Many creatives are put off from writing even one or two songs for someone else’s album. They figure that it’s not worth it to write a song that may end up being used for a single occasion. They are partially right. But they are also wrong. Because just like anything else, there is a cost to ownership. And in this case, that cost is called ‘copyright’.
The person who owns the copyright to a song is known as the ‘copyright holder’. If you write a song and it ends up being perceived as being valuable enough by someone else to be included on their album, you’ve got some pretty powerful allies. Those allies are your boss, your employees, and your lawyer. And they are all on your side as you fight for compensation.
But how does one go about calculating the cost of songwriting? Let’s break it down.
The Price of Sheet Music
First of all, let’s talk about the cost of sheet music. When a musician writes a song, they aren’t usually doing it for free. They are either pitching it to a record label or band with the hopes of securing a publishing deal for the song. Or they are writing it as a gift for someone special. So it goes without saying that they aren’t doing this for free. But what is the cost of sheet music?
Well, when you’re not an expert musician, you’ll most likely need to pay for someone to transcribe the song for you. Transcription fees can range from a couple hundred to a couple thousand dollars. And that is just for one song. Factor in the additional costs of rehearsal time and travel (if you need to travel for the session), and you’re looking at a fairly significant investment.
Even if you’re not doing it for money, you still need to pay for sheet music. The other option is to ask a friend or family member to sing along with you as you record. But you’ll need to pay them for their time even if they’re just learning the song for the first time. You can also use online resources such as YouTube to find musicians who are willing to play the music you’re looking for at no cost.
Saving Money Through Procrastination
Next on our list of costs is procrastination. Musicians and songwriters tend to be rather slow at coming up with ideas. Especially when they are faced with an unappetising piece of music, they may struggle to put two notes together. But that is precisely why they need to be paid. Because someone else has come up with the idea first, and they are just sitting on it, waiting for inspiration to hit. And it doesn’t happen often enough for free. So they sit down and force themselves to write something, albeit unwillingly. And that is where you come in. You are their salve to the creative drought. By saving their ideas for later, they are able to concentrate on other areas of their life, giving you the benefit of their unappetising talents. And that is worth something.
How much is it worth? That is really up to you. Just remember that you can never put a price on inspiration. So while it might not be cost-effective for you to write a song for someone else, it is most certainly cost-effective for them to have someone else write a song for them. Because the cost of procrastination is not tangible. It’s just an excuse to avoid doing something. So it doesn’t really count.
Getting Published
Getting published is quite another matter. Once you’ve written a song, the next step is to find a publisher. A publisher will take your song and develop it into a complete album. And they will do all of the work (including the marketing and promotion) on your behalf. In exchange, you will receive a royalty for every copy of the album sold. It’s a fairly straightforward deal, and it can be a very profitable one. If you want to get your song published, it is worth considering the costs involved.
Getting a publisher is not as difficult as you might think. There are hundreds of companies out there that specialize in getting songs to the masses. And they are always on the lookout for new material. So you have the option of pitching many songs to multiple publishers at once. Just remember that the more submissions you make, the more you will obscure the fact that your submission was made under duress. And that is worth something.
Negotiating A Fair Compensation
Fair compensation is quite possibly the most important factor when considering the cost of writing a song. After all, you are investing a lot of time and effort into something that might not end up being profitable. When you are approached by a record label or publisher about writing a song for them, you have two options. You can either accept their offer and try to work out the terms of the contract with them, or you can walk away. The cost of the negotiation is not worth it. You can ask for more compensation or fewer publishing rights or whichever suits your needs best. Just don’t expect them to be generous. Because at the end of the day, you are the one with the valuable experience. And although it might not seem like it, you are the one who really knows how to put a song together. So while it might be cost-effective for them to have someone else write a song for them, it is certainly not cost-effective for them to have someone else learn how to write a song from scratch. It’s a no-win situation for them. So while it might not be in your best interest to write a song for someone else, in the long run, it might be in theirs.
At the end of the day, nobody can put a price on creativity. Especially when it comes to songwriting. Nobody can say how much a particular song is worth to someone else. It’s a totally subjective area. The only thing that can be said for certain is that it’s never free and it always costs something. So in the end, it’s all about how much you are willing to spend. And at what cost you are willing to incur. Because in the end, nobody is ever going to value your work more than you do. So you can’t really lose. You’ll either accept their offer and save yourself the cost of writing the song yourself, or you’ll walk away and keep the inspiration.