These days I concentrate on the quality of the songs more than the quantity. Some songs may never be heard, but they are part of your legacy. "But when you're writing multiple songs in a day, over the course of a year, you produce a lot. "People don't believe it when a writer claims to have written 1,000 songs," she says. Riddick is a prodigious writer with a growing catalog. I'll block out eight hours in the studio and come out with two songs fully arranged with vocals and backgrounds, mixed and ready to go to the label that night." "Most of the time, I write by myself," she says. Notwithstanding her notable collaborations, Riddick often works on her own. Talent is probably 60 percent of it the rest is being liked and sociable." Personality is key to being a good cowriter. In most cases, I end up becoming friends with them after the sessions. They will have to sing the song every night and have to be comfortable that it represents them. "You have to really consider their ideas. "I've done this with so many artists now that I know how to sit with them and find out what they are thinking and want to say," she says. Riddick has learned how to make these sessions productive. Working directly with the artist is a plus, because it increases the chances that the resulting song will make the album. As I've honed my craft, I've come up with a formula I like for writing songs." "Then I start to see things and begin writing them in song form. "Once I hear the beat and the music, I ask myself what it makes me feel," she says. She is frequently called on to create the melody and lyrics for an existing track. Now living in Los Angeles, Riddick keeps a busy schedule in the studio. She cowrote five songs with Beyoncé for her blockbuster B'day album, including the number-one hit "Déjà Vu." Other credits include "Do What You Do" by Katharine McPhee and "If It's Lovin' That You Want" by Rihanna. In 2002, Riddick signed with Bad Boy Music Publishing/EMI Music Publishing and has since gotten her songs cut by such artists as Janet Jackson, Toni Braxton, LeToya Luckett, and Jessica Simpson, to name a few. Max Gousse, senior vice president of A&R at Epic Records, helped place her songs in projects by Jennifer Lopez and B2K. Through further networking, word spread in r&b and urban music circles that Riddick had serious chops as a songwriter, singer, and producer. It was a stroke of luck when she ran into veteran songwriter Curtis Richardson, who recognized her gift for songwriting and began cowriting with her. A handful of Berklee songwriters with full-speed-ahead careers paused to share their insight on what it's like to be a songwriter in the fast lane.Īfter studying music business and songwriting at Berklee, Makeba Riddick '99 headed to New York to launch her career. With the demand for music soaring and the new-media options of the digital marketplace burgeoning, songwriters now have many more outlets for their creative work than in the past. Songwriters from Nashville to LA talk craft and career
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