Possible exit times are at about 2 minutes (normally after the second chorus, in the bridge) or towards the end, where you may have a fade that bores them. Abrupt endings are better.

• The first listen is easy to get these days - there are vast numbers of ways to be discovered whereas in the past, the first listen meant a very hard to come by radio play - but it takes 5 - 7 plays to embed a song with a listener and the repeat plays will only come if the first play hooked them and made them listen all the way through.

• After the birth of Napster the average length of Intro dropped from 14 seconds to 7.

• If people jump out of listening to a track at any point this sets a negative connotation in their mind that makes them exponentially less likely to listen again. Avoid this!

• There is some evidence that the communal experience in listening to songs and discussing them is declining in the web 2.0 world. Perhaps enhancing the communality of the song itself can help - eg - gang singing or 'call and response'.

Seriously, check out the book!

Diane Warren tells all her songwriting secrets

This might not be of help to all - you need to get Sky and you need to live in the UK to see it.

Well, maybe not, as someone is bound to stick it on a torrent, but then I couldn't advocate that could I?!

Next Monday Sky are screening an interview with Diane Warren, pretty much the world's most succesful contemporary pop songwriter, in their SUPERB Songbook series. It's on 28/3/11 on Sky Arts 1 at 9pm.

I always watch these as you learn something every time. Try and find a way to watch if you can - this one and any of the others in the series.

 

10 reasons to rewrite a song

Image by Adrian F

You're probably aware that one of the points in our free eBook for musicians talks about how you should work at a song rtaher than just knocking it out and thinking it's done.

So, when I saw this post it really struck a chord with me.

Rewriting a song means accepting that the beautiful inspiration you just poured out of your soul might need some extra work. It takes courage, humility and patience to rewrite a song effectively. Here are 10 reasons why rewriting your latest song is a good idea.

1. New, Better Ideas Are Waiting To Be Discovered

It’s a wonderful feeling when you’ve just written a brand new song. There’s really nothing else like it. But have you ever noticed that you need to take time to learn it, just like when you’re adding a cover song to your set list? Rehearsing your new song often gives you an opportunity to make improvements and polish it further by making the lyrics more singable or the music more fluid.

Read the 10 resons here.

 

5 ways to make your chorus outstanding

Image by AndyRob

I just posted a guest piece on our blog which is one of those great songwriting tips - it's about how you should see each song you write as part of your development as a songwriter.

Check it out here.

But, I'm always looking for other nuggets to pass on about improving your songwriting - so I often find myself recommending Gary Ewer's blog. It's full of great short tips and I'd encourage you to read as many as you can - bookmark his site and check in regulalrly, as he posts a lot.

The post that caught my eye today is about how to make a chorus outstanding.

Ask someone to sing the theme to Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, and you’ll get that famous “da-da-da-DUM” theme. But Beethoven, Brahms, and all other composers realized that most compositions used at least two themes, the so-called “contrasting of ideas.” The first theme is usually the famous one, and the second one? Well, not as many people can hum the second theme from a symphony. Modern day songs have the same kind of idea going. It usually takes two themes, the verse and the chorus melody, to make a song. But in the case of songs, it’s usually the second theme – the chorus – that everyone should be able to hum.

Go and read his 5 tips here.

Writing a song with no knowledge of musical theory

Image by Girl flyer

I'd bookmark the Songwriting Lab blog if I was you.

You can't have too much information to improve your songwriting - and your songs are where it all starts.

It's a great site with loads of great tips.

I liked this one as I've had exactly the experience of people thinking that they must somehow follow an 'approved' musical theory. You don't!

Is it possible to create attractive, appealing song melodies without having a strong background in music theory? I believe it is, and I say that as a person who has had a career-long interest in teaching music theory.

Every so often, someone will write me with a question that goes something like, “Can I have this chord follow that chord?” or “Am I allowed to [insert musical idea here].” In other words, they want to know if music theory “permits” their musical brainwave to exist. Are they violating the rules of music theory by going ahead with their idea?

My answer is always, in the nicest possible way, “Who cares?”

Read the whole post here.

Songwriting tips - are you really good enough?

I post a lot more about songwriting than a lot of 'musician advice' bloggers.

And, I know that a lot of my readers don't bother to read it all or watch the videos.

BIG mistake!

The single common fatal flaw in 99% of the musicians that I have spent the last 20 years meeting is that they are, quite simply, shit.

They all also believe that their material is good enough for some level of success - usually global mega-fame is what they think they're ready for.

And, in almost every case, their songs are woefully below the necessary standard - but they can't see it or won't admit to themselves.

Please, don't let this be you.

Before you spend huge amounts of time listening to me and others about how to market and promote, invest a far greater amount of time in yourself and your craft.

I think the stuff I post about songwriting is the most important stuff I pass on.

This is the first of three videos from someone who has sold a lot of records as a songwriter. You can find the other two on the channel on YouTube that this is taken from.

If I needed to be sure that I was good enough songwriter, I'd spend some time watching these!

 

And here's the direct link if the embed fails.

Inside the Hits - tips from major publisher

We are VERY big on trying to make aspiring artists understand that you can market and promote all you like, but you need to have some good songs before you start!

So, I'm subscribing to this series from Universal Music Publishing called 'Inside the Hit Songs' that promises to go inside the process of how some major hits were written.

Get songwriting tips wherever you can!

 

Hit songs - honesty and clarity

You can go and read this whole article if you want - but a lot of it is about guitars and tech gear that the interviewee uses and might not be your bag!

I read it all though and pulled these two nuggest from James Blunt's wisdom.

Hate him all you like (even he is bored by his massive hit's ubiquity!) but don't ignore what he thinks made his song such a hit.

We talk about the basics of what make a hit song in our free eBook for musicians (get it if you haven't yet) and this is along the same lines.

"Well, I don't have any kind of formula. Stay The Night is something like three minutes and 30 seconds or something like that, and You're Beautiful is probably bang-on three minutes and 30 seconds, as well. That seems to be kind of a marker, in a way - it's enough, but it doesn't drag on forever.

"More than anything, though, I think the role of a songwriter is to capture an emotion. If you can do that with absolute honesty and clarity, then you're well on your way. Don't get me wrong: I do like a lot of music where the meaning is open to interpretation. But if you're talking about the kinds of songs that hit people straight away and they can relate to directly, you've got to go for a very pure message."

and on whether he injects his own feelings into his work:

"My songs are my way of looking in the mirror and seeing my own flaws, so it's not difficult. In fact, it would be much harder to write very superfluous songs, things that didn't mean anything to me."

See those bits in bold? That's the bits to take away and use.

I just got the Adele album at the weekend. It's awesome. She's great. ALL the songs do this. It's the fastest selling record of the year so far in 15 countries. Wonder if that's got anything to do with the songs?

Read the whole interview here.

Steal from classical music!

Image by Robert S. Donovan

I know about this from personal experience!

When I was a music lawyer in the early 90's, we acted for a band from the UK who had a massive hit and were then promptly sued for infringing a piece of classical music - which, unusually, was still in copyright. I won't tell you who it is as that'd be unprofessional, but they are on this list at this site.

So, when I saw this post about stealing from classical music, I was intrigued.

There’s a theory that not a lot has changed since the early days of what we call “Classical music” (i.e. the year 1600 through to the present). In fact, you’d be fairly safe in estimating that at least 90% of the difference between J. S. Bach and Bob Dylan really amounts to differences in performance style, not compositional style. Though the sound of today’s pop music is radically different from the sound of a Beethoven symphony, the compositional structure, the “rebar”, if you will, is very much the same. The constructional elements you find in the music of Bach, Beethoven and Brahms are pretty much the same elements you’ll find in the music of Dylan, Bowie and Springsteen. And beyond.

Go and read the whole post here.

So, lift a melody from a piece of classical music - knowing that it all works and engages the listener - result! One to add to the songwriting tips on the main site.

Although he gives some examples of people using this technique to write hit songs, I know it to be true. Check that link from the top again for more examples.

Oh, and, pick someone who has been dead more than 75 years and then you can't be accused of infringing their copyright!

Study old hits for new ideas

I like this post for its take on why many songs are hits today and why studying them is risky.

There’s an important reason why old hits can help even more than current hits. The success of today’s songs is strongly influenced by the rather temporary notion of the performers’ personal popularity. And so the popularity of a song doesn’t necessarily mean that the song is a good model for songwriters.

That's a massively important point! So many of today's hits in pop are driven by celebrity culture and mass market songwriting by a small clique of producers. You aren't necessarily hearing great songs as an odd combination of great hooks and sharply honed media savvy. Can you copy that on a global scale as an unsigned artist? Probably not.

Better then to look back and uncover the art of quality songwriting as your tutor.

Nothing wong with those beat driven radio hits, but are they building long term classic songs? - probably not.

Read the whole piece here.

Do hit songs need a hit title?

Image by iboy_daniel

In our free eBook for musicians (please DO get it, if you haven't already) we talk about how Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf wrote their biggest hits by coming up with arresting and fascinating titles first and then writing the song to fit.

This article looks at the issue of whether a hit song needs a hit title and has some interesting points to make.

Should you go for the Steinman / Loaf method every time? - no, probably not - But it's another little tool to put in your songwriting kit to be pulled out at the right time.

Read the whole piece here.

 

What do the big hit songs of 2010 have in common?

Jay Frank's 'Future Hit DNA' site and book provide analytical data on what characteristics made songs become hits.

His book is WELL worth a read - you can get it here.

But, without spending a massive $10 on access to Jay's hugely insightful ideas, you can look at his report on the top 100 songs of 2010 and what common features they had...for free. Persoanlly, I think it's pretty much the best $10 you can spend to improve your chances of writing hit songs, but that's up to you!

I'm not saying that you should try to seek out a perfect formula and, of course, you should remain innovative, but it would be plain stupid to ignore the data about intro length, song length and bpm.

You might choose to not always stick to that framework but when working on something that you know is strong and has radio potential, get the fine tuning down and go for the jugular.

That’s not compromise or selling out – it’s just intelligent!

As well as checking out Jay's post, if you don't have it already, you'll benefit from the way we cover this and the way songs need to be crafted in a free eBook on our site here – http://www.makeitinmusic.com/free-ebook.

So, Jay's post:

2010 has finally wrapped up, which means it’s time to analyze the common threads of the biggest hits of the year. At the mid-year point, I looked at the Top 50. This time, I extended the analysis to the Top 100. Collectively, these 100 songs accounted for 187 million downloads and well over $200 million in revenue. These 100 titles also account for approximately 36% of all new music track sales. This means over one in three new music downloads come from these songs. Many elements that have been brewing for the last few years that are detailed in Futurehit.DNA really started to show their ability to bring success this year. Here are some of the shared traits:

Read his post and data here.

 

Songwriting - a major contrast between verse and chorus hooks people in

I give some advice on songwriting on the main blog, but I mostly get other people to write that stuff for me.

My experience helps me pick a great song and I know some of the things that I am looking for - as we talk about in the '10 Key steps...' eBook - but I am NOT talented, technical or musical myself.

So, this article loses me after the first paragraph - but the first paragraph I understand very well and agree with.

If you're a writer and musician, hopefully you understand the stuff about keys and 'Aeolian mode' - I know what a key is, but that other thing???

The article references the idea to the current Bruno Mars hit - so you know massive hits obey the rule.

Contrast is one of the most important elements of successful songs. You want to contrast one section (a verse, for example) with another (the chorus) enough so that they're distinctive, but don't differ so much that they sound like they come from different songs. Without enough contrast, songs tend to sound long and boring, with chords, melody and lyrics coming across like a long run-on sentence. So how do you create enough, but not too much, contrast?

Read the whole post here.