I believe if they think it's good for them, they'll pay you...I mean the songwriters...if the songwriters think your critique is good for them, they'll pay you.

Critiquing, I mean really fine critiquing, is a craft, skill, art and science. Some folks can really nail what would make a song better, or be able to articulate why a song is perfect. They can explain why a song could be a "hit." Of course no one can say if a song will be a hit, but many critiquers can accurately predict certain songs will have very very little chance of being a hit. And they can save you money, if not your bruised ego.

Can someone teach someone else how to write a hit? No. But a good critic, paid or not, can help you develop skill, form, and technique.

The big myth is that a good songwriting critic needs to be a hit songwriter. The truth is, they are two different skills. Tiger Woods has a swing coach. Do you wanna bet Tiger's better than him? He pays that coach too. On the other side of the coin, I'm not sure if Dennnis Rodman would be the best P.E. teacher. Teaching, coaching, critiquing, are all skills separate from the subject. A really good teacher can teach different subjects, even subjects out of their expertise. Some of the best songwriting critics I've met personally have been publishers who don't write. I've also met truly genius songwriters who couldn't even tell you how they do it, much less how you should do it. Of course, there are also folks who do it all. Rand Bishop comes to mind.

So, should one pay for critiques? Only if they think it is good for them.

You've got to know your limitations. I don't know what your limitations are. I found out what mine were when I was twelve. I found out that there weren't too many limitations, if I did it my way. -Johnny Cash

It's only music.
-niteshift

Mike Dunbar Music