These are the best songwriting books I’ve ever read.
Plus a few more. Because most likely if you’re interested in songwriting, you’re definitely a creative, and you’re probably curious about how the music industry works, too!
So I’ve organized this list into three categories – Books on Songwriting, Books on the Music Business, and Books on Creativity.
These are books I’ve read cover to cover, keep as a reference, or would consider to be staples in any songwriter’s library.
Enjoy the songwriting books and let me know if you pick up any of them!
Songwriting Books
Writing Better Lyrics
By Pat Pattison
Songwriting Without Boundaries: Lyric Writing Exercises for Finding Your Voice
By Pat Pattison
Pat Pattison’s Songwriting: Essential Guide to Rhyming: A Step-by-Step Guide to Better Rhyming for Poets and Lyricists
By Pat Pattison
Murphy’s Laws of Songwriting
By Ralph Murphy
Six Steps to Songwriting Success, Revised Edition: The Comprehensive Guide to Writing and Marketing Hit Songs
By Jason Blume
MUSIC BUSINESS Books
This Business of Songwriting: Revised 2nd Edition
By Jason Blume
Making Music Make Money: An Insider’s Guide to Becoming Your Own Music Publisher
By Eric Beall
Market Your Music Online Workbook
By Katherine Forbes
How Nashville Became Music City, USA: 50 Years of Music Row
By Michael Kosser
Getting Signed! An Insider’s Guide to the Record Industry
By George Howard
Music, Money, and Success
By Brabec & Brabec
What They’ll Never Tell You About the Music Business
By Peter M. Thrall
All You Need to Know About the Music Business: 9th Edition
By Donald S. Passman
Creativity & Happiness
The War of Art
By Steven Pressfield
The Artist’s Way
By Julia Cameron
Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative
By Austin Kleon
The Little Spark – 30 Ways to Ignite Your Creativity
By Carrie Bloomston
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