Songwriting Royalties Increased 7% In 2010

It’s not particularly breaking news, but The Tennessean has a nice article about the state of songwriting in Nashville. As our Senior Editor and “Street Smarts” columnist Michael Kosser has been telling us for years, record companies and publishers are increasingly relying on artists who can write songs, not just sing them.

Many young artists are also developing and learning the craft of songwriting through co-writes with older, more-established songwriters, such as in the case of Taylor Swift and Liz Rose.

The shift in the industry away from non-songwriting singers is an attempt by record companies to tap into songwriter royalties, which The Tennessean says increased by more than 7% in 2010 (while sales of music declined a roughly equivalent amount).

In a video, Rivers Rutherford, who’s been a professional songwriter in Nashville for 22 years, and George Teren talk about the craft and business of songwriting. Rutherford says that some songs have taken years to write, while one song took less time to write than the total length of the song itself.

Interviews with NSAI’s Bart Herbison, BMI’s Jody Williams, and several other songwriters and Nashville insiders make this article a particularly insightful and enjoyable read.