Songwriters can take on a variety of roles, depending on their career goals, level of ambition, and specific skills. A songwriter, for example, may simply write song lyrics and music before selling the finished product to a performing artist. This is common among pop music artists, who frequently have multiple songwriters working on their material behind the scenes. The songwriter has entered into a commercial venture in which they are selling a product—their music—to a consumer in this case.
The singer-songwriter is another type of songwriter. He or she writes and performs all of his or her own material, including lyrics and musical accompaniment. This is perhaps one of the most difficult jobs to succeed at, because even a great singer-songwriter cannot guarantee success. To become a successful singer-songwriter, one must be able to think creatively when writing lyrics and play a musical instrument well enough to perform in front of an audience. Many aspiring singer songwriters may find this combination difficult, but since formal training is not required for such a profession, anyone with a reasonable amount of drive and talent can give it a shot.
Lyric composition, musical composition, and musical performance are the main components of songwriting in either case. If a songwriter has mastered all three of these elements, becoming a singer-songwriter may be the best career or life path to take. If that person does not have a strong grasp of the musical performance aspect of songwriting, he or she may prefer to write songs and sell them to a performer, as described above.
In some cases, songwriters are formally trained and educated individuals who have chosen to work in this field. They could work in recording studios assisting aspiring musicians with songwriting, as freelance songwriters writing songs for television or movies, or as commercial jingle writers. Songwriters have a plethora of outlets for their music; the difficult part is marketing it to make it successful.
If said songwriters choose to pursue formal education, they will almost always need a bachelor’s degree, or at the very least an associate’s degree. While the rewards of this profession are numerous and the career trajectory is unique, even for successful songwriters, salaries are generally not very high.