An insight into my creative world, sharing my knowledge and experience, to help artists, songwriters and producers take their careers to the next level.
you have 10 seconds. that’s it.
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I’ve been thinking a lot recently about what actually makes someone stay on a song. not the mix. just whether something grabs you straight away. Because that’s the reality now. people aren’t sitting with a track waiting for it to get better. they’re deciding in the first 10 seconds whether to stay or skip. I’ve had moments where a track felt great in the studio. but when I came back to it fresh, the first few seconds didn’t pull me in. nothing was obviously wrong. it just didn’t give me a reason to stay. When you’re making music, it’s easy to forget that. you’re hearing the full picture. but the listener isn’t. they’re hearing the first few seconds. the first 10 seconds don’t just grab attention. That’s where a lot of songs fall short. not because they’re bad. but because nothing really pulls you in at the start. It doesn’t have to be big. just intentional. a vocal hook that feels different. I've started judging tracks differently. not by how they build, if nothing stands out, it doesn’t matter how good the rest is. We’re in a swipe, next, move on culture. so the question isn’t just “is this good?” it’s: “does this grab me immediately?” because if it doesn’t, the rest of the track never gets heard. The start of your song isn’t just the beginning. it’s the moment someone decides whether to stay or move on. Everything that follows depends on it. |
Rich Pilkington.
An insight into my creative world, sharing my knowledge and experience, to help artists, songwriters and producers take their careers to the next level.
when I first started making music, I thought getting better meant learning more. another tutorial. another plugin. another songwriting technique. another mixing trick. and to be fair, all of those things helped. they taught me how to create. but over the last few years, I've realised the biggest breakthroughs in my career didn't come from learning new techniques. they came from learning how to think differently about the techniques I already knew. this really hit me over the last couple of...
lately i've been thinking a lot about creativity. not creativity itself. but the way we talk about it. i think we've romanticised the idea that great work arrives out of nowhere. one perfect idea. one magical afternoon. one moment where inspiration suddenly strikes. and then somehow... you create something incredible. if i'm honest, i used to think like that too. i'd wait until i felt creative. until i felt motivated. until it felt like the right day to write. but over the years, i've...
lately i've been thinking a lot about attention. not how to get it. but who it's actually coming from. everywhere you look, someone is trying to grab a few seconds of your time. another reel. another ad. another "you need this." and if i'm honest, i catch myself doing it too. trying to find better hooks. better ways to get people to stop scrolling. because that's the game now. attention feels like the currency. but i'm starting to wonder if we've become so obsessed with getting attention that...