Rick Rubin once said, “The audience comes last” and in a time where songwriters are constantly told to build a fan-base, game the algorithm, and tailor their songs to what’s trending, this statement might sound radical.
But for anyone who’s ever stared at a blank page with a melody swirling in their head and self-doubt creeping in, Rubin’s words can be seen as liberating for creativity and a reminder of what really matters.
At All About Songwriting, we believe that the most powerful songs begin with you, not with audience expectations, not with what Spotify wants, and definitely not with chasing trends.
Great songwriting is about emotional honesty. The audience only truly connects when you do.
Start With You, Not Them
It’s tempting to try to write “what people want to hear.” But in doing that, you risk losing what made your idea special to begin with.
When you write for yourself, you’re following your own instincts, stories, emotions, and experiences. That doesn’t mean being self-indulgent, it means being real. The most relatable songs often come from deeply personal places.
Ask yourself: Does this feel true to me? before you ask Will people like this?
Authentic Songs Last Longer
Trendy chord progressions and buzzwords go out of style. But authenticity doesn’t.
The songs that last, the ones people play at weddings, funerals, road trips, breakups, and life-changing moments, are the ones where the songwriter didn’t hold back. They wrote something that felt real.
You don’t need to write a hit. You need to write the truth. And ironically, that’s often what leads to the biggest impact.
Your Voice Is Your Anchor
Genres shift. Platforms evolve. Audiences come and go. But you, your experiences, your voice, your emotional landscape, are the anchor in your creative process.
If you write from that place, you’ll always have something to say. And that something will always sound like you, not a copy of someone else.
Sharing Comes After Writing
This doesn’t mean the audience doesn’t matter. It means they come in after the song is written. The songwriting process is sacred. It’s where you go inward.
Once the song is done (and it’s something you truly believe in) that’s when it’s time to share it. To let the right audience find it.
Let the writing be pure. Let the sharing be strategic. But never flip those two.
As a songwriter, you owe it to yourself to create for you first. Because the song comes from you. And when it’s authentic, that’s what touches, moves, and inspires others.
Write what you need to write. Say what only you can say. The right people will feel it.
The audience comes last. And that’s exactly where they belong.
