How employable are lyricists?

CareerExplorer rates lyricists with a D employability rating, meaning this career should provide weak employment opportunities for the foreseeable future.

Are lyricists in demand?

The most employable and most in-demand lyricists are those who have perfected the art of keeping a song simple and relatable. Master lyricists know that it is very easy to write long and rambling songs with multiple verses. They know that the hardest thing to do is to write a simple song. Their unadorned advice to aspiring lyricists is just to write and write more, because writing reaps better writing. Lyricists with language skills, research skills, and the capacity to collaborate with other lyricists, producers, publishers, musicians, and composers will have better job prospects. While lyricists typically write just the words of a song, the ability to write words and music to understand the relationship between the two, is a valuable asset and qualification. The ability to play one or more instruments provides further insight into the relationship between music and lyrics and may enhance employability. Entrants to the field of lyrics writing, either as staff lyricists or freelancers should actively listen to the works of professionals to gain knowledge about music trends and to identify their own style and genre. Writing jingles or lyrics for community musical productions is also valid training for more sophisticated opportunities. New lyricists will have a head start in their careers if they are by nature optimistic and able to network, accept criticism, handle rejection, and persevere.