With four major streaming services appealing a 2018 ruling from the Copyright Royalty Board that would increase publishers and songwriters revenue, the plight of the songwriter has been thrust into the spotlight. Kip Moore has not only been watching the music industrys treatment of the songwriter, but also acting. In a new episode of the podcast And the Writer Is, the country singer offers his own partial solution to host and fellow songwriter Ross Golan: Moore pays bonuses to the writers whose songs appear on his albums.
Its an especially important practice, he says, as the single becomes more coveted and album tracks are minimized.
Theres no money with album cuts anymore, so the only thing anybody is thinking in the [writing] room is single, single, single, he tells Golan, detailing the compensation plan he uses with songwriters.
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If youre a writer on my record and you didnt get a single, and you get two [thousand] from me, and youre also a writer on Rihannas record and she gives you two or three, and Tim McGraw gives you two or three, all of a sudden you look up and you got 10,000 extra dollars in your account. Then if everybodys doing that, the writers are going to go in the room and be able to breathe a little more and theyre going to be thinking about writing a good song.
According to Moore, the brass ring for songwriters in country music today, however unfortunate, is booking a writing session with the artist themselves. And even then they have to split the pie with the artist theyre helping make a star.
It used to be like me and you, if were songwriters, we get in a room and we write a song. If its great, its got a good chance of somebody picking it up. That shits over, man, Moore says. If youre not in a room with an artistand half of these freaking artists, this is just the truth, they cant write. They dont know the craft of writing. But their publishing companyeverybody wants to get their hands on the money. Its a money grab. [They] gotta put the artist in the room with the writers, even though the artist cant write a lick. Theyre just sitting there, and they get a third of the writing portion.
Along with discussing how to create a living wage for writers with Golan, Moore also talks about his cover-band days in Georgia, why he moved to Hawaii before he became a songwriter and the lost album he recorded and may one day release.
Golans And The Writer Is podcast is now in its fourth season. Upcoming guests include Wyclef Jean, Priscilla Renea and Teddy Geiger. Listen to the latest episode here or on iTunes.