I think it’s cool if an artist writes a song, and it brings a face to relate to, but a song is a song. Garth Brooks was one of the biggest things to come to country, and he wrote very few of his songs.

I love Taylor Swift, and I’m gonna admit I think it’s impressive that she has written all her songs, but that’s not why she’s famous. She’s famous because these songs resonate with people. Maybe not the country audience they used to, back when she was singing about Tim McGraw and before eshe had to have elaborate costumes to perform on an award show. But they resonate with some people…and even if it was some other girl singing about Drew, they still would be relatable to girls. And the point about Carrie Underwood not writing many of her hits shows this further.

What about “The House That Built Me”? I bet even good ole Hillary Scott would call that a good country song…but that’s one of the few tracks Miranda didn’t cowrite on her CD.

Point being, I wish the view was good songs are good songs. Just because a singer wrote it doesn’t neccesarily mean it’s good, and I wish artists could see it’s more about good writing and relatibility and words that mean something and not a cowriting credit, that’s what I want to hear at least.

This practive was significant in the 1950s and I suspect it continues unabated to this day

….Personally, I don’t really notice if a song is written by the artist or not; I gain a new appriciation for the artist if they wrote said song (and if it’s a good song, I love it even more)… But I don’t think it should matter.

I think it is dangerous for artists to be egotistical, which is one thing that (from what I’ve seen) a good majority of today’s ‘country’ singers not show, especially Taylor Swift AND Carrie Underwood. And that is another aspect of what makes an artist appealing, IMO.

Anyways, I would say that Sugarland is also a good example of artists who write their own material (and very well, I might add).

And what’s best about country music is that even if the artist does not write the song themselves, it feels like they actually wrote it. (ie: Reba’s “For My Broken Heart” & “Greatest Man I Never Knew”)

So, I guess Scott just felt a need to profess something positive about her friend, who doesn’t always get the best vocal reviews…. And I think we should take note of the fact that their friendship definatly has played a part in Scott’s comments about Swift.

Everyone has their own perceptions of musical quality and enjoyment, and music is far too subjective to debate over such issues.

I actually love Lady Gaga, and recognize her incredible talent. I respect her for being an entertainer that isn’t afraid to speak her mind on various issues. She’s the most powerful entertainer in the world, and I respect her for using that to inspire change.

I was specifically reffering to her antics as an entertainer, and how that (and sexualized images) have become the focus of music, rather than the music itself.

As for Lady A, I think they’re a talented group, but they consistently fail when it comes to actually making relevant music that will make people remember their contribution 20 years from now. That’s the issue with most current music- if the artist has actual talent, they often waste it on material that will serve as nothing more than enjoyable background music once it’s off the radio and record sales slow down.

If Hillary is going to make such provocative statements about the state of music, I’d at least expect her to have better examples than Taylor Swift.

While Taylor is a talented writer, her music isn’t particularly memorable or substaintal. Just because an artists writes their own music doesn’t mean their improving the music industry.

Few current artists have the talent to write, sing and play music that’s all excellent. Just because you have talent in one area, doesn’t mean you’re automatically going to succeed in others.

Even as a teenager myself, I have enough experience listening to music to recognize that no artist today is moving it forward, as Hillary proclaims. There are still artists with talent, but few can write, sing and play well, and it’s all too commercialized to enjoy at times.

I might enjoy Taylor and Lady A more if they recorded quality material, and everything they accomplished wasn’t shoved in my face every five minutes. Even Taylor is a prime example. She’s a great role model, sweet and modest, but she’s so overexposed it’s difficult to respect her music and remember what she’s trying to say an artist. That’s all that matters in the end, but it gets lost in the shuffle of a certain image and marketing techniques, that artists forget what’s most important.

As long as I have a talented artist who records quality music, that’s all that matters to me. It’s not about image or making sure you write all your own music.