Did you know that Mozart was a ghostwriter? He used to ghost write music for the wealthy patrons of the arts. There is a long history of ghostwriting and music. In 1939 Patrick Standford was a ghostwriter for various symphonies and films.
In the movie business, music ghostwriting is fairly secretive. It is considered unethical by many people but it is very common. In the very early days of movies, a composer named David Raskin worked as a music ghostwriter for Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin was credited as the score writer.
In pop music, musical ghostwriting is also a factor. At times an experienced songwriter is brought in to help with either inexperienced songwriters, or somebody that may be suffering from writer's block. Sometimes a ghost writer will write lyrics and music in the style of a musician and still get little or no input from the person credited on the music sheet. Sometimes a ghost writer is credited as an associate or similar innocuous term.
More commonly, they just do not appear anywhere-they are a true ghost. Sometimes legal action takes place when a musical ghost writer tries to claim royalties- usually after song becomes a hit. Sarah McLachlan got into a dispute with a musician who claimed that he had a significant contribution to her debut album, "Touch."
In hip-hop, ghostwriting is growing every year. In fact, it does lead to some controversy. Purists do not like it, and point to the use of it as an example of "bad capitalism." This is because of the perception of rapping as "expressing yourself" and that writing for someone else is not pure "self-expression." Some rappers like Chuck D of Public Enemy, Inc. think that is a mistaken view because not everyone is a gifted lyricist and not everyone is equipped to be a vocalist. He says a rap song may require more talents than a single person has.
Most ghost writers have confidentiality clauses, or they might appear in the liner notes, and in some cases they are allowed to discuss their participation out the open. You might see a credit in the liner notes for "vocal arrangement," which might mean it was a ghostwriter. A few years ago there were hip-hop ghostwriting services which appeared online, and provided artists with rhymes for free.
Ghostwriting has a long tradition in music, from Mozart to today's hottest rappers. As long as the song is a hit, the person that penned it will have a job.
Joe Ditzel is a ghostwriter, SEO consultant, and really bad golfer. His articles on ghostwriting can be found at http://www.joeghostwriter.com.
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