HOW WE RAISE THE TIDE AS SONGWRITERS

In any music community I am a member I am always trying to remind everyone around me that we rise by lifting each other up. As some of us improve, the bar gets raised and others improve trying to reach for that bar. This is the healthiest way of competition inside a community that literally benefits everyone. In some ways, the music business is a cut-throat competition, with some similarities to the hunger games. Some people look at it as a “kill or be killed” proposition. This kind of behavior would create what I call dirty competition. These people try to destroy their competitors instead of trying to improve themselves and get better than the rest. If everyone just try to be better than the others rather than destroying the others, the whole team will get better and better and it’s great for everyone.

Playing “kill or get killed” kind of game stifles creativity and it creates crappy music. Our philosophy at Flipside is that if we lift each other up, better music starts to be created. ​

As better music starts to be created, better songs are in competition with the ones that were created from a motivation of greed, and that, eventually, the better music will force the bad music out. We can’t stop the greed or the cutthroat players, but we can refuse to play their game. If you write today, don’t worry about the music business. Just write something from your heart and take the time to craft a great song. Reach out to other people in your music community and collaborate. Share what you’ve learned with others. Encourage and lift each other up at every opportunity. That’s the way to raise the tide that lifts all the boats. 

Author

Hangi Tavakoli is our in-house established and professional music producer with 20 years of experience in songwriting, music production, mix and mastering. He has written and produced more than 5,000 published songs to-date, including some major hits in international scale.