How to Showcase Your Songwriting Skills and Succeed in Your Career

Songwriting competitions (or any music contest) can be valuable for many reasons. They connect you with industry professionals, boost your visibility as an artist, and, if you win, offer substantial financial rewards and further opportunities to advance your music career.

One prominent songwriting contest is the International Songwriting Competition (ISC), which provides both up-and-coming and established songwriters a chance to have their songs heard in a professional, international setting.

The ISC is an excellent example of how a songwriting contest can meet artists’ needs for financial support, recognition, and connections with influential figures in the music industry. Each year, a total of 74 winners across 24 genre categories share in over $200,000 in cash and prizes, including a $25,000 cash award to the Grand prize Winner. Additionally, the competition is renowned for its prestigious panel of judges as well as distinguished winners.

Some of the judges for the 2024 competition include Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson, Tom Waits, Reba McEntire, Elle King, Paul Stanley (KISS), Joe Hahn (Linkin Park), and Tim Rice-Oxley (Keane). Previous winners of the contest include British band Bastille, Belgian-Australian singer-songwriter Gotye, Australian artist Vance Joy, American musician Gregory Porter, and violinist Lindsey Sterling.

Curious about entering the competition this year? Enter today at https://songwritingcompetition.com/ to take your music career to the next level! The regular deadline for submissions is ending September 18th, 2024, at 12 AM CST.

Platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, Guru, or Freelancer are multinational work marketplaces for freelancers and freelance services. These platforms offer a great opportunity to showcase your songwriting skills and provide related services to those in need, whether they’re singers, producers, or other creatives. You might also connect with professionals from other industries, like marketing or PR, who are looking for songwriters for their projects.

Fiverr, in particular, is well-structured and designed to meet the needs of both freelancers and potential clients. The platform allows you to effectively display your portfolio and list the services you offer, detail your experience, and set your pricing.

However, it’s important to note that in most cases, the rights to what you create will belong to your client. This means you’ll be acting as a ghostwriter without control over where and how your work is used, and you won’t receive any credit for the song.

Turning to mentoring sites and sessions may turn into an additional expense, but it can be extremely valuable in terms of getting the education/experience you may lack or simply gaining more understanding of how things work in the music business — what practices work the best when you want to pitch your song, etc.

Additionally, many of these mentoring sessions are guided by real-life songwriters or other music professionals who can, first, share their experience with you and, second, help you network, which is one of the most important things to do when you want to launch your music career.

If you feel like mentoring sites are something you’d like to consider, you can try Songtown, Music Mentoring, Durango Songwriters Expo, Syncsummit (where you can learn more about sync licensing), and The Songwriting Academy.

You may often hear that pitching your songs directly to established recording artists, especially famous ones, can be a high-risk strategy. A more approachable alternative could be to target influencers who are trying to break into the music industry.

The idea of social media influencers entering creative fields tends to generate mixed reactions in people. Some people embrace it, believing that everyone should have the freedom to explore different fields of interest and chase their dreams. Others are more skeptical about it, feeling that influencers may gain professional opportunities in the industry due to their online fame rather than talent or hard work.

Regardless of these opinions, social media influencers are often powerful and highly influential figures with significant reach. Getting an influencer to kickstart their music career with a song you’ve written or collaborated on can give you just the exposure you need. Just consider the vast amount of followers they have — by partnering with them, your music could reach a much larger audience.

At the same time, even though their social media popularity may give them an initial advantage, it is ultimately their talent, creativity, and ability to create something people enjoy that will determine their success in the industry. Therefore, influencers might be more open to experimentation and willing to consider songs from less-known songwriters, providing you with a valuable opportunity.

In addition to influencers, music producers can be another valuable audience for your songwriting. Many music producers, especially those focused on creating beats, often need other collaborators, like singer-songwriters and lyricists, to turn their beats into fully realized songs if they want to expand beyond selling beats on websites like Airbit, AudioJungle, Premium Beat, or Beatstars.

Building a relationship with a producer who is eager to collaborate with you could have a significant impact on your career. Forming a long-lasting partnership can open new doors to new opportunities and take your music to the next level.

You can reach out to producers through various platfroms, including social media (don’t hesitate and send them a DM), SoundCloud, or YouTube. The more producers you connect with, the higher your chances of finding someone interested in working together.

Music synchronization licensing, known simply as sync licensing, allows artists and songwriters to have their music ‘synchronized’ or paired with visual media, such as TV shows, films, or commercials. This type of licensing traditionally a permission from both the recording owner and the composition owner.

In recent years, sync licensing deals have become a vital income stream for recording artists and music rights holders. Typically, sync licenses are paid through a one-time up-front fee. In addition to the up-front fee, songs generate performance royalties (paid to songwriters and publishers) when the synced program/media is broadcast or streamed.

Naturally, there is a difference between writing a song for a recording artist and writing a song for a TV series or a film. So, if you’re interested in this field, it’s essential that you know what makes a song ‘syncable’ and tailor your songwriting accordingly. If you’re looking to write songs that are more emotionally driven and narrate your personal experiences, you may find writing songs for broadcast programs limiting.

However, sync licensing may be a lucrative option, especially for emerging artists, providing valuable financial opportunities. Additionally, it can help you build your portfolio, which can then be a stepping stone toward writing the kind of music that truly resonates with your creative goals.

If you’d like to learn more about sync licensing, check out the article on how to get your music on TV and film, as well as our guide on music licensing.