The Music Business and the Shadowy World of Ghostwriters
In today’s rock music world it isn’t uncommon for some of our most important music heroes to use unnamed writers to help write their songs. Ghostwriters function behind the scenes to write another huge hit to place your favorite pop superstar back on leading of the musical heap. It is not well recognized but there is a long history of ghostwriting inside the music world. Let’s take a look at some of the performers utilizing ghostwriters and how ghostwriting has impacted popular music year after year.
Were you aware that Mozart had been a ghostwriter? He used to ghostwrite music and songs for the well-off patrons of the arts. In 1939 Patrick Standford was a ghostwriter for different symphonies and motion pictures.
Within the movie business, music ghostwriting is fairly secretive. It really is regarded as unethical by several folks however it is extremely common. In the really early days of movies, a composer named David Raskin worked as a music freelancer for Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin was acknowledged as the score contributor.
In pop songs, music ghostwriting is also a factor. On occasion an expert songwriter is introduced to assist with either novice lyricists, or a person who might be encountering writer’s block. Sometimes a freelancer may produce words of the song and songs within the style of an artist but still get little or no feedback from the person acknowledged on the music sheet.
At times a ghostwriter is credited as an associate or similar innocent term. A lot more commonly, they just don’t appear anywhere-they are a true ghost. Sometimes legal activity takes place when a musical ghostwriter tries to claim royalties- generally after song becomes a hit. Sarah McLachlan experienced a challenge having a musician who stated that he had a significant contribution to her debut album, “Touch.”
In hip-hop, ghostwriting keeps growing each and every year. In fact, it does lead to some controversy. Purists don’t like it, and point to the usage of it as an example of “bad capitalism.” This is due to the perception of rapping as “expressing yourself” and that composing for someone else is not pure “self-expression.” Some emcees like Chuck D of Public Enemy, Inc. think that is a mistaken view since not everyone is really a gifted lyricist and not everybody is equipped to be a vocalist. He says a rap song might require more talents than a solitary person has.
Nearly all ghostwriters have secrecy clauses, or they may well appear within the liner notes, and in some circumstances they’re allowed to discuss their involvement out in the open. You may see a credit in the liner notes for “vocal arrangement,” which may mean it was a ghostwriter. A few years ago there were hip-hop ghostwriting services which appeared online, and supplied artists with rhymes for free of charge.
Ghostwriting has a lengthy tradition in popular music, from Mozart to today’s coolest rappers. So long as the song is a hit, the person that penned it will still have a job. And in today’s American Idol-centric music world where unknowns and superstars alike are searching for the most effective tunes, ghostwriters will continue to play a major role. The next time you’re humming along to your favorite tunes there’s an excellent chance your favorite rock superstar didn’t write one note.
