Atypical & Awesome, “Big Deal”
It has been a mentally taxing week. One glimpse of respite and some genuine happiness came with the release of Crews Wright’s first post- American Idol release“Big Deal”. We cowrote this a year ago not knowing how timely the lyric AND video would be. Please follow Crews on social media. You can read how very special this song and video are- it’s truly a “God thing”.
So, let’s talk songwriting. I’ve done this “thing” for over 20 years now. I have been blessed to have over 40 songs recorded by various artists in various genres. Some have been on major labels and a couple on national touring acts. However, most have been with talented and passionate independent artists. None have been huge commercial successes but many have had glimmers of excitement and buzz. Every single cut matters to me. Each and every one IS a big deal.
For most writers, for every 100 songs written- 1 gets cut. I am referring songs that are produced and released commercially with the expectations of radio play (or sync). I truly value each and every artist I write with who says, “I’m taking that one to the studio”. Everyone has access to put things online now so a “cut” sometimes looks a little different and can be open to interpretation However, quality recordings made by professionals (and then distributed and marketed) are a songwriter’s heartbeat. Seeing your little baby hook grow into a commercially viable song is a HUGE deal.
We live for those (songwriter, songwriter) credits. For those of us who are not performing artists, our songwriting credits are our everything. Humility has a place but so does rejoicing in every single victory because they are few and far between. Our names in those parentheses keep us going! It is a true dopamine rush!
We live in a world of “almost”, “maybe”, and “we should write”. When things DO work out, it is almost hard to accept because so much doesn’t. It is a heartbreaking profession more often than not.
A I (Artificial intelligence not American Idol-lol) is threatening our jobs. Streaming has robbed us of a living wage for years and now computer generated songs are eeking out lyrics we must now compete with commercially. How ridiculous is that? But yet, we show up every day to write those songs. We have no choice. Songwriting is ingrained in our very spirits and souls. So yes, each and every release is a very big deal.
Please support the dreamers and poets of the world- download a song and save a songwriter ❤️
