Who composes songs for pop stars?

I know this subject may be stupid for a prog fan, but I've recenly discovered that eg. this sh*tty Rihanna's hit "Umbrella" was composed by someone else and she had to try to get this song, maybe in a a kind of competion, in order to be allowed to sing it as "her own".

Is such a situation very common in pop music business?
That's horrible to me. Where's the idea of music as an art? Now all this "music" on the radio has become the opium of the masses...

Well, I had thought before that however stupid is this pop stuff, still songs are composed by singers, but if not, then can these pop stars be called "artists" anymore?
That's really overwhelming to me... Where is this music market getting at...

I've also read some time ago about inventing some programs that could create melodies that would be catchy and easily make hits. And that stars could pay money for using these programs. Has anyone heard about it?

Edited by Harold Demure - August 25 2007 at 12:19

Absolutely unbelievable to me.

Who said that pop stars were artists? They're essentially actors ... most of them have decent voices / musical talent, a few have very good voices / musical talent, but it's not a requirement.

Edited by MikeEnRegalia - August 25 2007 at 12:39

Yes, it's very common, and far from new. Hits are often written by people who lack the voice, looks, or charisma to be stars themselves, but who nonetheless know the tastes of the masses and radio programmers very well.

Edited by Peter - August 25 2007 at 13:00

Who composes songs for pop stars......?????

Loads of people, it pays the bills.... like radio jingles! (Jem 'Frost*' Godfrey is one such writer)

There is nothing wrong with pop, I love a bit of pop whilst I cook, loud Duran Duran whilst I 'do' my hair, and I still like prog, and classical and blues... etc etc.... you see, having wide ranging tastes to reflect different moods or activites broadens my horizons, and stops me from becoming a prog-bore or indeed an opera-bore or jazz-bore..... Jazz is for Sundays (Autumn & winter mainly) and blues is for spring and summer.... prog has pretty much been (throughout its relatively short history) and amalgamation of different styles, just like rock'n'roll was in the 50's.... pop is relevant, it's fun and it's fluffy, nowt wrong with that..... now the elevated staus of 'pop-stars'....now that makes me want to spend time in 'the ranting room' but I feel much the same way about the elevated staus of football stars, (don't get me started on the Beckhams!)

P-C x

Harold Demure wrote: I know this subject may be stupid for a prog fan, but I've recenly discovered that eg. this sh*tty Rihanna's hit "Umbrella" was composed by someone else and she had to try to get this song, maybe in a a kind of competion, in order to be allowed to sing it as "her own". Is such a situation very common in pop music business? That's horrible to me. Where's the idea of music as an art? Now all this "music" on the radio has become the opium of the masses...

Ever heard of the (in)famous trio Stock, Aitkin & Waterman? They ruled pop in the 80s, composing all the sh*t we heard on the radio back then. What else is new?

Overcast and damp, today -- a perfect dark ale day. Mmmmm -- complex and very tasty -- not for the timid!

Edited by Peter - August 25 2007 at 13:40

Angelo wrote: Havin' a good time Peter? D'you like Joanna?

I like a good pop tune, especially from the 60s and to an extent the 70s, but what I can't stand is the blandness of some of it nowadays- from the 80s onwards it got particularly notable, IMHO. A lot of tunes even now (the aforementioned Stock/Aitken/Waterman set a precedent here!) have the same cheap sounding keyboards, naff 80s style drum sounds and fairly homogenised, non-distinctive vocals.

yeah it does suck,what i do is give credit to the people who wrote it.I know Prince and the scissor sisters are known for writing songs for other people.So when i listen to the song i think of it as theirs.