What is songwriting success?

One question that I’ve seen over the years is… “What constitutes songwriting success?”
The first thing a new songwriter should do is to determine just that. It’s like any other venture you might embark on, you need to set goals and determine what constitutes success for you.

Songwriting success is not a one size fits all scenario. For some success can only be achieved by earning your primary income from songwriting. Others feel success comes from the completion of a new song. Let’s take a look at a few scenarios for success.


• Writing and completing a new song.
• A songwriter writes a song that touches someone in a profound way.
• Just getting a song cut.
• Garnering a “major” label cut.
• A songwriter’s song achieves number one ranking on the charts.
• Primary means of living comes from songwriting.

Now these are just a handful of ideas for success and you may actually find success comes from several or all these to some extent or something altogether different. Let’s examine the list from my perspective as a songwriter.


• Writing and completing a new song. (I’ve accomplished this task)
• A songwriter writes a song that touches someone in a profound way. (I’ve accomplished this task)
• Just getting a song cut. (I’ve accomplished this task)
• Garnering a “major” label cut. (So far no major cuts)
• A songwriter’s song achieves number one ranking on the charts. (Still working on it)
• Primary means of living comes from songwriting. (I’m not currently making my primary living)

So now the question is, “Am I a successful songwriter?” Well, when I defined my goal for success many years ago, it was garnering a “major” label cut. Shucks haven’t checked that one off yet. The key word “yet” in that last statement is a MUST if I want to ever succeed. That’s not to say I haven’t had any success and THANK GOD for the steps I have accomplished, it keeps me motivated and working towards my goal of a major label cut. With that said, if I had a major label cut tomorrow, I would like most, continue to work towards the next “BIG” cut.

As you can probably see, success is a process. The process varies for the songwriter and more often than not, the process will probably become a “repeatable process” regardless of meeting ones success goal. In other words if your success factor is writing and completing a new song, more than likely when you have achieved that, you’ll end up writing another song. Perhaps as you hone the craft of songwriting you will find yourself embarking on new goals. Nothing says you can’t shift your mindset in one direction or the other. If there is one thing that I would suggest come from this writing is that the…Bottom line is to set goals. Feel free to comment and add some additional success goals for songwriting.

Looking forward, to moving forward,


Ray