This weeks post is from my friend Amanda West! She is a great lyricist and lives in Ireland. She knows a ton about collaboration and is sharing her knowledge! Read on! The Oxford English dictionary defines collaboration as “The action of working with someone to produce something”. The idea of collaborating is not new, in fact the word ‘collaboration’ first came into use in the mid 1800s, and was a derivation from the Latin verb collaborare, to ‘work together’. All very dry and boring when put like that isn’t it. But in reality, when applied to the world of creativity, and in our instance, music, it takes on an incredible life of its own. When we work together to create a song, or a piece of music, amazing things can happen. I’ve put my thoughts on collaboration into 10 points, although there are many more aspects to the subject than I have room for here. I suspect I could easily write a book on it, but in case I bore you, 10 will do. So here they are: 1. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Working with a partner on a song means that someone else can do the things you don’t find so easy, or are aren’t confident at, creating something that is often much stronger than either of you could have written alone. 2. Maybe you have some great lyrics or an amazing top line melody, but they just don’t inspire you enough to create equally great music/lyrics to finish the song. Sometimes we hit a blank wall on a project, and it can be a useful idea to ask someone suitable if they would like to see if they could take it forward, and collaborate on it with you. 3. Collaboration with another songwriter often means that you produce more tracks overall, as you are using your strengths. When you work with your strengths, not only do you tend to enjoy it more, but you also seem to produce more overall. Thus, your output of songs or cues will be larger over a period of time, meaning that your income in the long term is likely to be larger. 4. Always agree and sign a co-writer’s agreement before you start work. This is a big one. It can’t be emphasized enough. You need to agree your copyright splits before you start working together, and you need it in a legally binding document. There are no end of horror stories about people falling out, or even worse, taking each other to court, concerning a disagreement over copyright splits. If someone doesn’t want to sign one, move on. Any professional songwriter or composer will not have a problem with this, as it is normal. 5. Discussion and communication is key. If something is bothering you, talk to your co-writer about it. If you don’t understand something, talk to your co-writer about it. Misunderstanding is very easy, especially if you are working online. Of course it goes without saying that you should do this in a well-mannered way, explaining politely your point, and asking for their ideas on the matter. Almost everything can be resolved in a good way, if approached decently and professionally. Be nice, it means the world. 6. Songwriting with someone else can be fun! Songwriting, in general, tends to be a lonely business. Composers and songwriters are known to spend many hours ensconced in their studio, emerging only for the next caffeine fix. If you co-write with somebody, be it online or locally, you are communicating and discussing something you are passionate about, which is always enjoyable. 7. Collaborating with a producer can take your music to the next level. Many of us can write decent songs, but when it comes to production we just aren’t in the same ballpark. A suitable producer may be willing to work with your tracks in exchange for a share of the copyright. 8. How can you find these collaborators? You can collaborate with anyone, anywhere in the world. How amazing is that! The traditional way of collaborating in music is face to face, in a room together, bouncing ideas back and forth as you write the lyrics and music. To work in this way try an online search for your local songwriting groups, go along a few times, get to know the other members, and you will find people more than willing to work with you. Also nowadays we have this thing called the Internet. So now you can work with anyone, anywhere in the world, as long as you both have an Internet connection. But where do you look for these like-minded folks who want to work with you online? Some of the ones that have worked for me are online songwriting groups, such as GYAWS (a Facebook group), FAWM (February Album Writing Month – 14 songs in 28 days), and 50/90 (50 songs in 90 days). I have also found co-writers via the TAXI Forums, and well as through my actual TAXI membership and at the annual TAXI Road Rally in Los Angeles every year. Other music and songwriting conferences would provide much the same opportunities I am sure. There are many online songwriters groups where you can collaborate, just try a Google search. Although you will have to weed out the wheat from the chaff as they say. Another way that can be productive is to attend events put on by your country’s PRO. For me in Ireland that is IMRO. They organize many such events, and at all of them there is the chance to chat to other songwriters and artists. I always make some kind of contact to work together in the future when I go to these things. Eventually, as you network over time people remember you and will contact you when they need what you are offering. Be patient, be considerate, be friendly and open, and you will find collaborators in many places. 9. Communication in collaboration is everything. And I mean everything. Poor communication will mean a less than pleasant experience, resulting in one or both co-writers not wanting to repeat the process, or feeling resentful, or worse. Discuss everything before you start writing. Discuss the copyright splits upfront, and get that contract signed. If you are not happy about something, mention it. Make sure you do it in a friendly and non-confrontational way, being open and willing to compromise to solve any issues. Online communications are fraught with problems, not least because most of it is via typing. It is so easy to misunderstand what someone means when you read his or her hastily written Facebook message or email etc. So, if something is ambiguous, just ask nicely for them to clarify what they meant. Finally one very important thing is to never take offence. Whatever upset you was probably not intended, and can easily be sorted out by talking on a voice chat such as Skype, or even a typed message explaining nicely that you aren’t sure what such and such a sentence meant, and can they please explain in a different way. Don’t brood, just ask in a friendly and polite manner. If your co- writer is professional, they will understand and respect this. 10. And finally, not all collaborations will work. We are all different creatures, with different ways of working and different personalities. You will find that some collaborations are incredible experiences, producing some of your best music, and feeling easy in the process. Others will be quite the opposite, ending in bad feelings and even anger. If you have the bad luck to have one that is a bad experience, then just learn from it and move on, but stay polite and professional no matter what the provocation. Remember, write, submit, forget, repeat, and just move on. Luckily most collaborations are not in this category! Useful links: GYAWS: https://www.facebook.com/gyaws.signup/ FAWM: http://fawm.org/ TAXI forums: https://forums.taxi.com/ 50/90: http://fiftyninety.fawmers.org/ Amanda West, Lyricist. www.sheeaunmusic.com
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AuthorMichelle Lockey is a multi-award winning singer-songwriter sharing the knowledge she has learned over the years writing for Film & TV. Like what you are reading? Please Sign up to receive a FREE Music Licensing checklist! 10 Steps to Sync Success
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