I’ve always heard that most of the $$ goes to the songwriter, and while I admit that a good song is a wonderful thing, I also think that the singer/band can make a break a song.
I started thinking of this because when I was a kid I loved the song Last Kiss but whenever I think of it now I always hear the Pearl Jam version in my head.
IMO, the songwriter is king.
Many, many artists are very technically skilled, but very creatively challenged.
As a songwriter, I certainly don’t want anyone singing my songs that can’t carry a tune, but there are going to be many ways that a song can be performed or interpreted that will sound “good”. But without the basic template, the directions provided by the written song, many artists would simply have no idea what to do, what note to move to next, etc.
Or they might have an idea, but it’s a shitty idea because they aren’t very gifted creatively.
I started to say songwriter, but then I thought of Bob Dylan and almost changed my mind.
Singers are a dime a dozen. A great song is forever.
Concur.
Stardust is a great song, because it has survived being covered and re-covered so many times.
Stairway to Heaven is a great recording of a great performance, because it is almost impossible to cover well.
Which of these 2 songs would you rather hear?
or
Hmmmm… It seems that the internet has already proven my point: I can’t even find a video of Dylan doing this song.
Dolly Parton managed it, but then she is also a great songwriter and essentially re-wrote it. As Johnny Cash did with Hurt.
It all starts with the song.
That’s why said “almost.” Although I have become much more fond of Bob’s version in my adult years. I can’t link to youtube from work, but I’m betting the link was to “All Along the Watchtower.”
I prefer Bob’s acoustic version.
There are a lot more people in the world who can sing well than there are those who can write a song worth hearing.
Of course, a very good singer can help keep a mediocre song from sounding too awful, but they can’t make it great. I great songwriter can make a mediocre singer worth listening to.
I’m biased because my husband is a songwriter., though.
yep
but I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that I think the vast majority of people who like that song prefer a version other than Dylan’s, and I was just trying to illustrate the point you were making (yeah, I did catch the “almost” in your first post).
It’s not too long a limb. I’d almost take it as a given. 
It’s a combination of both. Songwriters over the long haul can pull in more income if they have a number that gets picked up, by say, a jingle.
For example Olivia Newton-John made a reported 11 million dollars off of “Physical” one of the highest amounts. Songrwriter Steven Kipner, who wrote it said to date, he’s made about 3 million. He only gets half though (he co-wrote it)
Dolly Parton had limited success with “I Will Always Love You,” till it was used in a movie and rerecorded by Whitney Houston, Dolly said, Houston’s recording of it earned her three million dollars.
Belinda Carlisle said, one of the bigges money issues the Go-Gos had was the fact the whole band didn’t write the songs, and the band memeber who wrote the song were making much more money than the others who didn’t
It’s really a combination. You can look at a songwriter like Lesley Duncan, who’s best known for her “B-side” song “Love Song,” which was picked up by Elton John. She writes beautiful words and music, but who’s ever heard of her? Very few.
So it really is a combination. Look at how many times “Wind Beneath My Wings” was recorded before Bette Midler made it a smash hit.
I’d probably lean towards the songwriter. But what about the role of the producer? A really great song can be made to sound like dreck, and a bad song can be made to sound really good if you have the right producer.
While the singer can do nothing without the song (and, Full Disclosure: I’m also a song-writer), there are those who can bring an innovative approach to the material that it didn’t have to begin with. Elvis Presley was given courtesy composing credits on some of his songs, and with his spirited interpretations, who can deny that he was deserving?
A singer can detract from a song, too, of course. Judy Collins may have had the hit with Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now,” but made a little lyrical fluff that stands out like a mustache on the Mona Lisa to me.
Generally, the songwriter gets the largest cut of the royalties particularly if they self-publish. Self-publishing is difficult, so publishers do it for you and as a songwriter you usually enter into an agreement with a publisher and split the publishing royalties.*
Now, if someone really, really, really famous wants to cover your song, they may ask for a percentage of songwriting royalties. This is unusual. Most singers just pay the statutory rate to licence the song to do a cover and you get your standard royalties. But really really famous people are in a better position to actually negotiate for a bigger piece of the pie.
Celine Dione typically does this. Say you normally take home 70% (arbitrary number just for illustrative purposes, not based in reality) of the royalties. If a 4th place American Idol contestant records your song, maybe you’ll get 70% of $200,000. Chances are good that if Celine records your song, her album will go triple platinum once it is sold word-wide. Although she wants to sing your song, Celine refuses to record it unless she gets 40% of the publishing royalties, leaving you with only 30%. But still, if she performs your song, that could mean 30% of 20 million dollars. So the percentage is a lot lower, but your income in the end is a lot higher.
So it’s possible for a singer to make more than the songwriter, but that’s tends to be something you see with the super-famous. I reviewed a contract for a woman who licenced a song to the Go-Gos, for example, and it was your standard stat rate kind of thing.
I would say in order of importance it goes 1) songwriter 2) producer 3) singer. You can have a tremendous voice, but a lousy arrangement can ruin a recording. Michael Ball for example has one of the most beautiful voices ever heard onstage (theatre), but the goofy music backing him up on his (non-cast recording) albums is downright embarrassing to listen to. Get him with a good musical director and his live performances are breath taking. Get him in a studio with a great producer and he can make you weep. Left to his own devices, he can be goofy.
*I worked in music licencing briefly. Mostly licencing music to movies and TV shows.