Key takeaways #
- Most major pop songs are written by professional songwriters, not the performing artists.
- Songwriters like Amy Allen and Jack Antonoff have written numerous billion-stream hits for various famous artists.
- Artists are often presented with pre-written songs or collaborate with established hitmakers.
- The entire image and product of a pop star are meticulously crafted by teams, including management and producers.
- Analyzing pop song lyrics as personal statements from the artist is often inaccurate due to the collaborative and outsourced nature of songwriting.
- Songwriters frequently have to give up some songwriting credit to artists to get their songs recorded, even if the artist had no creative input.
- Billie Eilish is highlighted as a rare exception where the artist and their brother write and produce their music entirely.
Deep dive #
The video discusses the behind-the-scenes workings of the music business, using Sabrina Carpenter's song "Manchild" as an example. It highlights that major pop songs are often not written by the performing artists themselves. Instead, professional songwriters like Amy Allen and Jack Antonoff are credited with writing or co-writing many chart-topping hits. These songwriters have extensive catalogs of songs with billions of streams for various famous artists. Artists are presented with hundreds of songs, or they collaborate with established hitmakers. While artists may contribute minor lyric changes, the core songwriting is done by these professionals. The video also points out that the entire package of a pop star – from song choice to production, video imagery, and album art – is meticulously crafted by teams, including management companies like Red Light Management, which manages over 400 artists. The speaker argues that analyzing song lyrics as if they represent the artist's personal statement is misguided because the songs are primarily the creations of professional writers. Billie Eilish and her brother are cited as rare examples of major artists who write and produce their own music. It is also mentioned that songwriters often have to cede some credit to artists to get their songs recorded, even if the artist had no creative input, due to the structure of the music business.