Do you know that you can sell song lyrics for money, and there are a large number of artists or songwriters that are into this form of business?
However, you might have noticed that some songwriters are naturally able to write better lyrics than others. Those are the people who are naturally talented, and they can write sentences on sentences with their imagination of a collection of words.
But that does not mean that you have to have naturally developed skills like them. You can still get paid to write song lyrics if you are willing to do so. If you are dedicated and can put in the effort, you can sell song lyrics for money. In this article, you will learn how you can earn money with lyrics writing.
So, let’s start looking into the matter.
What Degree Do You Need To Be A Lyrics Writer?
Well, you do not need any degree to become a lyrics writer. You will automatically get to know what to do and what you should not. You will automatically start to grasp things to become a good lyrics writer. It will take some time, especially if you are new to this industry, but a time will come when things will be at your fingertips.
6 Best Ways To Sell Lyrics Online to Earn Extra Money
1. Freelance Lyricist
Freelancing is a growing industry, and it has always shown to be a potential industry that does not stop growing. You mostly have heard that people do freelancing for programming, website development, graphics designing, editing, etc.
You would be surprised that you can become a freelance lyricist and get paid to write song lyrics. The best aspect of this approach is that you do not have to go anywhere, and you choose when to work and when you should rest or look at your other matter. You will be the boss, and you won’t have any pressure.
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2. Charge Placement Fee
Another way to sell song lyrics for money and get paid is by charging placement free. The placement fee is the amount someone will pay you for using your lyrics. If you are a talented lyricist and can write good lyrics, you can offer your lyrics to brands for their use. They will put your lyrics in their ads and commercials, paying you a placement fee. Undoubtedly, it is an excellent way to get paid to write song lyrics.
3. Mechanical Royalty
You can sell song lyrics for money in many different ways, and mechanical royalty is one such way. What it means is that we know that people are used to downloading songs or albums they like.
If you have made a good album, then people will surely download it. They will even buy it because there are several platforms where you need to pay to listen to the song. You will get paid to write song lyrics every time someone downloads or purchases your work.
In order to make your lyrics good, try to avoid abusive words or double-meaning slang. It is crucial to take care of such things because they can have a negative impact on some people.
4. Become A Staff Writer
Whenever a song or album comes into the market, it is always the effort of multiple people. Mostly there are several people behind every song, and each of them inputs their thoughts on the lyrics and other aspects.
You can get paid to write song lyrics by becoming a staff member, where you will be working on lyrics with other lyricists. This is also good in the sense that you will have the opportunity to learn from fellow workers. They can help you to become good by pointing out the mistakes you are making.
5. Public Royalties
Once you submit song lyrics for money, it is up to you how you want to cash the opportunity. Public royalties are another good option with which you can earn from your lyrics. What it means is that once you write the lyrics and they are out for the public, you will get paid every time your lyrics are used in public.
For instance, if there is a concert or event and your lyrics are played there, you will be paid a public royalty fee. You even get paid if the lyrics you wrote are broadcasted on the radio. So, public royalty is a good option if you can write attractive lyrics.
6. Write Lyrics For Upcoming Artists
You can sell song lyrics for money by offering your lyrics to upcoming artists so that they can use them. If everything goes well and people start to like your lyrics, you can earn a good amount of money. It is also likely that the artist will keep on working with you if he has a successful entry with your lyrics.
So, you can get paid to write song lyrics for newbie artists if you are good at writing lyrics.
How Much Can You Earn?
Well, the answer depends on several factors. These include the economic situation of the country where you live, the popularity of your lyrics, and if your lyrics are accepted nationally or internationally. However, we can have a rough idea of how much you can earn. Typically, you can earn around $6000 per month, which would be $72000 per annum, which is not a bad figure.
Platforms Where You Can Sell Your Lyrics
While there are many platforms where you can submit song lyrics for money and get paid, we will be discussing only a few of them. Using those platforms ensures that you become a part of a larger network to maximize your efforts.
Becoming a part of a larger community opens doors for opportunity, and more people get to know about your presence too. Otherwise, it would take decades to introduce yourself on a larger scale.
1. Nashville Songwriters (NSAI)
Nashville is a great platform in the sense that it is a non-profit organization and entirely focuses on protecting the rights of a songwriter. It is a Tennessee-based organization that provides three forms of royalties, and you can freely submit song lyrics for money.
This platform will give you a performance royalty that is whenever your song is used in a performance or in a radio session. You will get some money for it. Besides that, this platform also provides mechanical royalties and synch fees.
Synch fees refer to those scenarios where an artist uses your lyrics and synchronizes them with his videos. In those cases, you get almost 50% of the total. The remaining would be given to the video artist because he used his material, too, for creating the end product.
2. SongBay
SongBay is an online platform that you can use to submit song lyrics for money. It is a platform where people come and look for good lyrics. Poets and lyricists upload their work on this platform so that potential buyers can buy it for their purposes. As there will be buyers on the platform, too, the platform has strict restrictions on the quality of the lyrics. Your lyrics have to be compelling to the listeners in order to be approved for an upload.
The enticing feature of this platform is that you get to decide the price of your lyrics like any other marketplace. If you think your lyrics are of high quality in terms of the selection of rhymes and words, you are free to set a higher price for them. Regardless of the price you set, you can get paid to write song lyrics.
3. TuneCore
TuneCore is an excellent company and platform that gives you a wide range of royalty options to get paid to write song lyrics. The thing that makes this platform great is that it will register your work globally, and this ensures that you get earnings from all over the world directly into your bank account.
There is an exhaustive list of royalties by which you will get your earnings. These include royalty from radio broadcasting (AM or FM) of your lyrics, use of your lyrics on satellite on internet radio, when a karaoke is made using your song, when a cover is made using your song, etc.
The list also includes royalty if your lyrics are used to create a ringtone on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, etc.
Besides those, you also get paid to write song lyrics if someone downloads your songs. So, in short, this platform will help you a lot by maximizing the sources from which you will earn.
Conclusion
If you are a lyricist or want to enter this industry, you have plenty of options to earn money. You can get paid to write song lyrics by several approaches, like joining some online platforms where you can sell your work.
Or you can do some side hustles or regular jobs where you can earn by writing lyrics. To learn more about how to earn money by writing lyrics, have a look at the mentioned platforms and ways to earn money.