You hear songs on the radio or listen to new music through Spotify or Apple Music on a daily basis. Sometimes you feel the beat, sometimes you hear the lyrics. And while every song has the artist’s name next to it, the author of the story might be someone else. Every songwriter is listed as a co-creator, but, do you ever scroll down to find out who was involved? Let’s be honest, rarely anyone does. But these songwriters are the hidden treasures the music industry is not highlighting enough. As much as female musicians are extremely underrated, female songwriters get even less recognition for what they contribute. While we have mentioned a lot of great ones through previous articles before, I picked out two new incredible individuals whose writing skills are unbeaten.
Julia Michaels
If you don’t know who she is, you have most certainly never checked the credits section under songs that have been stuck in your head constantly. While she has written/co-written songs for big names like Selena Gomez, Christina Aguilera, Rita Ora and Kelly Clarkson, her own art she puts out tells its own story and is way too underrated, if you ask me. Julia is one of the greatest female songwriters out there and the reason why especially our generation relates to her so much, is the vulnerability and truth between the lines. She writes music that not only expresses the way certain things in her life have made her feel, but she is able to make listeners go through that journey themselves when pressing play on her songs.
There is always a story behind it and we all relate to it individually. Take ‘Keep Talking’ feat. Rita Ora for example. We have all been judged privately or publicly before, because social media is a place where everyone throws their opinion at you. But we should be bigger than that and take the high road away from people whose words come from a place of personal dissatisfaction and are just as invalid as tabloid media headlines. And that’s some hot tea spilled right there.
If you know Julia, you know that her songs always have a clear message you can apply to your own life. ‘If You Need Me’ is one of these songs I personally fell in love with, because it represents the beauty behind having someone to rely on and knowing that you will never be alone. As well as telling your friends and loved ones that – if they need you – you will be right there. What a beautiful message, right? And these are just two songs out of so many she has contributed her writing skills and incredible voice to. If you are going through something today or if you just need music for comfort, go search through Julia’s discography and you will most certainly find the perfect soundtrack to your current state of mind.
Rachel Keen (Raye)
The British whirlwind has been credited on songs by known female musicians like Beyoncé, Mabel and Little Mix, but who is Raye you might ask? She is an incredibly talented songwriter, a great producer and underrated singer who just released her first single as an independent artist. She is ready to take on this new path of creative and artistic freedom and according to her, ‘Hard Out Here’ marks the first step of her unapologetic truth and her desire to exist and speak fearlessly. After seven long years, she finally holds the pen to write her life’s story with full control over the art that is being released for the world to hear. That is some female power right there.
We all know how hard women have to fight to be heard, recognized and respected in any kind of industry, as well as the corporate world. Female songwriters are often being hidden behind successfully charting hits and most of them are still living in the shadows of the music industry. Raye fought for her rightful place and took over control to be the artist she always knew she could be. She has proven that you can break free and come out on the other side. You have to truly believe in yourself and your own power to break out of a system that is still highly misogynistic and extremely greedy for money. If this is not a good reason why more women need to show support to female artists like Raye, I don’t know what is. Her talent is beyond, her writing is brutally honest and her fight for justice has shown that we can indeed push for change and succeed tremendously.
So what have we learned from all of that? Change is long overdue and women deserve to get the validation and freedom they have rightfully earned. To be completely honest, the way the music industry works has never fully made sense to me. How is there still so much injustice happening around female artists, songwriters or even producers, when there is so much room for everyone to co-exist respectfully? And let’s not forget about the creative gap and lack of great assets that could easily be filled by hiring especially female fans. We all know that fans are the backbone that has helped build the music industry in the first place and that without us, it would not be as successful as it is today. We got the power, we always had it and even though it is hard out here for us women, we will make it one day.
ROARA Magazine 