A Songwriter's 12-Step Guide to Success

We know that finding success in music is no easy task. There's many ways of doing it, but they all require hard work and effort, plus a slice of luck. We have put together a full guide on all the steps you may take to achieve your dreams. Not all steps will be relevant to you, so feel free to skip any. However, the more you do, the better your chances of success.

Who Are You?

The first step is deciding who you are - your role in the journey.

Are you a songwriter? A musician? A lyricist? A singer? A producer, or even a combination of things.

What kind of sound or style are you going for? How do your influences affect the music you want to make?

It's important to start the process well by identifying your skills and ambitions first. You may well already have the answer to these questions, but if you don't, that's fine, you can find them along the way.

Your Equipment

Now you've begun the journey and have worked out where you are focussing your attention, it's time to equip yourself with the right gear to get you up and running. If you're a lyricist, all you need is a pen and paper, your phone or you could opt for an affordable computer/laptop to help you write and keep a record of your words.

For musicians and songwriters, you will need an instrument to start creating music with.

For singers, you may need a microphone or a voice recorder.

For producers, a higher spec computer may be needed.

Learn Your Craft

Once the equipment is sorted, you can start thinking about mastering your instrument, fine-tuning your voice, improving your writing or learning how to use the latest recording and production software.

We have done the research for you and found some highly regarded songwriting courses that can vastly improve your chances of success in the future.

Start Writing

Now you are ready to get going, everything is setup and in place. It's a time for you to get creative and enjoy doing what you love. Sit down with your guitar, your piano, your pen or your computer and write some songs. It doesn't matter if an idea turns out to be not as good as you'd hoped, the next one might be better! Be prepared for ups and downs along the way. Keep going, keep positive and try not fall in love with your first idea.

Find Help and Collaborators

If you manage to write brilliant songs all on your own, then that's awesome, move onto the next step. If you need a helping hand, that's where we at Verse-Chorus can give you guidance and introduce you to many other people in the same boat as you - looking for someone to fill in the missing pieces. Collaborating with others is a great way to write songs. If you are a lyricist who needs a musician or a singer to help complete the song, or a songwriter looking for a co-writer or producer, then Verse-Chorus can make this happen.

Copyright Your Lyrics and Music

By this point, hopefully you have written some songs, either by yourself, or with others. Before going any further, it's a good idea to protect your creations to stop anyone else claiming they wrote the songs first. We have a copyright protection service you can use to give you peace of mind. Use our service first and then move to the next step.

We recommend our in-house service Copyright Vault or use Copyright Solved to protect other types of creative works.

Sell Your Lyrics, Songs and Music

This step very much depends on your ambitions as a songwriter. Do you want to write for commercial purposes or write for yourself and your career as an artist/musician? If you are looking to purely make money from your creations, then you could consider selling your work for other people to use. You would still own the copyright, but give the buyer a licence to use it.

Perform Your Songs

In order to gain attention and some sort of following, the next stage is trying out your songs to a live audience. This can be nerve-wracking but also incredibly rewarding, if you get it right. There's nothing better than appreciation of your hard work. You can try your luck with local venues like pubs, bars, cafes, music shops and open mic nights. Just pop in and ask if you can play. Some will say no, but don't give up. Even lyricists can perform with spoken word.

You can also perform your songs online on TikTok and YouTube. The more you post, the better your chances. Don't worry if you don't get many views, keep posting and your numbers will go up eventually.

Recording, Producing, Mixing and Mastering

Now we are getting serious! You have highly polished songs ready to go and you need to make the most out of them. You have two options. The first is recording yourself by buying all the right equipment to help you achieve this. It can be confusing trying to work out the best products for your needs. We recommend starting simple and get the basics right first.

Maybe a better solution is to use professional recording experts. It's not as daunting or expensive as you might think, if you choose well.

Branding, Band/Artist Name and Logo

Your music is complete and now you need to know what to do next. Time to start thinking more like a business! Designing your artist brand is another crucial step in the process. Make sure you have a memorable name first, then work on making it look good. You can use software like Canva or Adobe Illustrator to help you achieve this. If you have a friend who is good with design, buy them a drink and get them to help.

Or you could use a professional to give you the extra edge!

Distribute & Sell

We're nearly there now. Your music is finished and you have a clear brand. Now it needs to be spread all over the world. For this step, you need to use a music distribution company to get your songs published on all the major streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and many others. It's not expensive. You just need to be organised by getting all your songs uploaded and giving them the right titles and details, being careful not to make a mistake, or the world will know about it! You can set a future date for release, in order for you to get the best out of the final step.

We recommend using Ditto Music as an easy-to-use and affordable solution.

Marketing, Promos, Reviews, Playlists - Get Signed!

The final step is just as important as any. You can use the lead time to your release to prepare your marketing and promotional activities. Again, if you have skills in this area, or you know someone who does, then this will be easier for you. However, it still takes time and effort.

Use social media to build up excitement for your release by posting regularly, before and after the release date. Once it's live, you can submit your music to Spotify to potentially be included on their top playlists, if you are lucky. For those in the UK, you can use BBC Introducing to submit your music to radio stations around Britain. There's also plenty of online radio stations worth trying.

The best way to build a following and get your music to the most people is to use marketing services like SoundCampaign to get reviews and be featured on playlists.

Good luck on your songwriting journey! Remember, every successful songwriter started exactly where you are now. Keep writing, keep collaborating and keep believing in your music.