Yeah. Great lecture, and very inspiring. The man clearly knows his stuff about what works and what doesn't. Great insight, yet he's humble about it. Great vid.
I really need to say, I watched this entire video and others by Ralph Murphy, and this cynical, calculated way of thinking put me in a very deep depression, and really clogged me up creatively. I’m writing this comment as a form of therapy, hoping that putting it out there will get rid of the gross feelings I have when writing, after hearing these lectures. If the methods he describes work for you, awesome.
Also, consider a song like Smooth Criminal. Why was that song so well received and memorable, if the only purpose of music is to sell to women? Putting the listener in a murder victim role? It’s just a cool song, you don’t need to put yourself in it to appreciate it. And songs about non-hetero relationships? I think there’s a lot more to making music than us suggested in these vids, imho.
@@greablood1072 as in almost everything rules change or expand a bit over time and there are always exceptions to rules. And all of his insights are for a very specific form of music. You don't have to follow all of his advices if you are doing alternative, dark, non-pop-genre or artsy music. Lots of very big metal bands for example probably became successful with almost no female fans. It's great to keep what works for your workflow. Just discard what feels unnatural to your form of music. For every rule there are dozens of artists who became successful not following it. Chill 😄
what's beautiful is seeing all the outdated incorrect points in correlation to 2022 society. at the same time being able to see what has remained the same has immense value
It amazes me that a professional such as Mr. Murphy will offer this advice and post it (or someone who paid for him to speak) for free on the internet, and it only has 3627 views...Regardless, thank you for the information.
We are the world was a HUGE record that made tonssssssss of money. Written and composed by the legendary Quincy Jones.. You can't get bigger than Quincy Jones. Thriller sold 1 mill records per week.. No one has ever caught up to Quincy Jones to date.
sly mongoose damn!! That's insane. 1 mill a week?! lol haha Quincy is the man. But when you think about it piracy and file sharing wasn't a thing back then. I'm almost sure 20/20 Experience would've sold close to that if that didn't exist. haha.
+Brandon Thomas PIRACY HAS ALWAYS BEEN "A THING".....why do you think DJ's back then used to talk all over the intros and outros of songs....i can remember a friend of mine "loaning" me a tape cassette recording of the charts when FOREIGNER's No.1 hit "I WANNA KNOW WHAT LOVE IS", hit the No.1 spot. I played it over and over so much with DJ Kid Jensen's voice booming out the words "SOMEBODY HELP THAT GUY" over the top of it that eventually it became part of the song in my mind...when i finally bought the song i barely recognised it as Kid Jensen's voice was missing and a bloody beautiful gospel choir(which weren't on the radio edit and yet had featured on the original...in other words, not only were the DJ's told to natter on all over the song but they only played three quarters of it.....guessing nobody will EVER know true sales as Joe Public seems to happily steal folk's livings when it comes to music....NOT ALL OF THEM DO THOUGH...and those folk support future songwriters....TRY HOLDING DOWN A REGULAR JOB AND WRITING SONGS..not easy. Mike Rosenberg(PASSENGER) said on a youtube film recently that the very moment he was able to pack in a Bar job and focus on writing(despite having less income), that, right there was the very moment that his songwriting escalated....now the dude is prolific. I'm a songwriter now(well, i write songs anyway...as Ralph Murphy would say to me) and it's damned hard to make a living.....come to think of it, i'd have probably packed it in by now if i didn't love and enjoy doing it. SUPPORT ARTISTS AND SONGWRITERS.....if there is to be a future in original songs. I've been paid for many jobs over the years and if anyone stole money from my wage packet i know how i'd feel. I'd probably leave the company.....NUFF SAID....for the love of music SONGWRITERS should be paid and supported....Just an opinion.
Ralph DID say "pacific" music at one point...he did not mess up and actually mean to say "specific"...he was talking about the elevator dude putting "calming" music, "gentle" music into elevators......PEACEFUL MUSIC...the real meaning of PACIFIC...."PEACEFUL"...as in pacifying i guess.
SONIC FOXX MUSIC...(D.N.A... Developing New Artists) Thanks for posting. It's obvious that most of the people who are commenting here are legally brain dead. They already know it all!
Hey motorcop505...GOTCHA vibe...appreciate your comment. Ralph is a great guy and of late has advised me personally in areas of my lyric writing which has made my lyrics stronger and more powerful than they ever were...one tip which he has spoken about on here is swapping verse 1 for verse 2 and vice-versa....and wouldn't you just know it....i grabbed 100 pieces of work i had penned recently and every last one was improved by that one tip....UNBELIEVABLE. When i read down through his comment sections, the one thing which comes over to me time and time again are negative comments or questioning comments from folk about writing for "commercial purposes to hit a no.1(or get you in the running)" up against writing for "artistic reasons" and i have a simple answer to solve arguments.....DO BOTH...it's not rocket science. I've co-written songs with folk who have shown fear at the last minute and "pulled", leaving those songs(half my creation) sitting on a shelf. I have 17 with one guy...and many more besides which may never see the light of day....kinda makes me think if i suddenly hit a No.1...will those dudes come running??? Problem is, most of those songs sitting on shelves have NEVER had the "RALPH MURPHY solid commercial advice" shot inside of them...possibly meaning that they would NEVER make a No.1 anyway. If i'm honest(and i try to be), Ralph Murphy generously opened my mind and my eyes...but i'm the only one who could use them both....in the U.K. we'd most probably have KNIGHTED this man by now for "services to commercial creation"....come to think of it..he was actually born in BRITAIN...so if i ever hit that No.1...i think i'll push for that Knighthood for him!!!!!...or just damned well do it anyway for the generous time he has gifted me for actually understanding him, listening to him and not questioning his reasoning regarding changes and adaption of songs which need his advice on them to make them more commercially viable. Regards, Sonic Foxx.
Hi, I do not really know English, the translator in RU-vid is not yet perfect. I would really appreciate if someone could write me that three basic things listener wants to hear, which said Ralph. and I understand that it may be suddenly, but if you will not be difficult, it would be good to have some dopysaly basis points, which Ralph said, and I have somehow translated them. In any case, thank you very much, good day and a remarkable video (translated Google translator)
5 years late from this video. How do I find/follow/contact Ralph? He is impossible to find on social media apart from this video. Would much appreciate contact information for public speaking and private workshops here in California.
RIP Ralph, wish I could have picked your brain. Awesome to hear him talk about imitation, I use that a lot as a starting point but it never sounds like the song I was inspired by, but I've had many arguments with other song writing friends who think that thats the worst thing a song writer can do... I call them dummies
Ralph has great tips and is very experienced and yet, he is very behind the times. No one goes to a show, "buys a cd" and then never listens to it anymore. On the contrary, they sample/buy it off line then decide to see the band live based on that "cd."
ohhh poor baby, you have to do a little work asking yourself what has changed and what hasn't, figure out what's essential and time-transcendent in his wisdom, then adapt his wisdom to what's happening now (which is 8 years after you posted lol)
there's another revolution coming, and in music that means we listen without thinking. When that happens, we'll have something actually worth listening to, instead of something allegedly worth thinking about.
Pasha Sheik Official I'm not talking about the sonic aspect, but the compositional. people are thinking at present, just on a low level. I'm talking about trans-rational, the state of being above rationality. Sonic refers to sound quality. A song can be great sonically and still be garbage compositionally. Unfortunately, it's a reality that you won't believe exists. Fortunately it exists without your belief and I'll never convince you of its reality, if you don't innately possess it. It has zero to do with intelligence, just as the perception of physical beauty has nothing to do with intelligence, and please don't say "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". It isn't.
cobalt jones ill agree with this.....but the thing is the sonic aspect is the foundation of quality music....it doesnt matter how great you are at building a house....if you start with a flimsy foundation youll end up with a house coming down on your head. plus even though ill say the composers of today are better than the ones of the 90s, they still cant touch the compositions of the baroque and classical era
Pasha Sheik Official If I understand you, you mean the sound quality, and you're correct. If the quality isn't happening sonically, it tends to negate the whole. I also agree that the ancient composers are far superior to what is happening today. The way of measuring a song, is to ask yourself, "if this song were sung in a Foreign language, would it still hold my interest?". Thinking about the words isn't wrong, it's just not essential. when it becomes essential, we're living in a mommy culture, and that's what our friend Ralph here has attached himself to, to the detriment of young impressionable minds.
Finding this comment late but it made me realize, I had a DVD documentary on Dark Side years ago and they specifically worked to get a big hit from that according to the interviews. Turned out it was the song “Money”. The success of a few singles then went on to fund and allow the more artistic work later on. They had several albums before then with a more artistic bent but hadn’t really had a big hit yet until then. If it wasn’t for the commercial success we might not have had the full “Wall” concept album a few years later, which was a album, big stage show, and a full-length movie, etc.
Great lecture. But I just don’t agree with his view of songwriting and the industry. There’s a certain magic to making good music. There’s a lot of artists who aren’t motivated by financial success. I think he’s lost the love and magic of music making. I respect his success but boy is he jaded
+Megan Bennett..... I'm sure you don't(i could stand corrected though).....i can hold a tune(enough to get a melody over) and i don't play an instrument.... but i co-write and farm lyrics(prolific at those) and occasionally, full songs out to singers who are good singers but who struggle to write.....and i love writing with unknowns...to see them discovered is an awesome thing to be part of. ...and anyway you can always learn to play an instrument(or get friendly with guitar/piano players)....it's all about creation. I also have a massive influence on the direction of our songs...and now run a small label(SONIC FOXX MUSIC..Developing new Artists)....google Jasmine Lamport....i penned the lyrics, Jasmine sang the songs and wrote the melodies...and we worked together on Production with a fab Producer who allowed us to roam free(Creatively speaking)..Jasmine is currently on a course for Music Production in Bristol, England(sponsored by Midge Ure of Ultravox if my memory serves me right)....JUST GO FOR IT Megan..... P.S. Your question is not a stupid question by the way...it's a sensible one!!...good luck.
saying “it’s not about me. the listener needs to think “it’s about me””… you can make it about you the writer since we’re all so dang similar anyway, barf
This is old news. There are now platforms for music as an art form, not just as a business. By the time I follow the checklist & finish doing all the things necessary to sell a song, I've negated the purpose of making music in the first place. I make music to express myself creatively. If I make some money.. great. But I'm not going to let it become the motive of inspiration; that is 'corruption'.
He talks a lot, but the important thing that should be said about songwriting is that you should be original and NOT try to copy what already has been done. Go against the norm. Yes you can whine and scream and still be successful. Alannnis Morissette did exactly that with her song called you outta know on the album that sold 30 million plus copies. No should tell you how to do anything in music.... not even me. Just follow your instincts and you will be original and not just sound like everyone else that wants you to follow the path they learned.
Hey have you heard of Pretty Lights? The guys is reinventing the whole music industry and how artists make money. All his music is free and he makes his money off touring then puts a lot of it back into his production so every tour is more over the top than the last.
Dont get me wrong, Pretty Lights makes an insane amount of money doing tours, way more than enough to offset his music downloads. His newest album he had for sale as well for his CD set and Vinyl. As for the Loudness war, youtube search "Color Map of the Sun documentary". He samples tons of artists himself and uses a cutter to make his own vinyl collection then mixes it on all vintage analogue machines, its pretty cool. I have the LP set and it sounds amazing.
great question about we and good answer about being preachy. side note, i couldn't stand the WE ARE THE WORLD video when it came out b/c it came off as so pompous and elitist, hey that just me 🧐
When I play the piano, there is no money changing hands, but other than that, yes, all music that is not amateur is making money. I’ve always sensed that songs were written primarily for women because they don’t say the thing directly (that men think of) but they cloak the point in illusion and innuendo, and that makes the thing ok to say in a song.
Lol....so tough on the internet! I'd like to see you try to "pipe me down" If I had a dollar for each one of your type on the internet. He's a nice guy -but using only 1 formula. If you'd like to follow it be my guest.
Some of the stuff is very good but I think its focusing on too much because time is money and a good song takes time and focus. And Ralph does look that old.
That's a valid question. Ralph is talking about writing pop&country *HIT* songs for "artists" who are trying to look good to 'sober women sitting in morning traffic'. I'd bet that Metallica's fan base leans heavily male. Maybe Hetfield should give the lecture on why that is.
I don't think making music free is the best way to re-kindle the value placed on art: $Priceless. Can you Imagine Mike Oldfield himself, playing 32 instruments for a 50 minute long masterpiece, just so he can go to Bandclamp & put it up for free? NO! Did he like doing live performances? NO! Is he a Genius? YES! Giving away music is not the answer. It feels cheap as it is. The Loudness War also tricks human ears into thinking a crap song is actually good. It's a right shit storm currently. =-\
So what happens to the people that like when music and movies aren't delivered in the "indoctrinated" format? how does one market/make money on that? Or are we going to slowly be more and more forced to live in a cookie cutter world?
Niches will always exist. Ralph is explaining here how to produce big money makers, not niche music. There are always going to be exceptions, and not every song on any given album is a hit, but if you want to last in the business you need to produce hits (or have a ton of money to begin with, but that won't make you good).
Zackary Meadows This is about how to write music as a professional. People don't give a shit about you. Get over yourself. If you want to write hit songs, listen to an expert on writing them.
you're just discovering that? You have to make a YT comment to explicate that to your consciousness, and you think others don't know this very basic rule of using thought to gauge reality? IOW you thought every statement that has SOME truth in it, and therefore is useful, has no exceptions?? mmmmmkay, that's pretty childish or unintelligent