SONGWRITING IS ADDICTIVE

Time after time, I see the warning signs. It takes a trained eye to spot them, but even simple statements thrown out in casual conversation can reveal that a songwriter has crossed over from social songwriting to having a real problem. When you get the hang of writing songs, it really is addictive. You want it or not, there are times you would find yourself thinking of songs ideas when you hear even random words from people around you. My friends are talking about their life, relationship or even simple things like when they are talking about football or politics and I hear songs in my head. When that happens to you, you would know it exactly is the definition of addiction. There are lots of things an addicted person says or does that would tell you about their situation. When you hear statements like these are a dead giveaway: “I think I need another guitar” or “That would be a great song title” as will as “We should write that” or “I woke up and wrote that chorus at 3 AM”. They sound innocent enough, but they reveal a deeper problem. Much deeper than what they look like. This person is addicted to songwriting. 

When someone says something clever in a movie, you’ll see the glow on their faces from their phones as they try to sneak them out and type in a title to write later. Or they might be at the table next to you at a restaurant scribbling something on a napkin. When you look at that piece of napkin, it’s a song or a hook! Once you know what to look for, the addicts are easy to spot. Or, perhaps when you are reading this, you see yourself or someone you know as one of the people I described and their “problem”. The addicted people think they are doing a good job hiding it, but those of us who know you already know they have a problem. The best thing they can do is to own it.
Some rationalize and say, “No one has ever recorded one of my songs, so I’m not a real songwriter.” Or “I’ve only written a few songs, so I can’t call myself a songwriter yet.” But the truth is that once a person is actually writing songs, they are a songwriter. These people are denying the problem. Being a songwriter doesn’t depend on other people. It’s about you and the uncontrollable desire you have to put words to music. You can be an addicted songwriter way before you have commercial success. Being a songwriter is one thing and being a professional songwriter is another. You might be writing on and off, or even you might be constantly writing but not for making a living out of. This still makes you one of us, but a none professional one.
 
Being able to say “My name is _____ and I’m a songwriter” is the first step toward healing. Once you own the problem, it can be managed, though it will probably never go away. Songwriting addiction is a chronic illness. Addiction to songwriting is not bad at all. In fact – I never imagined I actually say this one day but – this addiction is pretty beautiful. Being able to pour your heart out in one of the most beautiful ways known to humans is not a destroying addiction. Of course, it has its own kind of problems but once you know how to handle the outcome behaviors, it’s pretty beautiful. You’ll have to figure out how to manage relationships, work and life in general along with the crazy urge you have to “just write one more”. If you have read this far, you likely have a problem. Do yourself and all of us a favor. Just own it and then keep on writing and make our world a more beautiful place.

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.