Songfinch

What is Songfinch?

Songfinch connects musicians, who can write and perform their own songs, with consumers looking for a custom song to commemorate a special occasion.

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How it works for customers

For customers, Songfinch has a simple formula. You go to the site and choose among different music genres that like — pop, classic, country, etc. Then you’ll be presented with a suggested artist to create it for you. You’ll be able to see and hear other songs created by that artist. If you don’t like them, you can choose a different artist from the site’s listing of more than $1,000 musicians.

You then tell your chosen musician what the occasion is and the things you’d like to say in the song. They turn your thoughts into music within a week. (You can check out Songfinch here.)

How it works for musicians

Songwriters sign up and provide a link to their music. The site reviews applications and allows accepted artists to put up a profile and samples of their songs. Clients can then pick a particular artist, or ask the site to help them find an artist in the musical genre they prefer.

Songwriters are able to reject jobs. But, if they accept, they’re given details of what the customer wants to convey in the lyrics and are given four days to deliver a song.

The site estimates that it could take artists 30 minutes to 3 or 4 hours to produce a song for the site. (You’re allowed to reuse melodies that you’ve created for other works, but must write customized lyrics for each request.)

Songfinch review

We love this site for both artists and consumers. It has a fresh and affordable product ($199) that can truly surprise and delight the person you’re presenting it with. And it offers fair payments and terms to artists, too. That makes artists like working here and means that consumers get to choose songs from truly talented musicians. It’s a classic win-win.

Since SideHusl.com is focused on side hustles, the rest of our review relates to how this site works for musicians, looking for a side hustle.

Assignments and pay

If you’re enlisted to write a song for someone, you’re expected to turn the customer’s thoughts into lyrics and produce a professional song within four days. You can reuse a melody, if you want. But the words should reflect the details that the buyer has provided.

In return, you’ll get $100 for the “standard” song, which includes two verses. If someone wants a third verse, you’ll earn an additional $40.

Customers can also tip their artist. Songfinch says about 20% of customers tip; the average tip is $25.

Artists are paid for songs on acceptance by the platform, usually within hours of delivery.

Artists retain rights

Importantly, even though these are songs made to fit a particular consumer’s story, the rights are retained by the artist. And, Songfinch has no restrictions on how you can use it. Thus, if you write a brilliant piece that you want to market and sell widely, there’s nothing stopping you.

The customer gets a “personal use license” to the song they commissioned. That means he or she can use and play the song at will, but not profit from its sale.

Site fees

Songfinch collects $199 for the song, plus $65 for the extra verse, which means the site takes nearly 50% of the customer’s payment. However, the site appears to offer a number of services for that, including matching artists to requests; reviewing the songs to make sure they match the request; and providing customer service to both songwriters and clients. The site also appears to shoulder any costs of consumer dissatisfaction. Artists are never asked to produce a song for free.

Given the services, the transparency of fees and the rates paid to artists, we’re not bothered by the Songfinch fees.

Revisions

What happens if the client doesn’t like your song? That depends on the root cause of the problem.

If the artist made a mistake by misunderstanding what the client asked for, mispronounced a name, or messed up a detail, the artist is expected to fix any errors for no additional cost.

If, however, the client wants a revision because they suddenly remembered additional details — or realized that they erred in choosing the genre, or by including — or excluding — too many details, the client is charged for the revisions. Rates start at $25.

Recommendations:

Although we found few independent reviews from song writers, Songfinch publishes dozens of songwriter testimonials on its site. And each testimonial includes the full name and photograph of the artist, which gives us confidence that the glowing reviews are legitimate. Meanwhile, TrustPilot has recorded nearly 5,000 client reviews and the overwhelming majority love the service.

SideHusl.com likes the Songfinch opportunity, too. Our reasoning is based on the very reasonable terms for artists, as well as a recognition that storytelling is the soul of songwriting. This side hustle could expose you to a wealth of stories. And that may help you find greater career success, in addition to the immediate cash.

You can sign up with Songfinch here.

Other good opportunities for musicians, include music tutoring platforms, such as LessonFace and TakeLessons. You can also register to create custom songs at Fiverr.

Updated 4/13/2024