Customer Reviews

6 Steps to Songwriting Success: The Comprehensive Guide to Writing and Marketing Hit Songs

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Although writing music is actually too ephemeral to break down scientifically, Jason Blume is generous in sharing what has worked and NOT worked for him - and he sets a good example for aspiring professional songwriters. I especially appreciated that HALF the book is about the BUSINESS of songwriting - what's necessary to get songs recorded and released - the networking and just plain LUCK that go into "the deal"! I remember Jason's early songs from his first years in LA, and he HAS come a long way and is living proof that his methods work!

I bought this book coming from the point of view of an aspiring musician trying to write my own songs. Some people might complain that the author's best work includes album filler on a Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys record. Well, unfortunately The Neptune's are too busy writing hits songs to find the time to write a book telling us how they do it, so Jason Blume is the best we're going to get.

Jokes aside, this book has really good advice on song structure and writing better lyrics. It contains a lot of information that can help you turn an average song into a really good one. Cynics might suggest that this book is all about writing generic radio play, but Jason Blume's advice is really about writing effective lyrics. The only real reason for buying this book should be the information on lyric writing. It also contains a detailed explanation of how the music industry operates, which is useful but, the rest of the book is fairly poor.

Where this book fails is in it's explanation on writing better music. It contains a whole section on melody that essentially boils down to general tips on varying the melody, and contains almost no musical theory. By his own admission, Jason Blume is not really strong on musical theory, and it shows (he completely ignores chords - kind of a big deal!). If you want a good book on writing better melodies try "Melody: How to Write Great Tunes" by Rick Rooksby (ISBN: 0879308192) as it actually explains the musical theory behind writing melodies in great detail.

This book also contains a fairly long section on recording demos that is fairly poor. The book ends with chapter aimed at motivating you to keep trying until you make your big break.

In summation, there are probably less then 100 pages of useful information in this book, and all of it focuses on song structure and lyric writing. The rest of this book is covered in much more useful detail elsewhere. If you want to improve the structure and lyrics of your songs this book is definitely worth the price, otherwise I would pass.

This book is THE most comprehensive book for anyone who writes or wants to understand how the music industry works. Blume fills the book with personal insights and strong examples from industry greats. A successful writer himself, this book is full of proven step by step approaches for you to follow concerning any aspect of a writer's career in the music industry.

Highly reccommended!

In the world of songwriting, there are artists and craftsmen. The artist will produce for you a work of originality that no one else has ever done quite the same way before, that will touch you in some unique way and that will stay with you. The craftsman will give you a serviceable reproduction of something but it will lack anything special and will have the lifespan of a fruit fly. Jason Blume is a craftsman. He makes his living by studying "the market" and basically rewriting other people's songs. Ideas are difficult things. Not everyone has great ideas, so some take the road Jason Blume has taken. He's apparently feeding his family by being a craftsman, so there's nothing wrong with that. We need bricklayers as much as we need architects. I'm just letting you know what you're getting into here. If you want to learn how to design a beautiful building, you don't study with the bricklayer. This guy ain't no talented songwriter but he is living proof that you apparently don't have to have talent to make money in the music biz these days. I'm sure that gives hope to a lot of untalented people, which is probably why this book has gotten such good reviews. He's strictly a bubblegum pop writer, so if that's the direction you want to go in, maybe you'll get something out of this book. Just remember that bubblegum loses its flavor really fast. If you're really serious about this, if it's something that burns within you and you want a real career as a songwriter, you should shop around for a better book. This one will only make you feel that you're in the wrong business.
This book is littered with quotes from music biz insiders that are far more insightful than anything Jason Blume has to say. And the interesting thing is, they mostly contradict his thoughts about what make a great song and a great songwriter. For example, here's what one producer had to say:

"The great writers of this century are all originals. You will find that the vast majority of their work was not 'commercial' until after it was successful."

Contrast that with Jason Blume's advice: you'll get nowhere unless you learn to mimic what's already successful. Time and again, musicians, producers and execs are quoted in the book as saying you need to be yourself and be original. It's hard to understand what these quotes are doing in this book because Jason Blume has no idea what constitutes originality and probably doesn't want to know because he makes his living by writing sound-alike junk that is designed to appeal to the lowest common demoninator and to copy the other crap that's on the radio. I laughed out loud when I read this but here are some lyrics that Jason Blume, believe it or not, describes as "a completely new approach" and "truly novel":

It's getting hot in herre
So take off all your clothes

I'm not kidding! He thinks this is great, fresh, original songwriting! If this is your idea of brilliant lyrics, I feel sorry for you. He gives lip service to "originality" but then shows his hand with the examples of what he thinks constitutes the good stuff. In another example, he pats himself on the back for having the brilliant idea of writing a "dear diary" song for Britney Spears. He actually thinks that's an original idea that's never been done before! And he doesn't even pull it off well. It's typical junk pop lyrics that only a 13 year old with her first crush could possibly be moved by. Blume comes across as someone who would gladly jump on any musical bandwagon that comes along. He's never met a hit song he didn't like because if it's a hit, it must be good. He's the happy lap dog of a cynical system that is destroying the music business and making it hard for real talent to be heard. If that sounds ridiculous to you, you're either: a) not old enough to remember when the music/radio business was controlled by the demands of the audience to hear good music, not by greedy, shortsighted corporations who care more about their shareholders than their audience, b) you just have terrible taste in music and you LIKE what you hear on the radio, or c) you don't really care about music, just money. It's sad that there are people (just read these reviews) who think they can read a book like this and follow its advice all the way to fame and riches. Forget about it. In fact, I wonder how well Jason Blume is doing now that Britney and boy bands are over. That's probably why he's writing books and teaching classes now.
I gave this book two stars because there is some useful information about the way things work in the music business today. If you still want to get involved with it after reading this, good luck to you!

Be sure you know what songwriting means to you before investing in this book. If you in any way consider it an artform and/or a form of meaningful expression, this is not the book for you. Just in case the title didn't tip you off, this book is strictly about commercial songwriting, where the object is to formulate your songs to adapt to what's on the radio and in the Billboard charts. Until fairly recently, it was possible for brilliant songwriting to have commercial potential. These days, unless your song sounds just like the latest Britney, Beyonce or Toby Keith hit, you're not going to acheive Jason Blume's definition of success. If that's the kind of writing you aspire to, you might be on the right track here. I found myself grimacing at his gleeful, unapologetic praise of mediocre, "hack" songwriting. Another knock against this book is that it really is too autobiographical. The author seems a little too taken with himself and his own story. It's good to get some background on the author, what makes him an authority on the subject and some personal stories about the business, but this guy can't stop talking about himself. It's really as much "How I Became a Hit Songwriter" as it is "How You Can Become a Hit Songwriter." All in all, not recommended for anyone exept maybe those who dream more of "making it big" than of actually writing a great song.

Having watched Jason's own professional journey since the mid-80s, I'm overjoyed at his success, and the fact that he shares all of the peaks and valleys of his career so honestly in this book! Jason doesn't sugarcoat anything about the music biz - but he keeps the joy and enthusiasm and LOVE for music intact as he tells what worked for him, what DIDN'T work - and why! You won't find a more honest and revealing look at what it takes to be a hit songwriter today.

It's simple, really. Make your song stand out and be better than all the competition, while still adhering to a long list of unwritten (until now) rules about what constitutes a commercial cut, plus avoiding an even more byzantine array of artistic and business taboos that could send your creation straight to the trash.

Admittedly, it's tempting to dismiss the un-comforting advice Blume gives, especially when you learn that he is the co-author of such how-does-that-go-again? filler as Britney Spears' "Dear Diary" or the Backstreet Boys' "Back to My Heart" (not to be confused with "Shape of My Heart"). But regardless of whether you respect his work or not, the guy knows how the system works and how the game is played. And he doesn't sugarcoat things, which is good, because he knows the nuances and subtleties of what artists, labels, and producers are looking for.

He reminds readers to practice and rewrite incessantly, give themselves time to develop their craft, get unbiased feedback, and start small - with local, no-name artists (hopefully) on the rise.

It's also tempting to recoil at his advice for how to write lyrics and melodies - is he trying to codify a formula? Not really. Blume makes it clear that artistic merit is subjective, but if you don't want to conform at least somewhat, you're better off forming your own alternative band than pitching your ahead-of-their-time creations to platinum recording artists.

However, he leaves out an important point that Donald Passman makes in his "All You Need to Know About the Music Business" - businesspeople have many ways of getting around the federally set royalty rates. As the legendary guitarist Carlos Alomar puts it when he talks to indie acts, it's up to the artist to determine whether they're willing to get cheated a little in return for exposure. (Alomar's take is that it's usually worth it.)

Blume does offer one morsel of spectacularly wrong advice - p. 21: "Similarly, if you are writing for an artist who is known for his or her instrumental ability (for example, Carlos Santana or Bonnie Raitt), it might be a good idea to include an instrumental solo." In fact, Raitt has publicly stated that including a slide-guitar solo in your demo is a good way to get on her bad side - it's presumptuous, because it smacks of trying to tell Bonnie Raitt how to be Bonnie Raitt.

Overall, though, this book is a fine reference, and in addition to Blume's articulate advice, includes dozens of truly insightful comments from a broad spectrum of industry pros.

As a beginning songwriter, I found Jason's book to be a godsend for me. It's funny, clear and helpful reading. He gave a lot of hope and freedom for those who aren't musicians because he is the living proof of the diference between musicians and songwriters. Everything is OK: the order of the lessons, the examples, the stories and the exercises. You can read the entire book in few days because is so interesting, but you will comeback once and again, to learn more and more.

This is the best FRIGGIN songwriting book for popular music I've ever read! What makes it good are 1) extremely clear explanations, 2)easy to use, IMMEDIATELY applicable exercises, 3) applies to all popular styles of writing (I write hard modern rock, techno, house & indie rock and still I found the song structure examples of "Strawberry Wine" and other different styles helpful!) 4)the author's positive, yet realistic attitude (which so many music success books LACK, I find).

If you write 'popular music' (pop, rock, R&B, metal, indie, rap, country, easy) and you buy only one songwriting book this year, get this one.

I've read the books mentioned in previous reviews and completely disagree. There's sometimes an arrogance to those musically trained that makes them feel those without music theory classes haven't a chance. Blume refutes that notion and seems to have quite a career. (I don't see any of the other authors selling 45 million albums or having songs on the Country, Pop and R&B charts.) Jai Josef's book was so technical that it was impossible for a layman to understand and didn't have much relevance to the real world of songwriting. Josef's and Perricone's books only deal with melody writing. Jai's book spends ONE page on marketing your songs and Perricone's book doesn't mention it at all. Blume's book covers not just the "music" - but lyrics, structure, melody, demos, and the business - and it's in plain English. This is the only book that really helped me. The Pat Pattison book was like a college textbook and some of the others are so simplistic that they are useless.

FYI, here in Tennessee, Blume teaches the monthly BMI Songwriting Workshops the reviewer finds so helpful. The classes are free and they're amazing. If you are only going to buy one book, I would wholeheartedly recommend it be "6 Steps..." (even you music majors).