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Q: As someone who has had great success writing solo and writing with a co-writer, can you tell us the pro's and con's to each method, and is one approach generally better than the other?

Thanks for your question. I feel honored to be among the JPMentors! In answering, I'm using P & C for pro & con. You can also take them as "point & counterpoint," or even two songwriters named "Patty & Chuck"!

P: MONEY! If your song generates income, & you are the only writer, you obviously get more of the pie! You retain the writer's share & sometimes all or part of the publishing, depending on your circumstances. You also may be able to keep your copyright to the song, which gives you some control over how & when it is used.

C: 100% of nothing is still nothing! Also, are you prepared to SPEND the money & energy to get your song properly demoed & marketed by yourself? Will the song be the best it can be without benefit of a co-writer? Read on!

P: MORE CREATIVE CONTROL. By this I mean that you may have a particular vision for the lyrics, music, & feel of your song. And sometimes there's no one else available, or willing (or weird enough) to see it as you do! In this situation, a co-writer might dilute your point of view, or your style.

Another case where the solo route may be preferable is where the WRITER is also the ARTIST. He/she wishes to take chances artistically; maybe break a few rules & create a piece that skews in a certain unique, provocative direction. For the studio-savvy, this process may include production elements interacting with the writing process (loops, effects, synth programming, etc.). In a sense, these "turn ons" can almost function as co-writers!

C: EGO. Each of us has one, but there are times when you need to ask it to wait outside, as it can wrongly influence these decisions. Many of us want to perform our own material. That's great! But adopting the "I'm an artist, I must be freeeeeee!" mentality can lead us to break some of the basic rules of songwriting before we really understand them!

Personally, I was a staff writer. I had the benefit of years of writing for other artists before I had success as an artist myself. I learned about the BIZ, & I learned the CRAFT. And that's why now, years later, while I'm "in between hits" as an artist, I still make my living as a songwriter.

Getting back to creative control: The flip side is, without considerable experience & the judgment that comes with it, the do-it-yourself route can shut you off from valuable help & interaction that may hone your work into a brighter & better finished product.

There is a pervasive disease in our community called "SONGWRITER'S MYOPIA." This means we get so into the minute details of our little jigsaw puzzles that we can miss glaring errors. An example: I recently showed my lyrics of a chorus-in-progress to eight different friends (I thought it was pretty good already) for their reactions. The first seven liked it. Great! Number eight asked me a question about my "story" that pointed up a possible problem with the clarity of one line. So, on a whim, I went back to the first seven & asked them about that specific issue. Turns out every one of them had misunderstood my intended thought! Therefore they liked
the chorus for the wrong reasons. Just when we think we know everything, SM strikes again!

Several rewrites later, I am confident that I have fixed the problem. But had I been working with a co-writer, I might never have encountered it. (OK, Alan, so why didn't you co-write the song?) Because it's for me as an artist, for my upcoming CD; and I want to take chances artistically, maybe break a few rules...

P: As you may have guessed by now, I am a fan co-writing, especially with the right co-writer (more about that below). My co-writer on most of the material for Muppet Babies & National Geographic's Really Wild Animals has been Janis Liebhart. For me, she represents darn near perfection in this regard. She's equally comfortable with lyrics or music (as am I), & we both sing. She really listens to my ideas. She pushes us to keep trying beyond a lyric line that "works OK." Her personality is naturally upbeat & funny. Plus her musical tastes & ideas often made our work more contemporary & groove oriented. Over the years, we have learned how to compliment each other's writing abilities instinctively, so we work very
well on tight deadline projects.

So the advantages of co-writing can be: Two (or more) creative heads are better than one. They "fill in" your weak spots & bring out your best (often one writer excels at lyrics, the other at music). Another point of view you hadn't considered. Bouncing ideas back & forth. Additional instrument and/or voice for demos. Sharing expenses. Helping each other with contacts. And finally, IT'S MORE FUN! C: But all this goes with a CAVEAT: If co-writing is like a marriage, there needs to be a dating period first, to determine if you are a good match! Unless you are at the level where you just name each other a few of your hits, you may have to go through a few frogs to find a prince.

1) It's usually better to choose from candidates who are at your "level" or a little ahead of you in experience and/or success. This is admittedly rather nebulous & easily misconstrued; but let's just say you don't want to have to be constantly explaining the process of songwriting while co-writing. On the other hand, you need to have a safe space where you can both be open to new ideas, & make mistakes.

2) On a first meeting, it's probably better to share things each of you have already written alone, learning about each other's style & ability in a supportive atmosphere. That way, if it doesn't work out, you haven't made any commitments to feel awkward about, yet you haven't burned any bridges (no pun intended)

3) Don't make decisions based on physical attraction. Keep your professionalism. What do they bring to the table that compliments your own talent? What are their goals, their plans, their availability?

4) Before beginning to co-write, make sure you have an understanding about the percentages you will share of the finished product (usually equal amounts, regardless if one writer contributes more). Also, in the event that one of you brings in a portion of a song to co-write, & ends up unhappy with the contribution of the other co-writer to that song, the original portion should revert back to the writer who brought it in.

In closing, is one approach to songwriting generally better than the other? While each case is different, I feel that one's growth & opportunities as a writer can be helped immensely by the process of co-writing. The trick is building a relationship with the right partner or partners. As opposed to solo writing, co-writing involves sharing creative control, & sharing possible financial gain; it also involves give-and-take & a modicum of patience & people-skills. But these are not really disadvantages.

I seem to gravitate toward writing alone when the song might be for me as an artist, and co-writing when it's an assignment. But every song I write is helped by my previous experiences in co-writing. Either way you choose, best of luck!