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17 of 17 found the following review helpful:
 Delivers what it promises! Feb 04, 2000
Although writing music is actually too ephemeral to break down scientifically, Jason Blume is generous in sharing what has worked and NOT worked for him - and he sets a good example for aspiring professional songwriters. I especially appreciated that HALF the book is about the BUSINESS of songwriting - what's necessary to get songs recorded and released - the networking and just plain LUCK that go into "the deal"! I remember Jason's early songs from his first years in LA, and he HAS come a long way and is living proof that his methods work!
16 of 16 found the following review helpful:
 Good advice on writing better lyrics but not much else..... Jul 23, 2005
By James Xabregas
"JamesX"
I bought this book coming from the point of view of an aspiring musician trying to write my own songs. Some people might complain that the author's best work includes album filler on a Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys record. Well, unfortunately The Neptune's are too busy writing hits songs to find the time to write a book telling us how they do it, so Jason Blume is the best we're going to get.
Jokes aside, this book has really good advice on song structure and writing better lyrics. It contains a lot of information that can help you turn an average song into a really good one. Cynics might suggest that this book is all about writing generic radio play, but Jason Blume's advice is really about writing effective lyrics. The only real reason for buying this book should be the information on lyric writing. It also contains a detailed explanation of how the music industry operates, which is useful but, the rest of the book is fairly poor.
Where this book fails is in it's explanation on writing better music. It contains a whole section on melody that essentially boils down to general tips on varying the melody, and contains almost no musical theory. By his own admission, Jason Blume is not really strong on musical theory, and it shows (he completely ignores chords - kind of a big deal!). If you want a good book on writing better melodies try "Melody: How to Write Great Tunes" by Rick Rooksby (ISBN: 0879308192) as it actually explains the musical theory behind writing melodies in great detail.
This book also contains a fairly long section on recording demos that is fairly poor. The book ends with chapter aimed at motivating you to keep trying until you make your big break.
In summation, there are probably less then 100 pages of useful information in this book, and all of it focuses on song structure and lyric writing. The rest of this book is covered in much more useful detail elsewhere. If you want to improve the structure and lyrics of your songs this book is definitely worth the price, otherwise I would pass.
24 of 26 found the following review helpful:
A complete A to Z guide! Dec 06, 1999
This book is THE most comprehensive book for anyone who writes or wants to understand how the music industry works. Blume fills the book with personal insights and strong examples from industry greats. A successful writer himself, this book is full of proven step by step approaches for you to follow concerning any aspect of a writer's career in the music industry.Highly reccommended!
39 of 45 found the following review helpful:
 He's part of the problem Feb 12, 2005
By P. Ramon
In the world of songwriting, there are artists and craftsmen. The artist will produce for you a work of originality that no one else has ever done quite the same way before, that will touch you in some unique way and that will stay with you. The craftsman will give you a serviceable reproduction of something but it will lack anything special and will have the lifespan of a fruit fly. Jason Blume is a craftsman. He makes his living by studying "the market" and basically rewriting other people's songs. Ideas are difficult things. Not everyone has great ideas, so some take the road Jason Blume has taken. He's apparently feeding his family by being a craftsman, so there's nothing wrong with that. We need bricklayers as much as we need architects. I'm just letting you know what you're getting into here. If you want to learn how to design a beautiful building, you don't study with the bricklayer. This guy ain't no talented songwriter but he is living proof that you apparently don't have to have talent to make money in the music biz these days. I'm sure that gives hope to a lot of untalented people, which is probably why this book has gotten such good reviews. He's strictly a bubblegum pop writer, so if that's the direction you want to go in, maybe you'll get something out of this book. Just remember that bubblegum loses its flavor really fast. If you're really serious about this, if it's something that burns within you and you want a real career as a songwriter, you should shop around for a better book. This one will only make you feel that you're in the wrong business.
This book is littered with quotes from music biz insiders that are far more insightful than anything Jason Blume has to say. And the interesting thing is, they mostly contradict his thoughts about what make a great song and a great songwriter. For example, here's what one producer had to say:
"The great writers of this century are all originals. You will find that the vast majority of their work was not 'commercial' until after it was successful."
Contrast that with Jason Blume's advice: you'll get nowhere unless you learn to mimic what's already successful. Time and again, musicians, producers and execs are quoted in the book as saying you need to be yourself and be original. It's hard to understand what these quotes are doing in this book because Jason Blume has no idea what constitutes originality and probably doesn't want to know because he makes his living by writing sound-alike junk that is designed to appeal to the lowest common demoninator and to copy the other crap that's on the radio. I laughed out loud when I read this but here are some lyrics that Jason Blume, believe it or not, describes as "a completely new approach" and "truly novel":
It's getting hot in herre
So take off all your clothes
I'm not kidding! He thinks this is great, fresh, original songwriting! If this is your idea of brilliant lyrics, I feel sorry for you. He gives lip service to "originality" but then shows his hand with the examples of what he thinks constitutes the good stuff. In another example, he pats himself on the back for having the brilliant idea of writing a "dear diary" song for Britney Spears. He actually thinks that's an original idea that's never been done before! And he doesn't even pull it off well. It's typical junk pop lyrics that only a 13 year old with her first crush could possibly be moved by. Blume comes across as someone who would gladly jump on any musical bandwagon that comes along. He's never met a hit song he didn't like because if it's a hit, it must be good. He's the happy lap dog of a cynical system that is destroying the music business and making it hard for real talent to be heard. If that sounds ridiculous to you, you're either: a) not old enough to remember when the music/radio business was controlled by the demands of the audience to hear good music, not by greedy, shortsighted corporations who care more about their shareholders than their audience, b) you just have terrible taste in music and you LIKE what you hear on the radio, or c) you don't really care about music, just money. It's sad that there are people (just read these reviews) who think they can read a book like this and follow its advice all the way to fame and riches. Forget about it. In fact, I wonder how well Jason Blume is doing now that Britney and boy bands are over. That's probably why he's writing books and teaching classes now.
I gave this book two stars because there is some useful information about the way things work in the music business today. If you still want to get involved with it after reading this, good luck to you!
11 of 11 found the following review helpful:
How to be a "hack" songwriter Jun 06, 2004
Be sure you know what songwriting means to you before investing in this book. If you in any way consider it an artform and/or a form of meaningful expression, this is not the book for you. Just in case the title didn't tip you off, this book is strictly about commercial songwriting, where the object is to formulate your songs to adapt to what's on the radio and in the Billboard charts. Until fairly recently, it was possible for brilliant songwriting to have commercial potential. These days, unless your song sounds just like the latest Britney, Beyonce or Toby Keith hit, you're not going to acheive Jason Blume's definition of success. If that's the kind of writing you aspire to, you might be on the right track here. I found myself grimacing at his gleeful, unapologetic praise of mediocre, "hack" songwriting. Another knock against this book is that it really is too autobiographical. The author seems a little too taken with himself and his own story. It's good to get some background on the author, what makes him an authority on the subject and some personal stories about the business, but this guy can't stop talking about himself. It's really as much "How I Became a Hit Songwriter" as it is "How You Can Become a Hit Songwriter." All in all, not recommended for anyone exept maybe those who dream more of "making it big" than of actually writing a great song.
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