IT’S IMPOSSIBLE: MORE SONGWRITING MYTH BUSTING

​I don’t know how many times each week I hear the words “It’s impossible” when people get rejected to hear what they don’t want to hear. The ridiculous part of it all is that the things they are saying are “impossible” are not impossible at all. It just needs them to understand there is no such thing as impossible in this industry and to understand how they can defeat anything that might sound impossible to lots of people.
 
“It’s impossible to get a song cut if you don’t live in Nashville, New York or LA.” False. I am living in Singapore and every once in a while, I get a cut on an artist on a major label. Even a lot of times I wrote with the artist or other writers in the other side of the world using the magical power of technology, via Skype or even emails. Some names that you wouldn’t believe if I tell you, sat down on Skype and we came up with ideas together and wrote the song during the call! 

On the other hand, I know people living in the same town as those major artists, tried to work with them and still didn’t get a cut on. Yes, I agree it’s hard to work when you are living somewhere far away from the music centers, but it also is far from impossible.

​“It’s impossible to get a song cut unless you write it with the artist.” False. I’ve had sixteen #1 songs and only one was written with the artist. Out of 34 top forty hits, 2 were written with the artist. Out of more than 290 cuts, less than 15 were written with the artist. Writing a great song often trumps writing with the artist. Because the artist is not the sole decision maker. When the producers or label people hear a song that suits exactly for the particular artist at a particular time, they will proceed with it and they will get it recorded. Writing with the artist can make it easier because at the end of the day the artist natural have a loud voice in their decision making process and when they’re involved in the song they will try to get it recorded but it doesn’t mean if the artist isn’t involved and if your song is great, you can’t get a cut. Just write better songs.
 
“It’s impossible to get a cut if you are over XX years old.” False. You are not in the front line in this industry. Being a writer or a producer means being in the back line and not really being seen. Your age or how you look doesn’t really matter to the public, nor to the professionals. One of the Songwriters in Flipside, Roger is in his late 60’s and is still writing great songs and getting cuts. People don’t care how old you are if you write a hit song. To some level I can say being older is some sort of a good thing for songwriters and producers because they are selling their mindset and their experiences and the older, they are means the more experienced they are and they have more valuable opinions to provide.
 
“It’s impossible to make money in the music business anymore.” False. I wrote for a company that is returning more than 30% per year on their investor’s money – in the music business. Is it harder now to make money in this digital age? Yes, but on the other hand this digital era is providing tons of new ways for reaching to artists and labels which in the past the writers couldn’t use these methods. Do you have to be creative now to make money? Yep. Impossible? No. Is it hard to succeed in the music business? Yes. But it has nothing to do with “nowadays” or how the digital streaming impacted music industry. In general, it’s hard to succeed in any business at any given era. You always have to have something new and different to offer, to stand out of the crowd who are competing with you and each other. Especially in a new business that you’ve never worked in before. Don’t listen to the naysayers. Those voices will only discourage you. Instead, chart out what you want to achieve. And make a plan. Work hard and work smart. And you might just achieve the “impossible.”

Author

Hangi Tavakoli is our in-house established and professional music producer with more than 18 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.