Music streaming is having a profound impact on songwriting and song structure
Songwriters who want to get more plays on Spotify and other streaming platforms need to rethink their approach to songwriting and song structure to meet the needs of streaming audiences. Spoiled-for-choice streaming listeners are increasingly likely to ‘click and skip’ to the next track if a song doesn’t grab them in the first 20 seconds.
These are two of the key messages from a new book titled: Writing Songs in the Streaming Age – 40 Mistakes to Avoid If You Want to Get More Streams. The book aims to help new songwriters to create more streaming-friendly songs.
“Streaming has not only revolutionised the way people consume music, it is also transforming the way songs are being written and recorded,” says the book’s author Brian Oliver, an experienced music publisher. “Streaming is changing the whole methodology of songwriting. Successful streaming now requires a different type of song.”
Writing Songs in the Streaming Age takes a close look at how the global dominance of music streaming is having a far-reaching impact on songwriting and the structure of songs. It reveals how songs that connect in the streaming world are no longer the same as songs that work on traditional media, such as radio.
“Songwriters are facing a period of great change,” Oliver warns. “To succeed in the highly competitive streaming marketplace, creators need to adapt to the new songwriting conventions that are emerging in this algorithm-driven musical environment.”
Oliver says song structures that have been at the heart of hit songs for over 60 years are now being replaced by a song form that has one overriding objective: Keep streaming audiences listening for at least the first 30 seconds—otherwise a play won’t count as a stream…. the song may be downgraded on the streaming service’s database….and nobody gets paid.
With more songs now being designed to please the streaming companies’ algorithms, Writing Songs in the Streaming Age aims to help provide a better understanding of the changing building blocks of song structure in the streaming age. It’s an era in which the verse has gained a new importance because ‘click and skip’ streaming listeners don’t always stick around for the chorus.
The book examines the essential elements that are consistently found in the construction, melodies and lyrics of the biggest streaming hits. Crucially, it highlights the most common errors made when these key components are built into a song. In doing so, it aims to help new and aspiring songwriters avoid such mistakes in their own songs.
The book provides 40 insightful tips, including:
– treat a verse more like a chorus
– don’t make a song too long for streaming
– choose the right tempo for streaming listeners
There’s also a comprehensive Checklist designed to help new songwriters overcome the most frequent mistakes that are made when trying to write streaming-friendly songs.
Writing Songs in the Streaming Age – 40 Mistakes to Avoid If You Want to Get More Streams is now available from Amazon as a paperback and eBook in all territories, and also from leading eBook retailers such as Apple Books, Kobo and Barnes & Noble.
It is also available as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle store in the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia, and across Europe—as well as Apple Books, Barnes & Noble and Rakuten’s KoboBooks.
Adele has unveiled a brand new song—titled ‘When We Were Young’—which was co-written with Canadian singer-songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr. The song is taken from Adele’s new album, 25, which is available from November 20.
Jesso’s music has been compared to singer-songwriters of the 1960s and 1970s such as Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson and Emitt Rhodes.
Commenting on teaming up with the 30-year-old Canadian, Adele said: “I loved Tobias Jesso Jr’s song ‘Hollywood’ and I reached out to him when I was working on 25. I say I reached out… I got my manager to contact his manager. I’m pretty behind on social networking culture, I’d have no idea how to do it. Also I didn’t want to ask and have him say, “Absolutely not, I think you’re shit.” At least if my manager asks, he can absorb the rejection and just never tell me. Anyway, he was well up for it.”
And here’s the stunning result of their collaboration…
Inspired by real events, “Gilbert’s Gift” tells the story of Gilbert Shilling—a rock star back in the Swinging Sixties—who becomes a living lung donor to save the life of a dying boy he has never met.
“Gilbert’s Gift” is available from Amazon as a US paperback, UK paperback and as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle Store. It is also available from Apple’s iTunes Store (Books/Fiction & Literature/Brian Will Oliver), Barnes & Noble’s Nook Store, and from KoboBooks.
The Beatles’ updated and expanded version of their best-of collection, The Beatles 1, has just been released in a variety of formats.
The deluxe version (known as The Beatles 1+) includes a DVD or Blu-Ray of newly-restored videos for all of the songs featured on the original album.
According to Apple Corps, an 18-person team of film and video technicians and restoration artists spent months undertaking painstaking frame-by-frame cleaning, colour-grading, digital enhancement and new edits for the videos.
After the videos for ‘Revolution’ and ‘A Day in the Life’ were recently made available to the public for the first time, this week sees the release of the newly-restored videos for ‘Penny Lane’ and ‘We Can Work It Out’ …
Inspired by real events, “Gilbert’s Gift” tells the story of Gilbert Shilling—a rock star back in the Swinging Sixties—who becomes a living lung donor to save the life of a dying boy he has never met.
“Gilbert’s Gift” is available from Amazon as a US paperback, UK paperback and as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle Store. It is also available from Apple’s iTunes Store (Books/Fiction & Literature/Brian Will Oliver), Barnes & Noble’s Nook Store, and from KoboBooks.
The movie classic Quadrophenia – based on The Who’s 1973 double-album rock opera – is set to become a fully immersive cinematic and theatrical experience which, the producers claim, will “plunge fans into the sights and sounds of 1964 and capture the spirit of the era”.
Many of the film’s key stars will be taking part in the event which will be staged at London’s Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith on 11 February 2016. Joining Phil Daniels – who played the central role of disaffected Mod teenager Jimmy Cooper – will be Toyah Wilcox, Trevor Laird, Garry Cooper and Daniel Peacock. The stars will add an extra dimension to the event by sharing their memories in a special Q&A.
As well as a screening of the 1979 film and the Q&A session, there will be staged re-enactments throughout the night of scenes from the film to conjure up the feel of the mid-60s era in which it is set. The all-important sounds of the day will be performed live by leading Who tribute act Who’s Who, and there will also be a display of Sixties memorabilia (including original Vespas and their real life Mod owners).
Director Franc Roddam’s film is seen as a classic tale of alienation, disillusionment and escapism, as well as an important document capturing an important part of British youth history and rebellion. Watching the movie has been a rite of passage for millions since its release and the Mod era has been a source of fascination for generations, with its fashions and music continuing to resonate today.
Quadrophenia reflected the real-life situation of the day as partisan teenagers in fish-tails and leathers sought excitement through large scale scuffles when Mods and Rockers clashed at British seaside resorts.
Rolling Stone magazine has ranked the two-hour film as one of the top ten rock and roll movies of all time. The soundtrack featured many of The Who’s songs from the original Quadrophenia album, including tracks such as ‘5.15’.
Tickets for the immersive live performance are available from 9am on Friday 6 November at http://www.eventimapollo.com and http://www.axs.com. Standard ticket prices range from £30 to £43. VIP tickets £69.50.
Here’s The Who’s video for ‘5.15’ …
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Inspired by real events, “Gilbert’s Gift” tells the story of Gilbert Shilling—a rock star back in the Swinging Sixties—who becomes a living lung donor to save the life of a dying boy he has never met.
“Gilbert’s Gift” is available from Amazon as a US paperback, UK paperback and as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle Store. It is also available from Apple’s iTunes Store (Books/Fiction & Literature/Brian Will Oliver), Barnes & Noble’s Nook Store, and from KoboBooks.
Apple Corps is set to release an updated version of the Beatles’ White Album on November 6 along with a DVD of performances of the songs from the original album.
The DVD will include a previously unseen promotional video of the John Lennon song ‘Revolution’ which was the B-side of ‘Hey Jude’, released in August 1968 (you can watch the video below).
‘Revolution’ was inspired by the many political protests in early 1968. Two versions of the song were recorded: a hard rock version (the one heard on the B-side of ‘Hey Jude’) and a slower, bluesy arrangement (titled ‘Revolution 1′) for the Beatles’ self-titled double album, commonly known as the ‘White Album’.
Although the single version was issued first, it was recorded several weeks after ‘Revolution 1’ as a re-make and was specifically intended for release as a single. A third connected piece, written by Lennon, is the experimental track ‘Revolution 9’, which evolved from an unused, spoken-word portion of ‘Revolution 1’. It also appears on the White Album.
Producer George Martin said the record was able to get its distinctive distorted sound by plugging the amps directly into the Abbey Road recording desk and pushing the volume into the red. “We got into distortion on that, which we had a lot of complaints from the technical people about,” said Martin. “But that was the idea. It was John’s song and the idea was to push it right to the limit. Well, we went to the limit and beyond.”
Filming for promotional clips of ‘Hey Jude’ and ‘Revolution’ took place on September 4, 1968 at Twickenham Film Studios in England, under the direction of Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Two finished clips of ‘Revolution’ were produced, with only lighting differences and other minor variations. The Beatles sang the vocals live over the pre-recorded instrumental track from the single version.
Here’s the previously unseen video of ‘Revolution’ …
Inspired by real events, “Gilbert’s Gift” tells the story of Gilbert Shilling—a rock star back in the Swinging Sixties—who becomes a living lung donor to save the life of a dying boy he has never met.
“Gilbert’s Gift” is available from Amazon as a US paperback, UK paperback and as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle Store. It is also available from Apple’s iTunes Store (Books/Fiction & Literature/Brian Will Oliver), Barnes & Noble’s Nook Store, and from KoboBooks.
Union Square Music has launched a new double-CD compilation which features the original versions of the Kinks classics performed in the award-winning stage musical Sunny Afternoon. All the tracks were specially selected by The Kinks’ Ray Davies.
The musical Sunny Afternoon – named after The Kinks’ 1966 hit – uses songs by the band to tell the story of Ray Davies’s early life as well as the rise of the band he founded with his brother Dave in 1964. The musical has won four Olivier Awards.
Titled Sunny Afternoon – The Very Best of The Kinks, the new compilation contains nine of The Kinks’ UK Top Five hit singles, including three Number Ones. It features tracks such as ‘You Really Got Me’, ‘Waterloo Sunset’, ‘Sunny Afternoon’, and ‘Lola’. It also includes Kinks interviews and session tracks from the BBC’s archives.
The Kinks’ influence is now seen across a wide range of rock acts, such as The Who, Bruce Springsteen, The Jam, The Pretenders, Tom Petty, XTC and Elvis Costello – all of whom have paid homage to The Kinks at some point in covers or accolades.
The Who’s Pete Townshend was particularly influenced by the group’s sound: “Dave Davies was a real innovator and Ray was a gobsmacking genius,” he once remarked. “I desperately hope they work together again.”
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Inspired by real events, “Gilbert’s Gift” tells the story of Gilbert Shilling—a rock star back in the Swinging Sixties—who becomes a living lung donor to save the life of a dying boy he has never met.
“Gilbert’s Gift” is available from Amazon as a US paperback, UK paperback and as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle Store. It is also available from Apple’s iTunes Store (Books/Fiction & Literature/Brian Will Oliver), Barnes & Noble’s Nook Store, and from KoboBooks.
To pave the way for a remixed, deluxe edition of his classic album Pipes of Peace, Paul McCartney has released a remix of his 1983 hit with Michael Jackson, ‘Say, Say, Say’, which was originally produced by George Martin. The song became Jackson’s seventh Top 10 hit in a year.
In the video below, McCartney talks to Manic Street Preachers’ frontman James Dean Bradfield about what it was like to write songs such as ‘Say, Say, Say’ with Michael Jackson.
McCartney reveals that the song was written quickly, with Jackson and himself face-to-face around a piano in the former Beatle’s London office.
“It came very easily because I was excited to be writing with him and he was excited to write with me,” said McCartney. “We just popped off each other.”
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“Gilbert’s Gift” is available from Amazon as a US paperback, UK paperback and as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle Store. It is also available from Apple’s iTunes Store (Books/Fiction & Literature/Brian Will Oliver), Barnes & Noble’s Nook Store, and from KoboBooks.
A recently re-discovered original recording of The Beatles singing ‘Some Other Guy’ at the legendary Cavern Club in 1962 is to go under the hammer as part of a Rock & Pop Memorabilia auction in Liverpool on 4 November 2015.
The old reel-to-reel tape had been languishing in a desk drawer for more than 50 years.
On 22 August 1962, The Beatles were filmed by a Granada Television crew at The Cavern, performing ‘Some Other Guy’ and ‘Kansas City’ for a TV programme called Know The North. However, the sound quality was so poor that it was unable to be broadcast.
When The Beatles came back to Liverpool after recording ‘Love Me Do’ at Abbey Road Studios in London, Granada TV sound engineer Gordon Butler returned to The Cavern with the band on 5 September 1962, with the intention of obtaining a better quality audio recording to dub over the original film footage. Butler took three microphones – two of which he placed on Lennon and McCartney.
The re-recording of ‘Some Other Guy’ reportedly sounded so good that the band’s manager Brian Epstein asked Butler to make five acetate copies which Epstein intended to use to promote the band.
Butler returned to Granada with the re-recorded tape and gave it to legendary TV producer Johnnie Hamp. But due to legal issues with other acts on the show, the programme was never screened and the tape remained in Hamp’s desk drawer for 50 years. He recently discovered it, and, with the help of Beatles historian Paul Wilde, listened to it on a reel-to-reel tape machine. He found the sound quality was still crystal clear five decades later.
The whereabouts of four of the ‘Some Other Guy’ acetates are unknown, but the fifth was sold at auction in 1993 for £16,000 to Apple Records, the label set up by The Beatles in 1968.
All proceeds from the sale of the tape will be donated to charity.
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What would YOU give to save the life of a stranger’s child? That’s the emotive question posed by this heartwarming novel of selfless courage, a quest for forgiveness, and a Swinging Sixties first love that never grew old.
“Gilbert’s Gift” is available from Amazon as a US paperback, UK paperback and as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle Store. It is also available from Apple’s iTunes Store (Books/Fiction & Literature/Brian Will Oliver), Barnes & Noble’s Nook Store, and from KoboBooks.
Bobby Vinton fans are being offered a new 2CD set which contains 40 of his greatest hits, B-sides and cover versions of classic songs from the 1960s. Titled Bobby Vinton – The Ultimate Epic Singles Collection, it is said to be “the most comprehensive Bobby Vinton ‘hits’ package ever released”.
Released on 12 August 2013, the collection features all of his hits, including ‘Roses Are Red (My Love)’, ‘Blue Velvet’, ‘Blue On Blue’ and ‘Mr. Lonely’, along with his take on songs like ‘Take Good Care of My Baby’, ‘Half Way to Paradise’ and ‘Sealed With A Kiss’.
Bobby Vinton, now aged 78, has been called “the most successful love singer of the rock era”. From his first hit record ‘Roses Are Red (My Love)’ in 1962 through to 1972, he had more Number One singles than any other solo male artist.
Rod Stewart’s new album Time marks a welcome return to his unique pop/rock style of the 1970s and 1980s. “It’s just a good, old-fashioned Rod Stewart album with a lot of mandolin, acoustic guitar and fiddles, and good storytelling,” said 68-year-old Rod.
It’s his first album of all-new material since 2001’s Human. For the first time in nearly 20 years, he also had a hand in writing most of the songs.
Watch the video for the first single, ‘It’s Over’, HERE…
Adele has unveiled a brand new song—titled ‘When We Were Young’—which was co-written with Canadian singer-songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr. The song is taken from Adele’s new album, 25, which is available from November 20.
The Beatles’ updated and expanded version of their best-of collection, The Beatles 1, has just been released in a variety of formats. 
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