I often see fellow songwriters express their passion for songwriting with such fire in their eyes.  Interesting enough, they are so eager to share their creations with everyone around them.  For some songwriters, one can clearly notice their anticipation to be acknowledged for a job well done on the master piece they have created.  For them, the songs they create are seen as extensions of who they truly are.  The marriage of the perfect lyrics and melody is the culmination of the thoughts and spirit of each songwriter.  Often times, when people don’t appreciate their songs, they would feel truly disappointed because their creations are expressions of how they feel and think.  Basically, for many, rejecting their songs means, to some extent, rejecting who they are as regular people with feelings.

 

The question that intrigues a curious mind is, if songwriters value their compositions so much, why do many easily give away their songs for free?  It is true that they create a song out of passion, but shouldn’t there be an actual value attached to that song?  It is understandable that songwriters are creative people, and what matters the most for them is the creation itself.  Money is usually the last thing on their minds, but one has to bear in mind that songwriters need to eat too.  In a typical life of a songwriter, almost everything entails some form of expense.  

 

People who are not songwriters or musicians may not totally understand the extent of hardship the songwriter went through to create that master piece.  Ordinary people immediately assume that because the person has the talent in songwriting, he or she can easily compose a song with no difficulty.  To my opinion, when songwriters readily give away their songs for free, other people may not totally appreciate the true value of those songs.  In this age of the Internet, people freely download songs illegally without remorse or reservation.  For them, the songs that have been created are like free commodities that can easily be consumed without permission.  As a result, many songwriters lose out on unpaid royalists.  

 

I believe we, the songwriters must seriously think of our profession as a business, where everything we do have a corresponding monetary value.  To my opinion, if the person is interested in your music, but doesn’t have the means to purchase it, then you should consider an ex-deal ( exchange deal ) arrangement.  The value of the service or product being exchanged for your song should be equivalent to the value of what you think your song is worth.

 

Considering the time, money and effort you invested in creating that song, it is time that other people learn to appreciate the true value of your master piece.