A musical mystery

[badmartialarts]

This is a question that suddenly assailed me. Why is it that songwriters get pretty much no fame unless they are in the bands they write for, and then only as musicians? This holds true for the whole music industry....except orchestral composing, where it's the complete opposite, and the only famous people are the writers. I think it might have to do with the perception that bands write their own material, which is hardly the case nowdays.

[Scintilla]

Why is it that songwriters get pretty much no fame unless they are in the bands they write for, and then only as musicians?

What about Burt Bacharach (sp?) and Jim Steinman?

[Kai Stromler]

This is a question that suddenly assailed me. Why is it that songwriters get pretty much no fame unless they are in the bands they write for, and then only as musicians?

Do songwriters go on tour, and have promoters make posters with their name on them to hang all over the place, so that the tour is a money-earner?

Does the songwriter appear in the music video that goes to MTV, VIVA, etc?

Is it the songwriter's voice that comes over the radio, singing the lyrics?

When it comes down to it, nobody involved in the chain of value transmission has a vested interest in songwriters being famous. The musician is the "face" of the music (ever since Milli Vanilli, anyway -- and in this case the real musicians also never got any exposure out of the deal, because it was the "face" of the lipsynchers being promoted), and the "face" is what is promoted to sell the product. No promotion, no fame.

--K

[Purge]

agreeing with kai - You never hear from the radio or see from a music video any credits if the song was created by someone else. If you watch awards shows or sumthin you may hear the musical artist thanking the writer. Its not the song writer who makes the song famous but the musical artist who sings it.

[Otohiko]

Funny, I believe that in Russia the opposite could be the case. Noone can shut up about B.G. and Y.Y. - and they're far and above more famous than the names of the bands they're in, with rather unassociated solo careers to boot.

[Otohiko]

Oh, I think I slightly misunderstood the question, gah. Songwriter, not singer-...

right...

In any case, I suppose it's an issue over what counts more, lyrics or voice. At least in one of the two above-mentioned cases, the voice is unremarkable, and they're definitely known for their lyrics foremost.

Back west, in my beloved King Crimson, meanwhile, the non-performing (except as lighting director) songwriter Peter Sinfield played a founding role in the band and could have, potentially, taken over it. Heck, he even invented the band's name!

That said, I think it's hard to deny that in rock music, there is almost a constant assumption that "everyone plays/sings their own song" - voices have become closely associated with the singers, just as certain guitar styles - with guitarists. Rock has a "cult of personality" for the musicians. Classical music works the opposite, where musicians are often completely impersonal and the personality within the work is associated with their inventor.