#013: Music Producers Assault on Songwriter Credits is a Shame

“Being a Songwriter is Like Being A Nun --- You’re Married to a Mystery” — Leonard Cohen

Throughout history, the role of a songwriter has been filled with deception, theft and disappointments. Everyone has heard the horror stories of the songs that Elvis and so many other artists of that era purchased from (primarily black) songwriters for rates that are laughable and without any ties to future earnings or publishing rights. One of the best transformations during the Internet age has been the education of recording artists, songwriters and producers. The deals, in general, are trending in the right direction in terms of fairness — while acknowledging the bad deals that still exist and that the terms seem to always favor the the artist/label. There also have been rate improvements for songwriters, most recently coming from the Music Modernization Act — which was signed into law in 2018 and provided them a larger slice of the revenue pie.

The progression in protecting songwriters over the decades is unquestionable, but there is one area where this has gone in the opposite direction — songwriter credits. Historically, the person or people who wrote the song itself — that is the lyrics and melody — were the credited songwriters on the release. Then that song will be taken to a music producer to add the arrangement and instrumentation around the song. For one example, let’s look at Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror”. If you are familiar with that song, it is the chorus lyrics and melody that likely just popped in your mind. Those elements were written by Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett in an initial co-write session. Glen and Siedah then took the song to Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson’s executive producer on Thriller, to get his approval. With his thumbs up, the song went to Michael Jackson for he and Quincy to complete the final production. So how do the credits appear for “Man in the Mirror”? Exactly as they should. Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett are the only credited songwriters and Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson listed as co-producers (1).

In today’s music industry, not only would Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson be credited as songwriters on “Man in the Mirror”, but it’s very possible that a friend who was at the session, the assistant to the engineer and a pizza delivery driver might make the cut. There has been a destruction in the importance of the role of what makes a song, a song. It is often discussed that a hit can always be stripped to just vocals and piano/guitar and it will still be great. My intent is not to diminish or disregard the role of a music producer. It is an integral part to make any song a hit record. But that is why every release has a 'songwriter’ credit and a ‘producer’ credit — to differentiate between the two roles. When looking at two examples from the past year, we see this shift in credits abundantly clear. Arizona Zervas’ song “Roxanne” has an infectious hook that made it a hit — yet the producers of the song still shared in the songwriting credit (2). This is the same for the biggest song of 2020 so far, The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights”, not even getting to songs like Drake’s “Nice For What” which has 21 credited songwriters (3).

The producers and minor contributors to the song shouldn’t be given a songwriter credit. Period. There must be a reversion to the old way that we handled credits in the music industry. The impetus for this can come from many forces, including the record labels, publishing companies or the songwriter’s themselves. But I hope that the music producers in the industry today — especially the biggest names who are typically attached to the biggest hits — can look themselves in the mirror (pun intended) and only seek producer credits moving forward. Doing so would preserve the most important thing that the entire $19 billion+ music industry is built on — the song.

(1) Man in the Mirror. (2020, August 06). Retrieved August 09, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_in_the_Mirror
(2) Roxanne (Arizona Zervas song). (2020, July 30). Retrieved August 09, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roxanne_(Arizona_Zervas_song)
(3) Blinding Lights. (2020, August 08). Retrieved August 09, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blinding_Lights

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JAY’S SONGS OF THE WEEK
Remi Wolf - “Monte Carlo”
Victoria Monet - “Jaguar”
Amine - “Woodlawn”
DaBaby - “BLIND” (feat. Young Thug)