Songwriter

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A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. That is to say, a songwriter is a lyricist, a composer, or both. The word 'songwriter' is however more commonly used to describe one who writes popular songs than to describe a writer of art songs.

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[edit] History and background of songwriters

Songwriters may perform the songs they write themselves, or they may write for somebody else to perform. People who sing their own songs are nowadays typically called singer-songwriters, although the tradition of doing this dates back hundreds of years. It is often speculated that pre-historic man may have made up and sung songs. More recently, the troubadours of the Middle Ages sang their own works, as did the German Minnesingers.

Most art songwriting is written for somebody other than the composer to perform, although it is known that Franz Schubert often sang his own songs at private parties, and there have been a number of composers who were also singers and wrote for themselves, Michael Jackson and George Michael being examples.

Many modern rock and roll bands have one or two songwriters, usually members of the band. In many cases, the lead singer is one of the songwriters.

There have been quite a few popular songwriting teams such as the Motown team of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland (collectively known as Holland-Dozier-Holland) and the teams of Leiber and Stoller, Lennon and McCartney, Morrissey and Johnny Marr, Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, George and Ira Gershwin, Jagger and Richards, Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, Guy Fletcher and Doug Flett, Geoff Stephens and Tony Macaulay, Rodgers and Hart, The Bee Gees, the Jackson brothers, Albert Hammond and Mike Hazelwood, Joe Strummer and Mick Jones, Ashford & Simpson, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, and Don Henley and Glenn Frey.

Many songwriters also serve as their own music publishers, while others have outside publishers. Songs in country music are often written by staff writers; songwriters directly employed by music publishers. Legally, songs may only be copied or performed publicly by permission of the authors. The legal power to grant these permissions may be bought, sold or otherwise transferred. This is governed by copyright law. Songwriting and publishing royalties can be a substantial source of income, particularly if a song becomes a hit record.

Songwriters in the popular music genre often also work as record producers, commonly using the professional title Producer-songwriter.

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