HOW TO FORMAT YOUR LYRICS SHEETS

The proper way to format your lyrics sheet is one of the most overlooked details in the songwriting business! Since starting our music label, Flipside, I have had the chance to see many songs and / or song lyrics presented to me. I’ve seen some wild lyrics sheets — or in many cases, even no lyrics sheets — accompanying songs being presented, and as a publisher, nothing can discourage me from listening to those songs more than having the song and don’t have any lyrics or have a very messy lyrics in front of me.
 
Publishers, Producers, and other people in the industry all speak a common language. The professionals in the industry share a style of working that had been developed over the years, without any written rules about it. One of the very little but important details you should care about when you are presenting your songs to someone you hope will record it is a typed, formatted lyrics sheet to be understandable by everybody. The format includes all the contact information, name of every writer, and each section such as verse and churns to be cleared. 

I can’t say this enough. A clear, typed lyrics sheet, with all of the important contact information, is half of your job, the other half is the format. Busy professionals are used to reading the lyrics sheet typed in a certain style so they can quickly assimilate the content. It’s a must that every time you present a song to someone, you do it in a professional format. The lyrics sheet is your music resume, and style points count! By doing it properly you’re not doing any favour to anyone else than yourself.
 
What not to do. I’ve seen a lot of aspiring writers send out lyrics sheet with multiple songwriting organizations in the top header of the lyrics sheet. This is not a good idea. Producers, artists, and publishers don’t care that you belong to 5 different organizations. The only thing they are interested in is the song and how good it would be. Trust me, it won’t make you more legit. And worse, putting all that other info on your lyrics sheet can make you look unprofessional and desperate! It’s something like name dropping in a conversation with a professional which just make you look a bit stupid to the other person. 

Author

Hangi Tavakoli is our in-house established and professional music producer with more than 17 years of experience in songwriting, music production, mix and mastering. He has produced more than 3,000 and written more than 4,800 published songs to-date, including some major hits in international scale.