Six Steps to Songwriting Success, Revised Edition: The Comprehensive Guide to Writing and Marketing Hit Songs

Half the book is on the craft of songwriting: song structures, lyrics and titles, and melodies. The other half of the book is on the business of songwriting. It covers how to record a demo, how songwriters make money, publishing, song pitching. The author also talks about how it took him 16 years to really feel successful and comfortable, adding in a few chapters on being persistent and having realistic expectations.I like the quotes from professionals (writers and industry people) on all the subjects he covers, everything from the writing process, the business, melodies, hooks. The examples of lyric writing are mostly contemporary as of the early 2000s (unlike a few other books I have read) which is nice.However, I think there are better books about lyric writing and song structure, namely:  Popular Lyric Writing: 10 Steps to Effective Storytelling  and  Writing Better Lyrics , which is why I'm giving this 4 stars.Finally, my advice to someone wants to write songs is that it's fine to pick up a book or two to learn the basics. But ultimately, I believe that to write good songs, you should1) Put away the books2) Listen to songs that you love and analyze why you like them3) Actually write songs. It doesn't matter how good they are, it only matters that you keep finishing complete songs. That's the only way to actually get better.I say this as someone who's read a lot of songwriting books and not written as much as I should have. Good luck!

It was suggested to me by a Nashville staff-writer to read this book. I have read it from front to back and it was time well spent! Before I read it, I had a million questions, all answered now. But don't expect to read it all in one sitting because it's extensive. If you have any desire to be a professional songwriter, this book is a must! It covers every aspect of dealing with the music industry and made me realize that I was a total greenhorn. However, it also gave me confidence that I could master this challenge and gave excellent guidelines for writing better songs. It covers the content and structure needed for commercial songs and it addresses how you can get your songs listened to once you have that "gem" and what level your product needs to be at before you submit it to the professionals and who the professionals are. It also covers Nashville etiquette/do's and don'ts. Best of luck!

Jason Blume’s greatest songwriting success is the completion and publication of this book. He doesn’t pull any punches, sugarcoat, over or underestimate the challenge, craft or business of songwriting. If you wonder whether you have what it takes to be a professional songwriter, then read or listen to this book. You won’t have to wonder any longer. I wish this book had been available to me when I was 17, 27, 37 and 47 years of age. It may have prevented me from waiting until I was 57 years old to make the determined, deliberate decision to become an accomplished songwriter.Ken SheaAspiring SongwriterOctober 30, 2017

Easy to read & follow

clear, understandable.

Each step is more like a series of 20 steps (I'll call "micro steps"). Each micro step comes with an example to illustrate the point. All of these examples are great for clarifying ideas, but they drastically slow the narrative. They make it easy to see the trees (the leaves even) but they make it hard to see the forrest.This book would make a companion to a version without any examples. That way people could breeze through sections that make sense and get the nitty gritty for harder topics.

Laid out well, good content. Can’t wait to start reading. This was recommended by my mentor.

If you're keen to get into the game of songwriting, it's a good book to read. It tries to provide details about the entire process involved in songwriting - from idea generation to marketing your songs. However, like any one book that tries to cover all bases in a very large and complex undertaking like the songwriting business it ends up lacking in detail in every area. Lots of topics are summarily treated, especially areas on writing lyrics and composing melodies.The plus to the book are that it's got lots of great insights into the music business and is very matter of fact and brutally honest about the music industry and how it works and that helps in dispelling any rosy myths one might have when thinking of getting into it. That pushes you to realistically assess your talents and work harder to step up your game or decide if this career is one you really want to get into.My advice though is that this one book will not be enough if you really want to learn everything you need to know about songwriting, especially the musical aspects of composing and writing great lyrics.Some other books I found very very helpful as a companion to this were:Shortcuts to Hit songwriting - Robin FrederickThe Craft and Business of Songwriting - John Braheny

This book would have been the gold standard back in 1999 or 2004, but as it currently stands, it should be taken off the shelf and reworked before it's promoted as a guide to marketing your music.This was originally written in the mid/late 1990s, published in 1999, and then touched up with a 2nd edition in 2004, which is the version being sold. The advice and examples in the book are so wildly out of date, if you followed some of these steps, you’d jeopardise your career chances. It is that seriously out of date.Missing entirely in the book is the rise of digital music (which accounts for 95% of music), with barely any mention of the internet, never mind streaming services and the rise of independent publishers and self-publishing. The industry itself has changed too, with many labels and publishers accepting unsolicited demos, where as the book was written at a time when you needed an inside edge. Another major change in the 20+ years since the book came out is the business model of songwriters, where the money is in live events and licensing, which are again out of date examples in the book.This desperately needs a 3rd edition with 2021 examples before I can recommend it.However, the first half of the book on songwriting is still relevant for most genres, particularly traditional pop, country and rock that use the standard song format. Dominant newer genres like modern pop, dance/house and hip-hop are missing entirely from the songwriting process, and given those genres employ the most songwriters in 2021, again that 3rd edition is sorely needed.

Some fantastic tuition and a lot of valid points and great structure. Loving this book; thank you so much to the writer, I am making great process and have already re-written a few of my songs which have had great feedback. Thank you once again

Comprehensive book that gives lots of examples of songs with clear explanation of Songwriting principles and really goes in depth, the only fault is that the writing is too close together, making the book essay like, and the relevance of the book is arguably growing dated,Great book for a beginner getting into Songwriting 4/5

There are loads of book s out there telling on how you can be a succes in songwriting. Jason Blume's book offers a 6 step guide in what it takes to achieve songwriting success. His six steps include everything needed for the aspiring writer. Though it might be easier said than done, the book points you in the right direction. The rest is up to you.

Brilliant. Even if you don't want the "commercial" aspect of being a professional in the second half of the book it's worth the money just for the first half.