Songwriter survey 2025 Reinvention
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Songwriters face many of the same issues as artists – and are often doubly impacted by them. The struggle to earn meaningful streaming income is chief among these challenges, yet songwriters do not have the same fallback options, such as merchandise and touring, as artists do. So, songwriters are reinventing what their role entails. Unlike the traditional image of a behind-the-scenes, non-performing songwriter, today’s writers are increasingly building brands and fanbases around their songwriting, picking up more skills (such as production or singing), and selling their skills on works-for-hire marketplaces. Building on MIDiA’s inaugural 2024 edition, this report leverages survey data from close to 800 songwriters, as well as qualitative interviews with respondents. It presents a nuanced picture of how the next generation of songwriters are building their businesses – and the ripple effect on not just the publishing industry, but the recording industry as well.
Key data:
This report presents data from MIDiA’s 2024 songwriter survey, as well as supporting qualitative insights from interviews with 6 respondents. Survey data covered includes career type, creative workflow, income mix, aspirations, challenges, social platform use, and more, n = 776.
The sample is global but skews towards North America and Europe. The full survey dataset Excel, including 100+ segments, is published alongside this report. All data is also available on our Data Explorer.