Real, no-nonsense songwriting info.

I’VE BEEN STUDYING TODAY’S TOP RADIO HITS AND SUCCESSFUL FILM & TV SONGS TO BRING YOU THE LATEST SONGWRITING TRENDS AND TOOLS.

Robin Frederick

Robin Frederick is the author of top-selling songwriting books including “Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting” and “Shortcuts to Songwriting for Film & TV.” Over the course of her career, she has written and produced 500+ songs for television, records, theater, and audio products.

On this site, you’ll find over 100 HOW-TO TIPS and SONG STARTERS! Each one will help you  write songs that express your thoughts and feelings while giving your style a contemporary, commercial edge. And be sure to check out my Hit Song Guide where I reverse-engineer 50+ hit songs to show you how they did it.

My students and clients have had song placements in movies, prime time TV shows, artist cuts, and hundreds of thousands of streams on Spotify. Get started on your songwriting journey and find out how far it will take you!


Songwriting tools you can use…


Check out my online Songwriting Courses!

I’ve got affordable, self-paced ONLINE COURSES you’ll love.

  • Learn the secrets of hit songwriting.
  • Use the songwriting exercises to launch or finish songs. 
  • Get access to workshops and private feedback.
  • Write expressive songs listeners will love and the music industry needs.

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Your Songwriting Coach

I’ve been studying hit songs for over 20 years. You can read 50+ of my Hit Song Guides on my Songwriting Tips & Inspiration website. In addition, I’ve been a record label executive, Film & TV songwriter with hundreds of credits, and a working songwriter for my entire career.

I have written and produced hundreds of songs for film and television. As a record label executive, I executive produced more than 60 albums. My books—Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting and Shortcuts to Songwriting for Film & TV— are used to teach the craft of songwriting at Musician’s Institute, Belmont University, and many more schools around the world. Through TAXI.com, I trained hit songwriters and music industry professionals to give feedback to thousands of aspiring and successful songwriters.

Over the years, I learned that many hit songwriters can’t really explain how they do it. So, I dug down to see if I could find some answers. I’ve gathered as much information as I could and poured a lot of it into my books and websites. Have a look around and then get started on your hit songs!

Featured post

A Holiday Songwriting Tool Kit

Unlike radio hits that burst on the scene then fade away, holiday songs have a long, long lifespan. Every major artist records at least one album of holiday songs. Plus there’s an avalanche of holiday movies and TV shows that need these songs, too. Sure they include the classics that everyone knows and loves, but they need to sprinkle in a few potential new holiday hits, too.

Using AI for Writing Lyrics

I just want to say right up front… I’m not going to suggest that you use AI to write a song lyric. Period. Why on earth would you want to miss out on expressing yourself through your own creative process? It’s your thoughts and feelings that make a song meaningful and worth writing.

But I am curious to know if AI can be a useful tool. Maybe it can help us pick up our writing speed or reach listeners more effectively. So, I figure it’s worth checking out. Besides, I want to see what everyone is talking about.

The two top sites for now are Lyric Studio and ChatGPT, so that’s where I went.

Where to Find New Songs & Artists to Listen To

Listen to new music to learn new techniques. (Photo by Elice Moore.)

Q: I want to learn more about what kind of music is current. Where do you find new music and artists to listen to? Also I want to pitch my songs to film & TV. Where can I hear artists that are being used in that market?

A: If you’ve been getting my monthly emails, you know that I’m big on listening. I recommend that songwriters spend as much time listening as they spend writing. That means listening to successful songs, current songs, songs that inspire you as often as you can.

But there’s a huge amount of music out there—more every week, every day— so much that it can seem overwhelming. So, how do you find new music and artists to listen to? How do you know where to look and how to focus on what will be helpful to you as a songwriter? Here’s my guide to finding new music that will deliver plenty of inspiration, knowledge, and ideas for your own songs.

The 7 Habits of Successful Songwriters

I know I give you a lot of advice and sometimes you probably wonder if I know what I’m talking about. (Hey, I wonder the same thing about other people all the time.)

So, in this post, I thought I’d give you songwriting advice that comes straight from the mouths of songwriters and artists with incredibly successful, long-running, world-wide fame and success. I won’t include their bios or track records because you already know who they are. So, here are “7 Habits of Successful Songwriters” straight from the source!

1. DEVELOP A SONGWRITING PROCESS

Your songwriting process is the way in which you approach creating lyrics, melody, and chords. Maybe you’re a lyrics-first person. Or maybe you grab your guitar and come up with a groove and chords first. Here’s how a couple of successful songwriters approach their own songwriting.

Paul Simon
“I work with my guitar and a legal pad…. I get going fairly early in the morning, because my mind is sharp, and start by dating the pad and putting down personal comments, such as how I am feeling that day, so that it becomes a diary of sorts. … The first page might have all sorts of lines that will never be used, but as I turn the pages, a little thought might come forward and suggest potential for development.” (Making Music, book by George Martin)

Cover Songs Are a Big Deal

I’ve been hearing a lot of great cover songs in TV series and commercials lately. Last week, The Handmaid’s Tale featured a spooky, electro cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” by Kerala Dust. VRBO is re-airing a commercial with John Legend covering the Johnny Nash hit “I Can See Clearly Now.” An INXS cover version of “Never Tear Us Apart”—a hit for both Tom Jones and Joe Cocker—is currently being used in a long-form commercial for Michael Hill Jewelry. And recently NCIS: Hawai’i used Kina Grannis’ great guitar/vocal cover of “Shut Up and Dance” originally by Walk the Moon.

Cover songs are giving old favorites a new life and new, indie artists added traction!