Editing Songwriter (section)

=== Top-liners ===

A top-line writer or top-liner is a songwriter who writes a song over a pre-made beat. In top-lining, the writer is not creating a song from scratch, but rather creating lyrics and melodies over an existing [[music genre]], [[tonality]], [[harmony]], [[rhythm]], and [[musical form|form]] of a song.<ref name="sonic">{{cite web|last1=Samama|first1=Benjamin|title=What's the Difference Between a Songwriter and a Topline Writer?|url=http://blog.sonicbids.com/whats-the-difference-between-a-songwriter-and-a-topline-writer|website=Blog.sonicbids.com|date=2 March 2016 |access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref>

In modern commercial writing, it is a common practice for the musical track to be produced first without any vocal melody or lyrics. This is partially due to the rise of portable music production equipment and digital audio workstations that are designed for the swift arrangement of electronic music, such as [[Steinberg Cubase|Cubase]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Walden |first=John |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/steinberg-cubase-10 |title=Steinberg Cubase 10 |website=Soundonsound.com |access-date=2020-03-18}}</ref> and [[Ableton Live]].<ref name="mella">{{cite web|last1=Dee|first1=Mella|title=Toplining – What it is (and Isn't) and How to Become a Topliner|url=https://mellamusic.com/toplining/|website=Mella Music|date=19 June 2017|access-date=3 April 2018}}</ref>

The top-liner usually is also a singer, and will sing over the [[Music track|track]] as the [[Demo (music)|demo]] singer. If the song is for a particular artist, the top-liner may sing the demo in that artist's style. Top-liners often work in groups to co-write. Sometimes producers send out tracks to more than one top-line writer so that the producer or singer could choose the best option. Since the track is the same, melodies by different writers can sometimes be very similar. Occasionally, the producer might choose a few lines of melodic or lyrical ideas from one top-liner without properly crediting or paying them. These situations sometimes result in legal battles over ownership of the melodies or lyrics.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Seabrook|first1=John|title=The Song Machine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/03/26/the-song-machine|newspaper=[[The New Yorker]]|access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref>

There is a way to prevent such legal battles. A songwriter can commit their "intent to make a song", which prevents any of the parties ripping the song apart. Some artists send out a legal disclaimer making clear that if their melody is not used after doing a topline, it reverts to them, and the track back to the track writer.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lindvvall|first1=Helienne|title=Behind the music: Why topline melody writing creates disputes between artists and songwriters|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2011/aug/26/topline-melody-disputes-artists-songwriters|website=The Guardian|date=26 August 2011|access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref>