{"id":84663,"date":"2021-04-06T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-06T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/?p=84663"},"modified":"2021-04-12T09:44:54","modified_gmt":"2021-04-12T08:44:54","slug":"top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/","title":{"rendered":"Top songwriters for artists including Ariana Grande demand fair credit for writing hits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Image Credit: The Pact<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why should artists get paid for songs they didn\u2019t even write? The Pact, a group of major US songwriters, is fighting back.<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Making a song a hit takes an army. So shouldn\u2019t everyone involved get fair credit? Songwriters<\/a> are taking a stand against the culture of \u201cbullying\u201d that leads to artists getting a large credit on songs they didn\u2019t actually write, and against what they see as the subsequent erosion of the publishing royalties which songwriters<\/a> rely upon for income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A group calling itself The Pact first posted<\/a> anonymously on Instagram, calling for action. Now an open letter<\/a> has been signed by US songwriters including Victoria Mon\u00e9t, co-writer of various Ariana Grande hits. The Pact\u2019s mission statement proclaims:<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis body of songwriters will not give publishing or songwriting credit to anyone who did not create or change the lyric or melody or otherwise contribute to the composition without a reasonably equivalent\/meaningful exchange for all the writers on the song.\u201d<\/p>Mission statement of The Pact<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In the letter the initially anonymous group lay out their reasons for taking a stand. It\u2019s time to speak up, they say, in response to the artists that demand publishing<\/a> on songs that they in fact didn’t have a hand in writing; often able to happen because \u201cthe artist and\/or their representation abuse leverage, use bully tactics and threats, and prey upon writers who may choose to give up some of their assets rather than lose the opportunity completely.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Songwriters<\/a> claim they\u2019re told to accept that a big artist recording their song means that the track is guaranteed to be a hit, and that therefore it\u2019s fair to give the artist a writing credit because of the power of their brand. The unspoken agreement is it\u2019s better for writers to have a smaller credit on a major track than a larger one on a song that doesn\u2019t chart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issue is that songwriters are almost entirely dependent on copyright<\/a> income, as unlike artists they get no revenue from merchandise, tours or gigs. That big artist who gains an unearned writing credit is consequently taking earnings from the songwriter who has no alternative source of income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The songwriters<\/a> aren\u2019t suggesting that the artist isn\u2019t important \u2013 they\u2019re smarter than that, recognising that big names sell records, and also the obvious value of the producers,<\/a> artists and record labels who put their own stamp on the song and work hard to release and promote it. The Pact is asking for recognition that the other parties involved get to enjoy the benefits of the recording copyright,<\/a> and ask that the writers should be allowed to at least get a better slither of publishing copyright out of the deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without songwriters there would be no song in the first place, and debates of how fair the pie of a song is sliced have been raging over the past six months, with the UK government launching an inquiry into the economics of music streaming<\/a> and taking evidence from organisations like the Ivors Academy.<\/a>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps sensing the disquiet, Apple Music and Spotify have lately sought to shine a spotlight on songwriters. Spotify’s Songwriter\u2019s Hub<\/a> acknowledges the oft-forgotten writers of hits, whilst the launch of Noteable<\/a> offers tools for songwriters. Apple Music\u2019s Behind the Songs<\/a> hub meanwhile gives an insight into the behind-the-scenes work from songwriters and session musicians, hoping to connect listeners to the real writers of their favourite song.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why should artists get paid for songs they didn\u2019t even write? The Pact, a group of US songwriters, is fighting back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":84665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[24551,20261,15967,24549,24553,24550,3858,15591,3859,16572,6796,24552,24548],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTop songwriters for artists including Ariana Grande demand fair credit for writing hits - RouteNote Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Top songwriters for artists including Ariana Grande demand fair credit for writing hits - RouteNote Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Why should artists get paid for songs they didn\u2019t even write? The Pact, a group of US songwriters, is fighting back.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"RouteNote Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-06T16:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-04-12T08:44:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/the-pact-songwriters.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1190\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1194\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Madeleine Amos\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"RouteNote\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/\",\"sameAs\":[],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/routenote-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/routenote-logo.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"RouteNote\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"RouteNote Blog\",\"description\":\"The World of Digital Music - Distribution - Stores and Free Music\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/the-pact-songwriters.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/the-pact-songwriters.png\",\"width\":1190,\"height\":1194,\"caption\":\"the pact songwriters pledge to not give away songwriting credit\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/\",\"name\":\"Top songwriters for artists including Ariana Grande demand fair credit for writing hits - RouteNote Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-06T16:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-04-12T08:44:54+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Top songwriters for artists including Ariana Grande demand fair credit for writing hits\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/#webpage\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/681c9fd50fd43a10dc30b10cb5e87667\"},\"headline\":\"Top songwriters for artists including Ariana Grande demand fair credit for writing hits\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-06T16:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-04-12T08:44:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/#webpage\"},\"wordCount\":603,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/the-pact-songwriters.png\",\"keywords\":[\"are songwriters treated fairly\",\"credit songwriters\",\"crediting songwriters\",\"does ariana grande write her songs\",\"how are song royalties split\",\"how do songwriters get paid\",\"music publishing\",\"publishing rights\",\"publishing royalties\",\"songwriter royalties\",\"songwriters\",\"songwriters pact\",\"the Pact\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Artist \/ Label News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/681c9fd50fd43a10dc30b10cb5e87667\",\"name\":\"Madeleine Amos\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/995af743aeac7c643564c9567ab0caa6?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/995af743aeac7c643564c9567ab0caa6?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Madeleine Amos\"},\"description\":\"I write about music for RouteNote, sharing fun stuff, news, and tips and tricks for musicians and producers. Also a saxophonist and hater of marmalade.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/author\/maddi\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Top songwriters for artists including Ariana Grande demand fair credit for writing hits - RouteNote Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Top songwriters for artists including Ariana Grande demand fair credit for writing hits - RouteNote Blog","og_description":"Why should artists get paid for songs they didn\u2019t even write? The Pact, a group of US songwriters, is fighting back.","og_url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/","og_site_name":"RouteNote Blog","article_published_time":"2021-04-06T16:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-04-12T08:44:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1190,"height":1194,"url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/the-pact-songwriters.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Madeleine Amos","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"RouteNote","url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/","sameAs":[],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#logo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/routenote-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/routenote-logo.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"RouteNote"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#logo"}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/","name":"RouteNote Blog","description":"The World of Digital Music - Distribution - Stores and Free Music","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/the-pact-songwriters.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/the-pact-songwriters.png","width":1190,"height":1194,"caption":"the pact songwriters pledge to not give away songwriting credit"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/","name":"Top songwriters for artists including Ariana Grande demand fair credit for writing hits - RouteNote Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2021-04-06T16:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-04-12T08:44:54+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Top songwriters for artists including Ariana Grande demand fair credit for writing hits"}]},{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/#webpage"},"author":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/681c9fd50fd43a10dc30b10cb5e87667"},"headline":"Top songwriters for artists including Ariana Grande demand fair credit for writing hits","datePublished":"2021-04-06T16:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-04-12T08:44:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/#webpage"},"wordCount":603,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/the-pact-songwriters.png","keywords":["are songwriters treated fairly","credit songwriters","crediting songwriters","does ariana grande write her songs","how are song royalties split","how do songwriters get paid","music publishing","publishing rights","publishing royalties","songwriter royalties","songwriters","songwriters pact","the Pact"],"articleSection":["Artist \/ Label News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/top-songwriters-demand-credit-for-hits\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/681c9fd50fd43a10dc30b10cb5e87667","name":"Madeleine Amos","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/995af743aeac7c643564c9567ab0caa6?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/995af743aeac7c643564c9567ab0caa6?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Madeleine Amos"},"description":"I write about music for RouteNote, sharing fun stuff, news, and tips and tricks for musicians and producers. Also a saxophonist and hater of marmalade.","url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/author\/maddi\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/the-pact-songwriters.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84663"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}