Unda The Hat Media Entertainment

Tuesday, January 24th, 2023. 

Hey, it’s TJ Miller, “you want some game?” Let's #tipundathehat!  

For the best indie music from indie artists, click, and follow Indie Artist Of The Week Unda The Hat. This week, Pamela Williams Be sure to hit the like button and follow this amazing group of indie artists. They will be major soon.

Ghost Writers - Let’s go -  

I’m sure you’ve all heard of the term ghostwriter right? To be clear there are of course ghostwriters in the literary world but we are talking about music ghostwriters. A ghostwritier is someone who is generally an experienced songwriter, or lyricsist. Sometimes it’s just someone who is given a shot and not that experienced, but really know how to put pen to paper. The other side of it is that ghostwriters are just that, ghosts. They are not credited for the work that they do; but they are compensated, and sometimes nicely.  

The art of ghostwriting is nothing new either. Mozart for example was known to be paid to ghostwrite for wealthy patrons. The classical world is actually full of ghostwriters as well as the film industry. For the film ghostwriter, they are not credited on the cue sheet or in the final product in any way. It’s been a “thing” for a long time. Today in the world of hip hop, more and more ghostwriters are beginning to pop up and there is a bit of controversy surronding it. Those against it think that it’s a violation to everything that hip hop stands for, expressing yourself though your own lyrics and your own experiences and how can you do that if someone else is writing the words. It’s like acting in a movie or television show, and definitely not keeping it 100! However the real OG Chuck D of Public Enemy has a different take on it. “Not everyone is equipped to be a lyricist and not everyone is equipped to be a vocalist.” Interesting point. In some of these deals the ghostwriter will sign a confidentiality clause and sometimes it is discussed freely by both the artist and the writer. One of the biggest ghostwriting stories is how Jay Z wrote the lyrics to Still D.R.E by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dog. That’s right an east coast rapper right at the end of all of the east west drama, two years after Biggie was killed wrote one of the biggest west coast hip hop songs of that time. He wrote both the lyrics for Dre and Snoop. If you want to know some other hip hop ghost writers just click that link, some you may know, some you may be surprised about. 

Now I know your real question is how do I become a ghostwriter or how do I connect with a ghostwriter to write me a hit. Well, first and foremost, like everything else in the music industry, it’s all about contacts and relationships. You’ve got to get out of the house, out of the studio and meet people, the right people. Next is going to be some things I’ve said in other blog posts and that’s build a website and place your writings on there. Please make sure you copyright them first. You can of course copyright more than one song at a time so you are not spending a fortune on it. On your social media sites let people know that your are indeed a writer and point them to your website to get a glimps of what you can do. Work with local talent for free. Yep I said free. Get some songs out there and put them on your website that you have songs that have been recorded and released out there. Believe it our not, demos still work. I wouldn’t make it an actual demo tape, but mp3 demos that you can send to the right people works. Hit up some contests. ASCAP and other PRO orginizations have writing contests all the time. Don’t be afraid and don’t be that person “I don’t do contests.” Do it. If you are trying to write for a well known artist, find out who their publisher is, their manager or even their label and reach out. Make sure you can write in their voice and their persona so you can be taken seriously.  

To find a ghostwriter, simple - Google it. There are several ghostwriting services out there and there is always fiverr. 

This week's #IAOTW - Independent Artists Of The Week is - Pamela Williams The Saxtress. Established in LA but musically neurtured in Philly, and has been named female smooth jazz artist of the year. Click on her name link, scroll down to his picture, then click and support. You won’t believe how talented hip soulful soul is.  

For more information on this or to hire Unda The Hat as your brand or label consultant send a message via undathehat.com. See you next week!!