Npr how much does it cost to make a hit

However, one of the less-pondered but equally intriguing questions is just how much it takes to make one of these songs. After all, writing the song, producing it, recording it, scripting and making the video and distributing out across a range of platforms, and then marketing, all costs money. Also, instruments and sounds need to be brainstormed and written up to suit the lyrics at the same time, so it all comes together to create a song.

The more instruments, the more people and the more time you need, the more expensive the costs will be. A writer and editor at Academic Brits and Origin Writings , Ellen Lawton has a keen interest in music marketing but also nurtures a big love for audio technology thus combining the two in her research. The writing camp for Rihanna's album "had to cost at least grand," Daniels says. I was shocked at how much money they were spending! But, guess what? They got the whole album out of that one camp.

A writing camp is like a reality show, where top chefs who have never met are forced to cook together. At the end, Rihanna shows up like the celebrity judge and picks her favorites. Her new album has 11 songs on it. The songwriter and the producer each got a fee for their services. The vocal producer's job is to make sure Rihanna sings the song right.

Makeba Riddick didn't produce Rihanna's vocals on "Man Down," but she's one of the industry's top producers, and has worked with the singer on many songs, including the two number one hits in "Rude Boy" and "Love the Way You Lie.

When Riddick works with a singer, she'll say, "I need you to belt this out, I need you to scream this, as if you're on one end of the block and you're trying to talk to somebody three blocks away. Or maybe: "Sing with your lips a little more closed, a little more pursed together, so we can get that low, melancholy sound. Not only that, the vocal producer has to deal with the artist's rider. The rider is whatever the artist needs to get them in the mood to get into the booth and sing.

Yes, Riddick has had doves circling her head while she's working. So, our rough tally to create one pop song comes to:. But it's not a hit until everybody hears it. How much does that cost? You want them to turn on the radio and hear Rihanna, turn on BET and see Rihanna, walk down the street and see a poster of Rihanna, look on Billboard, the iTunes chart, I want you to see Rihanna first.

All of that costs. That's what a hit song is: It's everywhere you look. To get it there, the label pays. Every song is different. Some songs have a momentum all their own, some songs just break out out of the blue. But the record industry depends on hits for sales.

Having hits is the business plan.