Sometime in the early 60s singers were increasingly writing their own
music, and that now seems to be the norm (even more so for
instrumental groups). Why?

Why did this division of labor among music writer, lyricist, and
singer give way to the one-person-does-it-all phenomenon? And what's
the consensus of opinion among popular music critics as to whether
this change has been for the better or not so?

My own view is that singers aren't as good as they used to be in the
40s and 50s and that their insistence on writing their own stuff has
had a lot to do with that. They seem to see themselves as poets
(though doggerel it usually is), but whose musical product is anything
but muse inspired. Singers [sic] like Rod Stewart come to mind: any
semblance of tonal quality has become totally eclipsed by cacophony,
rhythm, and sheer volume.

I realize, of course, that the advent of rock & roll also has had much
to do with this change. Is there something about R&R that naturally
led to the demise of those who made their living writing songs, but
who wisely refrained from singing them? (Some were not so wise, Irving
Berlin and Hoagy Carmichael having been among those who just couldn't
resist showcasing their own tunes on occasion).

Greetings Nautico:

Thank you for requesting my comments as an answer!  Below you will
find the comments restructured as a formal answer.

*********

The "one person [or one band] does it all" is simply a matter of more
profits for the singer/songwriter and less hassle for producers to
locate and screen songs for the artist AND I agree that many
singer/songwriters' material falls short of an entire album of high
quality tunes.  Take artists such as Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand and
Whitney Houston.  Most of their albums featured a majority of
highly-crafted songs by other writers and more care does seem to be
taken with locating well-crafted material for them.
 
Just my opinion.  RELATED: For an enlightening perspective on the
music business, visit "Confessions of a Record Producer" by Moses
Avalon at http://www.mosesavalon.com/faq.htm and peruse the technical
aspects of contractual music at "This Business of Music"
http://www.thisbusinessofmusic.info/
 
I believe the combination of singer/sngwriter was/is driven by
economics.  Songwriters make a pittance considering that if it wasn't
for the song, a singer would have nothing to sing.  However,
songwriters remain on the bottom rung of the profit ladder.  So if an
artist writes his/her own songs, they do get a bit more money.
 
"Assume that all of the songs on the hypothetical album are
administered by a single publishing company (in a copublishing deal
with the songwriter's publishing company), and that, according to the
mechanical royalty projections laid out previously, $0.755 total
mechanical royalty income is generated per album sold. Of that amount,
the songwriter is paid 50 percent($0.3775). Of the remaining
publisher's share, the songwriter's publishing company and the larger
publishing company each receive $0.18875 per album sold. In the end,
the songwriter receives a total of $0.56625 per album sold ($0.3775
plus $0.18875), and the publishing company receives $0.18875 per album
sold."
From http://emusician.com/ar/emusic_follow_money_whos/ 
 
In addition, BMI charges a modest fee to collect and redistribute to
the songwriter the money he/she makes.
 
In my opinion, most younger listeners care naught for well-crafted
lyrics.  It's the beat, the sound, that reigns supreme.  There are
more discerning listeners but the youth market has the purchase power
and record companies know this.
 
"Our target market is the 14 to 28 year old age group.  According RIAA
(Recording Industry Association of America) statistics, the 15 – 24
year old age group alone is responsible for some 32.2% of all record
sales."
From http://www.bipbipbip.com/corporate/main.html  [The RIAA website
was down so I have not provided a link to there.]
 
This dated chart from 2000 indicates that ages 10 to 24 (added
together) generated 18+% of all music sales:
 
Age Group     Average music sales/person     Average CD sales/person
10 to 14                  4.68                        4.09  
15 to 19                  6.89                        6.01  
20 to 24                  7.11                        6.21  
25 to 29                  5.90                        5.15  
30 to 34                  5.16                        4.50  
35 to 39                  5.04                        4.40  
40 to 44                  4.62                        4.03  
45 +                      2.65                        2.31  
All                       3.83                        3.35  
 
Table 4: Purchases of all music products and of CDs in year 2000
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=9380
 
Regarding more about the quality of songs, years ago "perfect rhyme"
was a standard in the songwriting industry.  Now, words that sound
somewhat alike are accepted as rhyme more and more. Like "home" and
"alone" or "love" and "tough."  I'm an old school rhymer myself - I
prefer perfect rhyme. Quality is way down, in my opinion.  I'm a huge
fan of Norah Jones music yet I feel that many of her lyrics could have
been much better crafted - she also abandons perfect rhyme in most of
her original songs.  To me, song writing and song crafting are two
very different things.  It doesn't appear there are many new lyricists
who actually craft lyrics - they just write down what sort of rhymes.
 

Best regards, 
journalist-ga, formerly in the music business and favorite quote about
it is:
 
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long
plastic hallway where pimps and thieves run free and good men die like
dogs.  There's also a negative side."
~Hunter S. Thompson~ 

 
SEARCH STRATEGY: 
 
royalty per recording sold songwriter 
age group music sales statistics

---

Clarification of Answer by journalist-ga on 14 Sep 2003 17:19 PDT

I should add that, in many instances, a singer/songwriter is asked to
give up the song writing royalties to the publishing company or the
record producer.  I consider it a slimy business practice but it does
occur.  When a new artist is signed, they sometimes give up far too
much because of their quest for fame.  The record producers know this
and many take full advantage of it.  Then, many times, they work the
perfomer(s) to death on the road and burn them out quickly.

Moses Avalon's book "Confessions of a Record Producer: How to Survive
the Scams and Shams of the Music Business" is highly infomative and I
suggest you check your local library for a copy.  You'll be amazed at
most of its contents.  From an Amazon review:

"Fact: the music business is full of weasels. They feed on the
excitement of new (naive) artists, get them to sign a poor contract,
and milk them dry. Well this book shows you the business from many
including the artist, producer, label, and lawyers side (and
more)...If you are thinking that life would be great if you could just
get signed to a major label, you REALLY need to read this. Moses shows
you how you can sell 1,000,000 records and still owe money (if you're
not careful). He shows you every detail, and then brings it home by
breaking down in a table format (making it easy to see exactly where
the money goes). The section titled ?A Major Label Deal is like having
a Credit Card at 66% was extremely eye opening."

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0879306602/qid=1063584997/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/102-1593982-7755303?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Best regards,
journalist-ga

Many thanks for a comprehensive answer.

Greetings Nautico:

The "one person [or one band] does it all" is simply a matter of more
profits for the singer/songwriter and less hassle for producers to
locate and screen songs for the artist AND I agree that many
singer/songwriters' material falls short of an entire album of high
quality tunes.  Take artists such as Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand and
Whitney Houston.  Most of their albums featured a majority of
highly-crafted songs by other writers and more care does seem to be
taken with locating well-crafted material for them.

Just my opinion.  RELATED: For an enlightening perspective on the
music business, visit "Confessions of a Record Producer" by Moses
Avalon at http://www.mosesavalon.com/faq.htm and peruse the technical
aspects of contractual music at "This Business of Music"
http://www.thisbusinessofmusic.info/

Best regards,
journalist-ga, formerly in the music business and favorite quote about
it is:

"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long
plastic hallway where pimps and thieves run free and good men die like
dogs.  There's also a negative side."
~Hunter S. Thompson~

:)

I gather then that you believe this phenomenon is driven primarily by
economics, that singers suddenly realized they could keep more if they
wrote their own stuff. You also mention that this eliminates the
hassle of having to find writers and coordinate their efforts. Any
other factors? What about the changing nature of popular music itself?
Does the rock genre require less technical skill in the writing
component, for example? Are today's young listeners less demanding of
good composition and, if so, why?

Yes, I believe it was/is driven by economics.  Songwriters make a
pittance considering that if it wasn't for the song, a singer would
have nothing to sing.  However, songwriters remain on the bottom rung
of the profit ladder.  So if an artist writes his/her own songs, they
do get a bit more money.

"Assume that all of the songs on the hypothetical album are
administered by a single publishing company (in a copublishing deal
with the songwriter's publishing company), and that, according to the
mechanical royalty projections laid out previously, $0.755 total
mechanical royalty income is generated per album sold. Of that amount,
the songwriter is paid 50 percent($0.3775). Of the remaining
publisher's share, the songwriter's publishing company and the larger
publishing company each receive $0.18875 per album sold. In the end,
the songwriter receives a total of $0.56625 per album sold ($0.3775
plus $0.18875), and the publishing company receives $0.18875 per album
sold."
From http://emusician.com/ar/emusic_follow_money_whos/

In addition, BMI charges a modest fee to collect and redistribute to
the songwriter the money he/she makes.

In my opinion, most younger listeners care naught for well-crafted
lyrics.  It's the beat, the sound, that reigns supreme.  There are
more discerning listeners but the youth market has the purchase power
and record companies know this.

"Our target market is the 14 to 28 year old age group.  According RIAA
(Recording Industry Association of America) statistics, the 15 – 24
year old age group alone is responsible for some 32.2% of all record
sales."
From http://www.bipbipbip.com/corporate/main.html  [The RIAA website
was down so I have not provided a link to there.]

This dated chart from 2000 indicates that ages 10 to 24 (added
together) generated 18+% of all music sales:

Age Group     Average music sales/person     Average CD sales/person 
10 to 14                  4.68                        4.09 
15 to 19                  6.89                        6.01 
20 to 24                  7.11                        6.21 
25 to 29                  5.90                        5.15 
30 to 34                  5.16                        4.50 
35 to 39                  5.04                        4.40 
40 to 44                  4.62                        4.03 
45 +                      2.65                        2.31 
All                       3.83                        3.35 

Table 4: Purchases of all music products and of CDs in year 2000
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=9380

Regarding more about the quality of songs, years ago "perfect rhyme"
was a standard in the songwriting industry.  Now, words that sound
somewhat alike are accepted as rhyme more and more.  Like "home" and
"alone" or "love" and "tough".  I'm an old school rhymer myself - I
prefer perfect rhyme.  Quality is way down, in my opinion.  I'm a huge
fan of Norah Jones music yet I feel that many of her lyrics could have
been much better crafted - she also abandons perfect rhyme in most of
her original songs.  To me, song writing and song crafting are two
very different things.  It doesn't appear there are many new lyricists
who actually craft lyrics - they just write down what sort of rhymes.

Best regards,
journalist-ga


SEARCH STRATEGY:

royalty per recording sold songwriter
age group music sales statistics

OK, sport, make that your official answer!

Yowza!  Many thanks for your added generosity as well as the comment
and rating!  I thoroughly enjoyed the dialogue.  :)

Best regards,
journalist-ga

This from a musician friend of mine:

I believe that rock as a genre, and the advent of popular FM radio had
everything to do with it. The mid 60's spawned a time when (if) a band
didn't write original music, there was almost no chance of getting a
recording contract. This was probably a direct result of the advent of
FM radio. FM radio opened the eyes of consumers, allowing them to see
that there was an entire new market of original music that was far
more interesting than the "cookie cutter" songs that were being
produced by the major record companies, and played on AM, Top-40
stations. When underground groups began to become popular because of
their interesting lyrics and instrumentation, the record companies
began to look for, and find new groups that produced original music
i.e. The Allman Brothers, who were a cross between urban blues, jazz,
and psychedelic music.
 
This contrasts, of course, those solo performers like Cher, Strisand,
Sinatara, and a host of others who never generally wrote much of
anything, but were often handed a basket full of songs to select from,
that were written by contract songwriters (those very people that seem
to have disappeared). Most record companies still staff a group of
writers that do nothing but write "formula" hits for the big stars
that can't do so themselves.