I’ve been thinking a lot recently about songs and who the audience is… I’ve just got back off holiday in Spain, tanned and refreshed (mission accomplished!)

If you are from this side of the equator you will know that given the opportunity we pasty skins spend too much time in the sun to compensate for the 95% of the year we have to wear two pairs of socks and a thermal vest! So I have returned suitably tanned and happy and with some questions racing round my head as a result of a scooter outing to the coast.

Picture this: You are sat in the shade in a beach-side bar, the ocean stretching out and vanishing on the glowing horizon. Your hand is wrapped around a cold beer and the other swats away the erratic fly that keeps landing on your face. You have ordered the local delicacy as the sun induced headache combined with your second beer has made you hazy and brave.  You are sitting enjoying/regretting the company of  your holiday companion opposite you. And as you zone out into holiday bliss with the breeze just perfect you tune in to the song playing on the radio….

Ok. Stop here and insert the song you’d pair with this perfect scene…..I can guarantee that it will not be the song  playing now.

Invading your ears is Vanessa Carlton! She sings about a thousand miles with the jumpy little piano riff racing through your head and you think, “God, what a blast from the past” or “TURN IT OFF!! What the heck are they thinking?”  And so song follows song and the eclectic mix gets more surreal! Tina Charles “I Love to Love” follows Alicia’s Attic “I am, I Feel”

Now it’s not that all of these are songs are necessarily bad it’s just that they don’t fit into the glossy polished display class the music industry showcases these days. You won’t hear any of these songs on Radio One these days or classic Alanis Morissette ”Hand in My Pocket” or  ”Head over feet”  You just won’t.

From a songwriters point of view I thought this: I’d be so happy that ANYONE listened to my song and enjoy it. Even if it didn’t fit into the perky mainstream mould! In the eyes of this fickle industry nothing is long-term. I may write a song that is a one hit wonder. It would be enjoyed and overplayed for a time and one day it will be discarded and replaced by something more in keeping with trends. But as I was sitting there listening to “A Thousand Miles” I realised that Vanessa had done it! She has written a song that is fantastic and successful because people love it and want to hear it! So much that it was on repeat it seems in every bar, bank, supermarket and bus in the Nerja area. Radio plays are gold-dust! Plays per minute can be as high as £22.00! Check out the PRS for Musics current rates can be found here and for more information their website is http://www.prsformusic.com/

Now I am not sure how many Euros Vanessa will get per play but from the amount of prime radio play she was getting in Spain alone she must be accumulating a nice little sum.

It’s winning à la Sheen on two levels really! The artist wins and gets paid for their hard work and music wins! I know it sounds a little lame and cheesy but meehhhh whatever! I am discovering more and more that ideals alone are not be enough but it’s so satisfying when they win.

The main desire of the songwriter is not to be laughed at….well not just that! Ultimately we feel we have something important and special to share and we want to connect with someone. For someone to love it enough to put it on repeat is success!

I have a friend who I used to continually mock for his taste in music; you know who you are

He had (and should still HAS) great taste in music but there were some really BIZARRE “Eclectic” choices he loved which baffled me! But you know what, music is personal and what you love isn’t merely down to the mechanics of a song it’s down to the emotional connection.

It doesn’t matter if one branch of the music police rejects it. If it is a good song and you as the listener resonate with the artist then they have done their job well. Somewhere, someone will be listening.