Songwriting Craft & Inspiration
ROBIN FREDERICK TAKES YOU INSIDE TODAY'S HIT SONGS.
Ingrid Michaelson has had over 90 original songs used in dozens of TV shows, films, trailers, and commercials, most them placed multiple times. And that’s excluding performances on competition shows—I’m just talking about episodic TV series, movies, and national commercials. I haven’t found any other artist who comes close to that achievement! Sounds like a record for song sync placements to me.
If you could ask a question of any successful hit songwriter, what would you want to know? You’d probably ask how they do it. In fact, you can ask that question and get an answer… just by taking an in-depth look at their hits.
Brandi Carlile is not only a Grammy Award winning songwriter and performer, she has also written and performed songs featured in a wide range of motion pictures—from Barbie: the Movie to Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants—and hit television shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Ted Lasso. (Visit Tunefind.com for a long list.) “Carried Me With You” was written for the Pixar film Onward and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
Not only is this song a huge worldwide hit but it’s also a great example of solid song craft that combines a well-written lyric with a catchy melody and cool dance club groove.
But wait, there’s more! This track features a smooth blend of successful old and new music styles. If you crave that ’70s vibe, you’ll love the Disco-happiness of this tune with its Funk bass and soaring strings mixed with today’s tight, punchy drum loops.
Every songwriter’s dream: A total stranger stumbles across your song on YouTube, falls in love with it in the first 30 seconds, and immediately dashes over to iTunes and actually buys it. Then, your new fan sets aside an evening, turns off the phone so they won’t be disturbed, puts on headphones and curls up in a comfy chair to ponder every syllable, every note, and every nuance of the brilliant masterpiece you slaved over.
We wish. The unfortunate truth…
You manage to get your song in front of listeners any way you can. Maybe you covered a hit song in a unique way. A listener who is a fan of that song stumbled across your version on YouTube and decided to check out your other stuff. While they’re doing that, they’re half-watching a TV show, snacking on pizza while surrounded by kids, roommates, or siblings, and getting a half-dozen texts from friends. Although they may hear your song, they’re not thinking about what they hear.
That’s the harsh reality, but just remember every other song gets pretty much the same treatment. And once you know that, there is something you can do: Use trigger words.
“And It’s Still Alright“ is the kind of song you won’t find on the Top 40 Pop music chart but with millions of streams it clearly has plenty of appeal.
Rateliff has the ability to write powerful songs about common emotions that are shared by many, just the kind of emotions that show up in television scenes. His songs have had TV placements in Roswell, New Mexico; Yellowstone; Lethal Weapon; Grace and Frankie; Nashville; Fargo, NCIS: Los Angeles and more. Let’s see how he does it.
