The term singer-songwriter has become a part of everyday vocabulary. It is a term that refers to musicians who write, compose and sing their own material including lyrics and melodies. We all remember Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, Cat Stevens, James Taylor, and Dolly Parton. These were the singer-songwriters of the 60’s and 70’s.

In the early 1990s Mariah Carey rose to fame and became one of the most successful and well known singer-songwriters of all time. Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, Victoria Williams, Patty Griffin, Jewel and Lisa Loeb were all hugely successful in the music industry.

Then came the beginning of the end of ‘Great Music’, in the early 21st century, a massive frenzy of “bubble-gum pop stars” were created by record labels. With limited vocal abilities, these artists sold records to young fans via a marketed image.

The fans loved them. They enticed such frenzy wherever they went, that they were regarded as modern day royalty. Artists like Britney Spears, the Back Street Boys and Christina Aguilera rose to super stardom. These artists, who merely performed songs given to them, were given the status of living legends. They were blamed for the difficulty of achieving success, faced by singer-songwriters of the time.

Then artist such as Spears and Christina Aguilera began writing their own material and taking further control of their musical careers. They were no longer seen as the puppets of the dollar making record industry. Today, massive success and credit has been given to artist such as Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Amy Winehouse and Taylor Swift who write almost all of their own material.

It has been proved that the image of a star can be used to sell records. People have a tendency to believe what they see. The same is true when it comes to business. So, have you checked to see, what is your corporate image?