JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Songwriter Message Forum HOW IMPORTANT IS A SONG TITLE ?

I just learned a very important lesson. I posted my song on sound click originally as THE 60'S....And got NO response and then re posted it as Long Haired Hippie Freaks...and look at the difference. Got to catch people's eye before they will listen IF we are unknown. Same as a title to a book.
What do you think...?

LONG HAIRED HIPPIE FREAKS (Kiphen & Butler)
# 87 in Pop out of 127,817 songs
# 15 in Pop Rock out of 24,117 songs

You got it right, Barry. First thing I do when I get on here to see what's going on, I look for a catchy title.

Vic

When I go to a Book Store and not know what I'm looking for I look for a catchy Title and Cover Art. It's like that with the way we dress etc......

No doubt a catchy title will peek someone's interest more than a bland title. A couple of Titles that probably were attention getters were GRAPES OF WRATH, and TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. Both Titles to books and Movies.

I think songwriters look at titles, I don't think the average listener gives a damn. But I suppose for filing purposes, it's easy to locate a unique title.

Not sure commercial music is worrying about that though. Today there are a lot of one word titled songs, sometimes the title doesn't even appear in it, so the jury's out. Apparently it helps in twitter and facebook to have one word titles.

"Grenade" "Royals" "Stronger" "Down" "Low"

Big hits with unimaginative titles, but they don't take up a lot of space!

I agree to a degree....BUT with US as UNKOWN'S I think to just get a listen it's very important.
For the STARS it doesn't matter at all.
Great catchy melody in the chorus and a good story is key....but not always......BUT....hey BOOTY is a big hit now as every young guy is watching to see the booties...Sad bunch of crap.

Hi Barry:

I don't have a simple answer for such a complex question. There are so many variables involved. To me, the melody and story behind the reason for the song are much more important. The way people search for music (new, old, and anything in between) is also a large variable. I would say that "word of mouth" discovery from friends, acquaintances and other music fans whose opinion you trust is the primary driver. A catchy title sure can't hurt provided it relates to the message of the song or to other factors along those lines.

In the long run, I don't think the title is more important than the melody and message. Short "Titles" seem best if you are trying to get your listeners to remember the song that way.

In the end, the only important thing is... does the song ring the registers of your preferred market segment?

All the best,

Dave

I still maintain for one of US to at least get people to maybe play 15 seconds of a song.....the title draws THEM in. An INANE title from a complete unknown songwriter is not a recipe for success. You STILL Need a great song but Many Great Song NEVER even get sampled because the writer in a NOBODY and NOBODY Cares....

It may be true that the average listener doesn't give a dam about the title. Maybe because as a listener they hear the song before they see the title. If they like the song who cares what it's called?
If you were a producer or a pitcher though, looking through a bunch of demos (if that's what they do now) then you may pick out the imaginative titles to listen to first.

Vic

I agree and disagree with all. it would make sense that an original title would catch the eye, but todays music is so based on sound, if a writer ha sa great track and simply labels it "My New Smokin Track" The producer and publisher would probably listen anyway, and if it was indeed smokin, he'd have interest.

I like a good title for no other reason than that is part of a good song. If your goal is to write a classically good song, your title will matter.

if your goal is to make alot of money, your title is probably the least thing on your mind.

Titles of books and movies are different cause you see those in large print.

I always am more interested in songs with nice titles, but that is probably because Im thinkin like somebody like myself.

For a songwriting contest, the title should factor in, it;s all part of the creatvity of writing a song.

Titles are just as important as lyrics, rhythm, melody, arrangements and production, but no more so. If you can write a good song you should be able to come up with a good title.

i just dont see alot of uniqueness in titles out there.

I love titles myself however

When I go to a book store I'm always attracted to the covers and then I look in the book. IF it didn't attract me in the first place I might have never had the joy of a good book. Just a Marketing tool to get noticed in a sea of a million songs from unknowns...

Well, a title can be very important in the correct setting. If I'm listening to the radio I don't care about titles. If I'm choosing a song to listen to from a list, I'll go for the title. Say, if I were to go to a Soundclick artist and want to play a song of hers, I'll go by title.

Closer to home: I just listened to Floyd Jane's excellent song "Eric, Waddya Say?" It took me a couple of days to get around to it because I thought is was a message.

Dave

I think a title is very important too, but the statistics on Soundclick don't mean much. I put a song up yesterday called I'm Not in Charge Any More....it has had 9 plays and is already # 135 in Acoustic out of 152,933 songs. It just means that nobody is playing 150,000 of those songs any more.

I know there are a lot of popular songs to where the same title can be landed on. That is not something intended, I usually find out later. There is a form of cross marketing in that sense.
I find same names more often with artists names. The names are often not copyheld. How could names like saga or genesis or even something more obscure like my artist name be copyheld?
We can not be listed under a number with a track listing.
But song titles are most often familiar because the names are part of normal speech.
Outside of some prog or neo-pop acts.
But that has probably even been hit on at some point.

You can't judge a book(song) by it's cover(title) an old saying but true.

Songs don't even have a cover, Albums used to.

I think a song title is as important as anything else, deserving of your best shot. It can be very important for a recording that waits in a music library to be chosen for use in TV/Film...that's one place where people see the title before they hear the song, and you want a music supervisor to check it out, so you hope your title is perfectly evocative of what that song will deliver. But in most cases, people only learn the title after they have heard it...and by then, they have probably already titled it themselves, based on assumption. Most song titles are self-evident, like "Hey Jude" or "Free Bird". When they aren't self-evident, I think the title should at least be interesting.

But who actually listens to Soundclick? The other artists, that's who.

i always check song titles to see which ones catch my eye before i listen to songs here.The interesting ones get listened to first,then i go to the others.But i do know by now there are some folks here that it doesn't matter to me what the title is,i usually know that the song is going to be pretty darn good.But i do like it when i'm surprised by a great song with a bland title.I can't pull it off every time but i try in most cases to use a catchy title.I guess i could have one with every song but it might not have nothing to do with the song,if that's okay.Mike

I don't think you can measure it, but when the audience is surfing for music, the title is the first encounter you have, where you can hook them in, before they've even heard one note. Would be a shame to waste it..

If they hear something on the radio and look for it afterwards, maybe it's less important.

As a writing tool, I find titles indispensable :-)

I think song titles are very important. They have to be easy to remember have to be positioned at points where they receive the most impact.

It seems like it should be important, for reference, I just wonder how so many songs which are huge hits are called "one" "You"
"both" "without"

Funny when you look up the subject they stress it as important, but reference songs from the 70's when doing so.

Yeah, Hotel California, Bat Out Of Hell, Oliver's Army, Cats in The Cradle, see the trend? Songs used to be better, the songwriting was ten fold better than today.

Today u get by with "Talk"

Im sure its important for songwriters trying to conduct business, but not for art of the song.

Bugsey brings up a thought. I've noticed a trend toward one word titles, both in movies and songs. The titles are not interesting or provocative. So what gives?

Here ya go...

http://www.billboard.com/articles/c...e-why-hit-songs-now-have-one-word-titles

i think i'll just start giving my titles a number or a symbol instead of a word or two.

cool one word songs from the past...
Kiss-Beth,Strutter
Derek and The Dominoes-Layla
The Beatles-Michelle,Girl,Help,Revolution
The Rolling Stones-Angie,Bitch
David Bowie-Starman,Heroes
I guess i could go on all night!

The song or more specifically the melody is what is most important. Sure a title that tickles your senses or makes you curious may make you give a listen, but in the end it is not as important as some might think. Consider "Unchained Melody" an older song that probably has been covered by more artists and where someone is still collecting royalties. It's title has nothing to do with it's content and is nothing out of the ordinary though the song is.

I remember hearing that song a few times back in the day.
I asked a friend what it was called and he didn't know either.
Made it quite difficult if you wanted to buy the record.
Imagine having to stand there in a crowded store in front of some arrogant shop assistant
"Excuse me but do you have a song that goes a bit like this .....?"

Other than that I think it's a hell of a title.

Vic

Most important! You need a title that jumps out at you.There's plenty of Loving You's Loving Him's and so forth, so I always try and come up with something a little different when I write.Then of course there's the other difficult part-writing a knock out lyric.I' keep on persevering on both accounts.

I think it depends on the genre and your intended audience. Like the song context, the importance of the title varies from one genre to the next.

Personally, I like quirky, catchy titles. But, they don't seem to be in fashion at the moment. I think as songwriters, we're more concerned about the title than the listener is. There are exceptions, but they're exceptions for a reason. As the song's composer/lyricist, it's our baby and we want to dress it up real pretty with a sweet title. It's kind of like a baker/cake decorator...he/she spends a lot of time getting that fancy design on the icing just perfect ... but it doesn't make the cake taste any better. Unless the cake is for a specific event or function, I don't think most folks care too much about how pretty the icing is.

But, I could be wrong.

Al

In current country music, titles have gavitated to very innocuous phrases, "Dirt", "Cruise" "American Kids", I Drive your Truck, Burning it down." What most country songwriters are trying to do is make "The ordinary, EXTRODINARY." (Although they don't always do it)
Most are taking an every day events and giving it an interesting spin. A few titles do reflect a different twist:
"Drunk on a Plane" and "House that Built Me", are differently presented. But as always in Country, the story and development of the action is what is important.

Also, double meanings are important. Fla. Georgia Line's "Dirt" is about the core values that many Americans adhere to, family, land, home. "Chesney's American Kids are the same thing, except from a 'mobile" gypsy type family that moves around, making "home wherever they are."
The titles usually indicate something in the story that stands out. Helps to have a good one.

MAB

Humm,
I do try to use the best catchy title that i can. Here's a Title to ne of my songs. NUMBER ON THAT TRUCK. Posted on the Web Site http://www.geocities.ws/fiverosesmusicgroup/ Now the Title may not be the greatest, (It has gotten at least 3 people's attention, The demo company wanted Publishing on it, but wouldn't give a Reversion Clause, A Bob's Jack's Publishing had a cut but it never happened, another Artist was going to cut it but it fell thru) So, if the Title Grabs you give it a listen, or a pass!

I think it's subjective, like most things artistic. There have been plenty of times I've been looking for new music to discover and while browsing in record stores, look at the song titles and make judgements about the artist/band before even hearing it.......like for instance, if I see a lot of "girl"......"I need your love"......."have to have you"/(have 2 hav u).......ect.......I'll pass.

too many single word titles will lose my interest too, and there was a lot of that in the nineties. Conversely, if I see a lot of interesting titles like......"amanda's broken doll"......"cameras in the sky"......."year of the horse,wild ride".........I'm likely to at least want to hear it. I think titles can say a lot about the creative level of an artist/band.......but there are exceptions.

It should catch the eye but even MORE Important is to indicate WHAT the Story is about....BTW...DIRT is a fantastic song and I underestimated that group....Love that songx!

Ray, "Dirt" is quite an interesting song. Very good. Interestingly enough if you want to know how "runs" happen when it comes to hit writers, check out that Rodney Clawson and Chris Tompkins, the writers of "Fla. Ga Line's "Dirt' also wrote "American Kids", the current hit for Kenny Chesney,and 'Burnin' it Down',the current hit for Jason Aldeen.

And I was on the Row today, and drove by Major Bob publishing, with their banner, congratulating Lady Antibellum, for their number one (in a few weeks) hit "Hey Bartender."

That was written by Chris Tompkins too.

When you're hot, you're hot.

Tompkins co wrote Before He Cheats!

A songwriter I admire a lot!

Though the song I admire most of his is Me & Emily by Rachel Proctor.
Heavy song.

Well Marc,
My name is not Barry but I'll take it. Now I know who you are Marc. You wrote that song "I've Been Every Where", by Hank Snow, Eh? No? You just living it hey Marc. Me too. Still got miles and miles to go before I sleep. Write a hit!

Ray, I apologize. I try to read through these and direct comments at the poster before.But sometimes I get one or two confused. Your points were exactly right on. I didn't write "i've been everywhere" but I sure feel like I've lived it. I always say Nashville writers age 7 years for most humans. We're all a couple hundred years old here.

Aaron, you are correct. Chris has had a pretty impressive run. When Carrie Underwood won in American Idol, she started being in Nashville. The first thing all the "hit and upcoming writers" start doing is writing with these people. Chris is with Major Bob publishing, which was Garth Brook's publishing company. "Major Bob" is Bob Doyle, who was his manager.

So Chris, Rodney,and a few others had the inside track on songs for Carrie, including "Next time He Cheats." When someone gets really hot, every label, producer,artist, come to those people first in a "what else ya got?" kind of deal. So you find them getting TONS of cuts, and sometimes they all hit about the same time. And plus they are some pretty amazing songwriters.

I'm pretty sure that is what you are seeing. In the past it happened with people like Don Schlitz, who wrote the Gambler, You Say it Best When You Say Nothing at All,and most of the Randy Travis catalogue. Later it would be people like Craig Wiseman and Jeffery Steele. Now Chris and Rodney seem to be in the hot seat. Good for them.

MAB

Titles are very important, it can show to The Publisher that
that the unkown writer knows what he is doing

Sitting in that chair and listening to unsolicited demos
can be quite an eye opener

I learned a lot from that experience, and it made me a better writer, and presenter of my own work;

Horrible as it may seem to wannabe writers the listeners are waiting for an excuse to bin the demo;

Many Nashville write ups only start with a great title, take
¨°Highways Dont Care° that would draw most of us in,and of course it turned out to be a hit

Prosody of the Melody to Lyrics , of course that needs to be right

Vocals up front very important, and please someone who can sing in tune

Musicians who can hold a steady beat Yes but you dont need to pay mega bucks for them, if you can do it yourself properly do it

Then we get to the letter that acompanies your pitch
dont tell anyone about some obscure song contest you have won
or how long you have been doing it the right people listening will know that from your presentation and your first three lines

Dont ask cheeky questions about how many hits they have had
or who they know be humble and do your homework on the company you are pitching to

You dont need George Strat to sing the song, Its the song that counts and its got to be better than what most pro writers are pitching

UNCHAINED MELODY.

Yes Lyn quote the song that was purely written for the film
Unchained: IT WAS THE ONLY THING IN THE FILM WORTH REMEMBERING

Never to be repeated

What is the point of that Its the exception to the rule

Well done Jim a man after my own heart

Rachel Proctor won a JPF Award I believe in 2009 for Best Country Song. To be honest I have lost touch with her since then. Thanks for the reminder Aaron, I will have to check that song out.