GUIDELINES

Song Guidelines

  1. The intros and outros must be short. The first lyric should come in by 10 seconds into the song. The song should not be longer than 3:45 seconds. This allows the user room to add their own embellishment and stay within the 4-minute radio airplay mark. "Fact: if your song can't be performed in less than 4 minutes, it's probably not going to get on the radio." 1

  2. Many songs that are submitted have places where they drag. It is always best to turn the tempo up to the breaking point, and then pull back a bit. "In my experience, you want to push the tempo up to the breaking point, and then pull back just slightly from that. You'll hate me for it until you get to the pitch meeting. You can thank me later." 2

  3. The melody should have a hook in it. There are several different kinds of hooks, as defined by songwriting experts. Any one of them will work.

  4. READ READ READ! We have learned so much about the craft of songwriting from books. They are a storehouse of knowledge. They tell us the first line of your song should grab the reader and pull them in. First lines are v-e-r-y important.

  5. The more vowel sounds you have in the body of your song that match the vowel sound in your title, the better the song!

  6. The lyric creates the image in the listener's mind and should contain some nouns. The melody helps accentuate the mood and adds feeling. The vocals pull it all together and make the song what it is.

  7. The chorus delivers the message of the song. The verses add information about the message. Bridges give more information in a different format than the verse or chorus.

  8. The chorus and verses and bridges should all have different melody structures as well as different lyrical rhyme schemes and formats.

  9. Nearly 51% of all airplay in the United States goes to country music.

  10. Most songs on the radio have a positive message. Most new artists have some positive songs on their play lists. The established artists have more freedom in choosing controversial or negative/sad/dark musical themes. Keep your songs positive. Make sure the idea/concepts are entertaining. Try for universally appealing themes/concepts. Don't be too personal. We don't want stories about your Aunt Helga.
1 & 2 Excerpts from Making Music Make Money by Eric Beall

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