How Do You Get Paid for Writing Songs?

Getting paid to do something you love is the dream. Maybe you want to make the jump from a hobbyist musician, into a professional writer.

On this page, from River Recording Studios in Southampton

So how do you get paid for writing songs? By selling your own work, you can earn royalties, get publishing deals and collaborate with other artists. There are lots of opportunities in the music industry.

Whether you’re looking to carve out a career, or simply plan on making some ad hoc money, read this article to find out how it’s done.

How do you get paid for writing songs?

Typically, a lyricist will only write the words of a song, whereas a composer will create the musical components. The term songwriter covers lyricists, composers and those who do both. If you write original, catchy song lyrics, you’re already a songwriter. Becoming a professional is just a matter of getting paid for it. Many artists collaborate – with one writing the words and the other the tune. This gives you a complete sellable track. However, the two elements can also be sold separately.

Writing and performing your own songs is perhaps the most obvious way to monetize your abilities. This will involve pitching your lyrics to industry professionals like music publishers, record labels and producers in an attempt to secure a record deal or contract. But there are many other ways to bring in the pounds, besides performing your own work.

How to sell song lyrics

You can submit your songs to sync licensing music libraries to collect royalties on your tracks or pitch them directly to TV and film companies.

If you want to find a music publisher in your country, the Music Publishers Directory lists all major and independent publishers in the United States, Canada, and the UK who accept submissions from songwriters.

Bear in mind that the bigger the company is, the less likely your submission will be accepted. Approaching big-name music publishers might be more worthwhile once you’ve got a strong

Indie music companies are always on the lookout for up-and-coming lyricists. Local independent music publishers are much more likely to accept your demo and sign you up compared to a major publisher, so it’s worth submitting to the smaller companies first.

Write lyrics for money in the UK

Additionally, you can pitch your lyrics to artists, especially those who already have their own melody and just need words. If they accept your work, you can then take a cut of the royalties generated by your track every time it’s performed, streamed, or downloaded.

Pitching directly to an artist can be easier than pitching to a music publisher. You can pitch to an artist in person after their gig, or you can contact them online via email or social media.

You’ll stand a higher chance of getting accepted if you choose the right artist to approach and if you handle your pitch professionally. Up-and-coming artists who have a good local following are the best to contact if you’re an amateur songwriter.

Independent artists are much more likely to accept your songs, especially if you’ve done your research and your material matches their style and genre.

Send your chosen artist a professional message asking if they’d like to take a look at a song you’ve written and, if they agree, forward them a demo of your song with an attached lyric sheet.

How much money can you make writing song lyrics?

There’s a lot of money to be made in writing and selling songs. In 2019, the average salary of a professional songwriter was almost $52,000 a year. If you write a hit song, you can make almost ten times that amount from one song alone.

Just like artists and musicians, songwriters can earn royalties and revenue on every song they create. This means as a songwriter, you can earn money from downloads, streams, and live performances of your music. The more popular your song is, the more money you’ll make.

You just need to make sure you collect the royalties you’re entitled to when you release a song you’ve written, which are:

Mechanical royalties – for every physical sale, digital download, or digital stream of your song, you’ll earn royalties as the songwriter.

Public royalties – a public performance royalty will be generated every time your song is played in a public setting (like at a live show, on the radio, or in bars and restaurants.)

Placements – film and tv companies can pay a one-time fee (called a sync license) to use your song in their show or movie.

Record deals – if you sign a deal with a publishing company or a record company, you’ll be paid an advance or monthly salary to write and co-write songs to pitch to artists and media companies.

Sell lyrics online

Music creation platforms are websites where songwriters, composers and music publishers can sell, share, and collect royalties on their work online.

There are lots of music creation platforms you can submit your songs to, like ASCAP, SESAC, and BMI. To join these platforms, you’ll have to sign up and become a member, which might come with a subscription fee.

Joining a professional songwriting organisation can also take you a long way in the songwriting industry. Organisations offer songwriters exclusive perks like the chance to network with industry professionals, to connect with fellow songwriters, and to access career advice – all of which will path the way to securing paid writing contracts.

Sell lyrics for money

Songwriting usually requires a lot of independent income generation; you’ll need to release your music, post your songs on social media and YouTube, and pitch like crazy to chase the dream of generating an income from your lyrics. If you’re struggling to get your career off the ground, you could also consider taking a songwriting course.

But think outside of the box. Getting paid for songs isn’t limited to the kind of popular music played on the radio. And it doesn’t have to be a complete song either. Many musicians make a living from jingles, kids’ songs, toplines, musical theatre scores and comedy pieces. There’s a lot of cash to be gleaned by talented writers working in these areas. And you can still record and release your own tracks.

Submit your own lyrics

If you’d like to submit your lyrics to a website and get paid for them, here are some examples of the lyric and song libraries you can join:

Songbay

Selling your lyrics online is fast and easy to do, and Songbay consistently ranks as the most popular website for songwriters to sell their music. To become a seller on Songbay, you need to sign up for a paid membership, however, the fee is minimal.

The Lyric and Song library has over 55,000 members and guarantees that lyricists can keep 100% of the sale fees and royalties they’re eligible for on their songs.

Songbay has some great features for songwriters looking to sell their lyrics. These include:

Free legal contracts when selling
Complete control over the pricing of your lyrics
The guarantee you’ll receive a writer‘s royalty credit if your lyrics are combined with audio to create a new song.

Competition is fierce in every area of the music industry, so getting noticed can be tough. You’ll need to push your tracks online, in person, and by contacting industry professionals. This often means facing many rejections before you get your songs accepted. But if you have something worth shouting about, don’t give up!