Why Do You Write Songs?

So this was a message I heard today about the difference between a pro songwriter and an amateur songwriter. If you’re amateur you write the song first, pro has a reason for writing the song. As Paul McCartney  said in a radio interview in 2006 “we were trying to write hit songs” at the beginning.

Intention:  Why are you writing this specific song?

1. To play to my family
2. To release as my own song
3. To win a songwriting contest
   1. What genre? Who are the judges? How do they judge? What “rules” do they have?
4. To try to get another artist to play it
   1. What genre? Have they used other people’s music before? What kind of songs are they making now?
5. To get it on TV or movie or commercial
6. To play it live at a performance
7. To think through an idea

What else?