Songwriting

Are You A Pro Vs. Aspiring Songwriter? Great Songs Don’t Care!

by Clay Mills
Jan 9, 2024

Over the weekend someone tagged me in a Facebook thread that had over 500 comments debating heatedly over whether or not a lyricist was an actual “songwriter”…

All I can say is who cares?

I don’t mean that in a harsh way. You see, I’ve been fortunate that over 150 major artists have recorded my songs. 16 Billboard hits. And you know what.. I’ve been on co-writing sessions where I contributed ONLY lyric. Other times sessions I did ONLY the music. And often BOTH music and lyric. Some days I play an instrument on the session and others I won’t. In fact, I know Hall Of Fame lyricists that have written some of the most iconic songs of all time. 

The song doesn’t care if you’re a pro writer.

Another thread here debated what it means to be a “pro songwriter”… Well, a great song doesn’t care about that either. I’ve heard songs that stop me dead in my tracks written by a writer without a pub deal. And as a pro songwriter, somedays I’ve written some pretty “just okay songs.” What we label ourselves or what we’ve accomplished doesn’t matter when we sit down to write.

SongTown.com has become the #1 online songwriting community in just a few years with hundreds of thousands of song feedback comments on each other’s songs. Why? Because SongTown members spend their time on the ONLY thing that really matters. The SONGS. And helping each other write better songs… Not labels or who does what. Because in the end, who cares? It’s all opinion…

Do you know what is real and not opinion? THE SONGS.

When a song is written right and moves everyone that hears it to tears, or to dance, or to laugh. That is all that matters. A song doesn’t care how it was written, who wrote it, or if it was created by a pro or a first-timer. I’ve had songs on over 15 million albums sold and a string of hits. If I write a bad song, guess what… nobody wants to sing it or hear it. At least not for a second time!

I’m thankful for the supportive community we have in SongTown and for our members that keep their eye on the ball (song). They are learning to write the best song they can. That’s why we have members signing staff writing deals and artist deals. That’s why many of our members are having fun just learning to be better writers.

Participation in heated OPINION will rob us all of our ability to create great art. All of you matter. Your songwriting matters.

Write On! ~Clay

Clay Mills

Clay Mills

Clay Mills is a 16-time ASCAP hit songwriter, producer, and performer. He is the co-founder of SongTown and has 2 Grammy nominations for “Beautiful Mess” by Diamond Rio and “Heaven Heartache” by Trisha Yearwood. Clay is also the co-author of Mastering Melody Writing and The Songwriter’s Guide To Mastering Co-writing.

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