5 Songwriting Mistakes That Kept Artists From Cutting Our Songs For Years

Marty and Clay own up to the five mistakes that kept their songs from getting recorded for years: writing for themselves instead of the artist, falling in love with the first draft, being clever instead of conversational, pitching blind, and chasing trends. Along the way there’s the 80-plus verses Leonard Cohen reportedly wrote for “Hallelujah,” a Desmond Child idea about artist archetypes that reaches back to Greek mythology, and the one question from a publisher that ended a story song’s chances before it was ever pitched. The through line: a song gets cut when it fits the artist who has to sing it every night. Write on.

Clay & Marty’s 10-day video series:

This video series will help you level-up your songs and finish them faster. CLICK HERE to begin! 

SongTown Press Books:

Next Level Lyric Writing: Check It Out

Mastering Melody Writing : Check It Out

Song Building: Mastering Lyric Writing : Check It Out

The Songwriter’s Guide To Mastering Co-Writing : Check It Out

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Clay Mills is a multi-Grammy nominated songwriter and co-founder of SongTown. With over 150 major artist cuts, multiple #1 songs, and 16 Billboard hits in genres ranging from country to pop and beyond, he brings real-world, in-the-room experience to every episode.

Marty Dodson is a multi-#1 hit songwriter and co-founder of SongTown. His songs have been recorded by artists from country to pop to K-pop — including Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, George Strait, The Plain White T’s, and Cho Yong Pil — and he’s a master at teaching writers to craft creative, inspiring lyrics.

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