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There are so many methods or tactics of coming up with a hit song
THE STRONG LYRICS APPROACH.
Deep or strong lyrics like the song "I Want To Know What Love Is" By Foreigner.Everyone who is yet to find love or is in love can relate to that song.Man In The Mirror By Michael Jackson etc.
THE CATCHY TUNE APPROCH
The song Another Day In Paradise By Phil Collins ha a catchy instrument tune inbetween the singing ensuring a recognisable hit song.Access the full e-book How To Come Up With A Hit Song here http://tinyurl.com/y9tsd4pk

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There’s a difference between a “hit” song and a “great” song. The key element in a hit song is promotion. A hit song doesn’t have to be great (fairly good is enough). It just has to be saturated in the minds of millions. Kind of like brainwashing. A great song, well… in the eyes of the beholder, but I like to be inspired by the music & lyrics. And great music will stand by itself for many years. A great song is one that sounds like a song you never heard. Fresh and invigorating.

BTW, welcome aboard ML!

Best, John smile

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The title how to write a hit song has to be the most extensively used title in media lo!, Never gets old.

As per John, a hit song is just a song that gets heard by enough people. It's gotta get through many different goalies to score. Doesn't have to be great, great being subjective. There are trends and patterns of songs that cycle round, but it's not about great songwritung.

The sound of your production probably matters more than the song


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Develop a "hook"
One method for that is to look up idiomatic expressions and quips and play off one of them in some novel way.

Apply VCVCBC

Figure out the chorus first, make sure that it delivers the hook and sounds appealing and then sort out the verses and bridge.

Heavy emphasis on filling up the sound with the lyrical melody. (people want to make songs about themselves, so loading the song up with sing-along lyrics is foremost.
heavy emphasis on the lyrical melody being musical and melodic.

Then, hope it all comes together real well and people want to hear it.

I dont approach songs that way and have never written a hit song and never will but if my intention was to try and write a hit song...that would be my personal formula.

fwiw2u


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Well if we're going there....

I would listen to all the hits in the past few years. Try to understand a common thread to them all, you'll probability notice they are love and love lost themes with very short winded lines with one or two phrases that repeat. If not even one giant hook and nothing else.

You'll probably notice most of the current hits will sound very similar, have similar styles and vocal qualities.

Then I'd try to put all that together into my own song.

Then when the song was done I'd be 1% there, Id beg, cajole, pray, eat, sleep,
Chit my song, until It eventually died a slow death

Somebody's gotta do it, and somebody's gotta have a hit.

But the easiest way would be to hit the lottery, buy a radio station and put my songs on the air. Some will like it, some will hate, much like a new baked cake product

I can't say I wouldn't want a hit of any kind, but since it won't happen anyway, I might as well do it like Frank said...my way

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Speaking as one of those that never wrote a "recognised" hit I offer no advice other than, writing a hit must be like starting a successful business. Find out what people want, provide that item and hook 'em in with a good slogan. Don't get too attached to the slogan. Tomorrow it will be cliche.
Sounds like hard work? Sounds like a nine to five? Will it work? Maybe, maybe not.

Vic


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If, given time, a monkey can write the complete works of Shakespeare maybe there's hope for me.

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Originally Posted by Martin Lide


Develop a "hook"

Figure out the chorus first, AND THEN sort out the verses and bridge



Probably the best advice Martin you could give any songwriter. Young or old....

My personal #1 rule is "Write from the hook"....





Steve Altonian---"I'll just do my best & let God do the rest"

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Originally Posted by Steve Altonian
Originally Posted by Martin Lide


Develop a "hook"

Figure out the chorus first, AND THEN sort out the verses and bridge



Probably the best advice Martin you could give any songwriter. Young or old....

My personal #1 rule is "Write from the hook"....


Well, I don't know guys... I like to start with the verse and work/ build myself up to the chorus. Starting with the chorus first is like eating your dessert before the main course. Nothing to look forward to.

Best, John smile

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I usually start with the chorus but then, like John says, "eating your dessert before the main course", sometimes you're to full to finish the main.

Vic


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If, given time, a monkey can write the complete works of Shakespeare maybe there's hope for me.

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I think writing a hit can actually be more difficult for someone who cares about music and all its possibilities. There's a well known Nashville studio operator who analyzes the top 10 country hits and what they have in common. These days, the main thing that stands out is that they are stiflingly formulaic and dumbed down to a remarkable degree. This is not because the writers are dumb, it's because they know that, at the moment at least, that's what works. The striking thing is that these hits are never the "Song of the Year," which kind of backs up what John is saying about the difference between a hit and a great song.

Even if you know "the rules," not everyone can implement them. I used to write novels and would meet many kinds of writers. There was tendency to look down on writers of romance. Their books were badly written, full of ridiculous cliches, etc. "Anyone could write that crap!" But if you actually try, you find that, unless you believe in it and can take it seriously, you can't do it. You'll end up lampooning the genre, having a quiet chuckle to yourself about the whole thing. I would have the same problem with writing a country hit. I would not be able to take the "rules" seriously. This doesn't put me above this kind of thing - those hit writers are far more skilled than I'll ever be and no doubt write far more interesting stuff than just the hits. It's just that I would not be able to do it. I'm not even sure how much I would want to, if I'm able to make a living in different ways.

So, in a nutshell - you gotta believe in what you're doing.

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John

That is typically the way that I write too.
I usually start with some chords on the guitar and let the mood suggest a theme and then let the song emerge from the beginning.

However...if someone paid me to write a "hit"....then I would try to establish the make-or-break chorus first, that "hits" most often must possess.
per the old saying..."Don't bore us. Get to the chorus."

Personally, I think that it is fairly easy to drop back and set up a chorus with verses, yet more difficult to "unchain" a chorus from verses when the verses come first.

Martin

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I remember Bob Seger saying he wrore the hook and then worked backwards. It's the only way to do it if your hook/chorus comes to you first. But it can be hard getting music and melody to cooperate as you try to back to the verse.

But I have shoeboxes full of cassettes of me singing one line into a recorder, literally hundreds of snippets I could never make work. Some really strong melodic phrases and hooks, but for some reason the rest never would come.

Back in the day I also used to call my phone machine from a payphone to try and save an idea. Now I record in my phone, so long as nobody is looking.

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I guess I'm a "hooker". But if I can't come up with an interesting story, verse, etc. - I just don't bother to go further.
Hey, with there being no ads to run for shows by major label artists, why isn't commercial radio playing local independents with a fan base. It should put independents on a level playing field with major label artists as the real reason for not playing independents on commercial radio is the money received for show ads is being paid by the major label artists - and that's what it takes to make a hit - airtime on commercial radio.

Summeoyo

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From what I understand radio music is researched, so they know what songs keep people tuned in. Hard to believe but alot of the crap on radio is favored by millions. But they also have to hear it somewhere...on the radio.

ADmakers only care about how many people their ad reaches. If you pay for an ad for indie music it probably will be much cheaper and not as effective.

I have heard so many great indies, but for some reason, people assume an indie is not as good. Which the opposite is true alot of the time.

My theory is people like music that other people like. Nobody says "hey did you hear that hot new song on reverbnation? It's a connection and social thing.

There are some who like underground music, but not enough to pay the bills on radio. Satellite has plenty of channels, but the reach us not there


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The research is based on what? - songs that were already played? In order to have the research favor the re-playing of your song, your song needs to be played on commercial radio in the first place. I don't know of any commercial radio station that would charge less to an independent artist for equal ad exposure with a major label artist. Independent artists are generally playing in venues too small to justify the financial investment in advertising. However, with the current situation, I would think that commercial radio got hit with less business in selling ads of any kind( that's the business of commercial radio - selling ads). It would seem prudent to feature great independent music that may lead to a local artist increasing a fan base to the point where they could fill a larger venue that would justify advertising on the commercial radio station. With things opening up now, I think commercial radio missed an opportunity to expand their customer base among up and coming artists.Inertia is a hard thing to overcome.

Summeoyo

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Tools program directors use to know their market:
Software applications that rank core audience performance of stations in the same format, same market, or nationally

Software applications that tracks radio listening and trends in specific markets
Audience-analysis software

Arbitrends service, which delivers ratings updates between standard quarterly surveys

As far as paying for ads, the more people who tune in, the more value your ad has. Indie by definition has less listeners.

Some clubs won't let you play original music, because the assumption is people don't want to hear your original music, and will leave, or won't enjoy it as much, and spend less money.

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Originally Posted by John Lawrence Schick
There’s a difference between a “hit” song and a “great” song. The key element in a hit song is promotion.

I broadly agree with this but am going to take slight issue. Yes, hit songs and great songs are not necessarily the same thing but they can be, and often are. Also, I agree that hits are usually born out of hard promotion and well-trodden commercial paths, but there are many exceptions to this too. The crux of it is that any good or catchy song has the potential to be a hit but in practice it boils down to the artist and record companies promoting it.

So how to come up with a hit song? Either write a good song with an established artist (don't worry they are queuing up wink ) or write a good song and be very very lucky grin

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Yeah I agree Nigel, plenty of great songs have been hit songs, much less in the modern age.

In the 60's and 70's it was commonplace to have a great song be a hit. How many great songs did the Beatles have that became hits?

Billy Joel has at least 15 great songs that became hits, Elton John, Hall and Oates,

Usually the great classic ones are written by the artist themselves.

But there was always bad songs that became hits too. And lots of mediocre songs that become hits. If millions and millions somehow hear your song it can be a hit

Then again, we have to agree on what great is, which is another subject altogether. If you want a hit today you have to sound like today, with all the warts and then you gotta get so, so lucky.

Great song or not it's damn near impossible.




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Originally Posted by Fdemetrio
Then again, we have to agree on what great is, which is another subject altogether.

It certainly is. Also the definition of 'hit' can take many forms, although for most people it means commercial success.

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What has seemed to be the jumping off point for a hit with what I have listened to has been a given form and what the individual(s) had other than that that connected. Does not seem that other than going through the motions that a major hit is something that could be premeditated. There are commercial musicians that may be counted on more for that. But they often have singles that have gone nowhere more than not.
Some of the most played songs on the radio did not enter the top 40.


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