"Choosing A Songwriting Niche"
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Music Publishers |
It is said that music is the universal language. There are various music genres: pop, country, salsa, classical, hip-hop, jazz...Many originating from different cultures and traditions, and some formed from combinations of the same. They're all like different ice cream flavors. Most people like at least one, some more than one, and others have an appreciation for them all. As a songwriter, how do you choose a music genre or niche for which to write. Or do you?
There are advantages to songwriting within a specific music niche including familiarity. Writing for a particular niche, you become familiar with its characteristics such as basic song structure, rhythms and beats, recurrent themes and phrasing. You know that songs within the niche, even though they're different, all sound a particular way or have specific commonalities. This fosters a certain level of comfort in your songwriting that leads to confidence with more experience. The result is that your songwriting grows and matures in your chosen niche, resulting in not only proficiency but excellence.
And with excellence also comes profitability. Writing for a specific audience can be immensely profitable. Specialized writing allows you to become well known within a specific realm, and as your notoriety grows, so grows your pocketbook.
If you think of songwriters like Carol King, Dolly Parton or Alicia Keys, a particular type of music immediately comes to mind because each is so closely associated with music of a specific type. That's not to say that these artists have not written songs outside of their chosen niche, however the main body of their work is evident within a certain dominion. But what about choosing a different path?
Writing for a more diverse audience has its advantages too. In choosing to write for a general music audience, you open up your songwriting to a broader range of influence. Songwriting for a general market can also offer a much greater range of artistic expression. Experimenting with many different types of melodies, themes, lyrics, sounds and instrumentation can lead to broader development and greater creativity. The benefit is that you also attract a larger and more diverse audience for your songwriting work.
To specialize or not to specialize, that is the question. Exploring where your interests lay, how you want your songwriting to grow and where you want it to lead will ultimately help you in making that decision.
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Brian Cook is a freelance writer whose articles on music and songwriting have appeared on many websites.
You can find more of these at SongwritersGuide.com.
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