The Korea Times interviewed these lovely ladies in Seoul. Spoiler alert, their revelation will surprise you. The girls revealed that it is tough to make a stable career out of songwriting, especially at the start. Many people assume and even straight up ask these lyricists whether they are already millionaires with the royalties earned from songs written for BTS, NCT, and more.
They added it is impossible to earn a huge amount of money because many lyricists work on one song and, as such, have to share profits. Moreover, another reason why they can't earn much money because popular songs do not stay in the streaming charts permanently--this means they will not get royalties once the songs they worked on are not on the chart anymore.
Lee Hee Ju added that lyricists are often thought to be well-off, but it usually takes years for a lyricist to get their big break. Even then, they can earn only the minimum income for living. She advised aspiring lyricists to keep their day jobs and do songwriting simultaneously until they start to receive a sufficient amount in royalties.
Danke noted that lyricists, especially in South Korea, face an immense amount of competition among themselves. Besides, a K-Pop label usually receives hundreds of versions of lyrics from different writers for a song, whether it's the lead single or a b-side.
They shared, "Record labels usually want to look into various drafts. So they give an offer to both professional lyricists and the young ones with little experience at educational institutes. The competition is getting fiercer, but for the young ones, there are more opportunities."
Additionally, not a single lyricist gets to contribute completely to one song. Instead, companies pick and choose from all the different versions and create a single version like patchwork. Afterward, all the lyricists involved are required to go back and forth to polish the final draft to mold it as something that best fits the artist.
When asked about the secret to danke's success, who have become among the most sought-after lyricists in the industry, the trio answered that since they're a team, they share multiple perspectives that have led them to where they are now. Also, they can even save the time required for modification and bring up new ideas anywhere.
On average, it takes the team around three hours to finish writing one song. Park Woo Hyun explained their creative process by saying, "Sometimes, two hours is enough but when we are slow, we need more than six hours. We usually work on six to 10 tracks a week. When we receive an offer from a label, we first study the singer's past musical activities and read their interviews to figure out the words or expressions he or she frequently uses. We also get used to a song's melody by listening to it around the clock."
The group said Taemin's "Criminal" is one of their most challenging works. They also applauded Jimin for his splendid performance for "Filter." Although they are writing for superstars, they have not met any of them personally, except for their showcases or concerts.
The trio admitted that songwriting consumes your energy. Also, once you succeed, you may not have a normal life. But at the end of the day, it is truly a dream job, and the group is admitted they are very satisfied with their job!
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Written by Ishani Sarkar
