| “How do I know when I’m ready to write with a pro songwriter?” – I get this question very often. Here’s what I would call my “Ready To Write Checklist.” If you can check these off, you are probably as ready as you’ll ever be: I am armed with lots of ideas. You don’t want to go into a “writing session” and hope to wing it. The better prepared you are, the more confident you will be. Go in with as much ammo as you can prepare in advance. |  |
I am confident I can hang with the big boys. I know that I may not have the track record of the pro songwriter, but I’ve been working hard at this for a long time and I know that I’ll be able to contribute, even if the pro does more of the heavy lifting. Be realistic about it. Here it doesn’t matter how much you WANT it but it’s all about how much realistically you are READY for it.
I’m willing to challenge and not just be a “Yes Man”. If you go into a pro co-write and all you do all day is say “That’s awesome”, you really aren’t helping. The pro writer can do that alone and most probably he/she doesn’t really need someone to be there just to praise them! You’ve got to be willing to challenge the pro and to behave as if it’s a level playing field. Even if you are a huge fan of the pro’s work, you can’t gush and go on and on. You have to remember that, on this day, you are a peer. Be complimentary but get to work and act just like you would with another songwriter at your level.
I know how to behave professionally. I know how the music business works. I’m ready to pay for my share of a demo if we get a great song. I’m going to be working the song just as hard as the pro will be. If you have all of those things going for you, then you’ll make a good co-writer once you get that big opportunity.
I’m willing to challenge and not just be a “Yes Man”. If you go into a pro co-write and all you do all day is say “That’s awesome”, you really aren’t helping. The pro writer can do that alone and most probably he/she doesn’t really need someone to be there just to praise them! You’ve got to be willing to challenge the pro and to behave as if it’s a level playing field. Even if you are a huge fan of the pro’s work, you can’t gush and go on and on. You have to remember that, on this day, you are a peer. Be complimentary but get to work and act just like you would with another songwriter at your level.
I know how to behave professionally. I know how the music business works. I’m ready to pay for my share of a demo if we get a great song. I’m going to be working the song just as hard as the pro will be. If you have all of those things going for you, then you’ll make a good co-writer once you get that big opportunity.
AuthorHangi Tavakoli is our in-house established and professional music producer with more than 15 years of experience in music production, mix and mastering, recording engineering, live sound designing/engineering, lyrics writing and music arrangement. He has produced more than 800 and written more than 2000 published songs to-date, including some major hits in international scale. | |
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