Songwriters haven’t had it easy since the streaming age. They play a pivotal role — creating the greatest hits and cultural anchors of a generation — but listening to the Class of 2026 songwriters Hall of Fame honorees, the profession remains a minefield of rights and royalties. Walter Afanasieff, best known for his work with Mariah Carey, joked about lawsuits surrounding credits; Paul Stanley of KISS and John Fogerty talked about issues with labels; Raye advocated that songwriters should have a share in the master rights of the recordings.
Understanding music publishing rights is a bit like trying to explain nuclear fusion. The complicated formulas of splits and royalties are still dictated by legal rules that date back decades. What was once a viable career path – in times of physical record sales, songwriters who were credited on album tracks could make a good living, even if those songs weren’t singles or hits – is now more like volunteer work, as many songwriters complain.
The top one percent of A-listers are not exempt from these problems, even if some know how to deal with them better. Two of the evening’s inductees, Taylor Swift and Alanis Morissette, may be the brightest examples – both have major writing credits but are also performers. Swift was lovingly introduced at the gala dinner (at her request) by filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who said of her: “Through her songs she makes us believe… that we can grow up, live, love, make mistakes, succeed, fail and still continue to believe in our own worth.”
Brandi Carlile on Morissette
Brandi Carlile brought a similar message when introducing Morissette. After a rousing performance of “Uninvited,” Carlile joked about growing up outside of Seattle as a “dramatic young lesbian” in the ’90s. “When grunge moved from alternative to the Top 40, the charts were dominated by some very intense white men,” she said. “And I love her in my own way, but I needed to hear a woman’s voice singing rock & roll. And that voice didn’t come from Seattle, but from Ottawa. Her songs penetrate our consciousness and touch the soul.”
Across the Atlantic, Hal David Starlight Award recipient Raye honed her craft in a “tough” area of south London. “I come from a lineage of non-failed songwriters, because writing songs is a commentary on the human experience,” she said from the stage. “It’s such a wild miracle when you get to tell that story and have people like it, connect with it, hear it or sing it back to you.”
Fittingly, the Songwriters Hall of Fame combined its awards ceremony with tribute performances. Tamar Braxton performed “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” and Kylie Cantrall sang “Umbrella” – both in honor of Christopher “Tricky” Stewart’s work. Madison Cunningham performed an acoustic version of “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” and Taylor Dayne belted out “We Don’t Need Another Hero,” written by inducers Terry Britten and Graham Lyle.
Fogerty and the Rock Block
The rock part of the evening was played by Fogerty, whose unprepared and somewhat meandering speech illuminated his formative years in exhaustive detail. Steve Miller presented him with the Johnny Mercer Award, recognizing Fogerty’s “steadfast fight for artists’ rights.” The Creedence frontman relived his biggest hits – including “Proud Mary,” “Fortunate Son” and “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” – which left those in attendance (including Swift with fiancé Travis Kelce) on their feet.
Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins took on KISS, playing “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “Shout It Out Loud,” the latter alongside John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls, who highlighted the classic’s distinctive pronunciation of “ev-e-ry day.” In his acceptance speech, Stanley recalled his youth in New York. “As a teenager, I went to the Brill Building. I wanted to follow in the footsteps of Carole King and Gerry Goffin, of Lieber and Stoller, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe. To be in this illustrious company and to be accepted by the people who inspired and drove us is something we could never have imagined.” (Gene Simmons, who was honored alongside Stanley, was unable to attend due to a “family emergency.”)
Gavin DeGraw and Sheléa rounded out the evening. DeGraw delivered a moving version of Kenny Loggins’ “Danny’s Song.” His performance was one of the most energetic of the night – and one of the most emotional, as Loggins gave his older brother Danny the credit for leading him to the music. Together with his stepdaughter Hunter Hawkins (whose album Loggins is currently producing), the group upped the ante with “Heart to Heart” and “Celebrate Me Home.”
Renner, Afanasieff and Sheléa
Walter Afanasieff brought the other big Hollywood star of the evening on board: Jeremy Renner, who praised the songwriter and producer for having helped create “the soundtrack of our lives”. His speech was preceded by Sheléa’s sensitive rendition of “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” “Hero,” “My All,” “One Sweet Day” and “Anytime You Need a Friend.”
Naturally, the eyes were on Swift for most of the evening, and the self-confessed pop music lover didn’t disappoint – she sang along, cheered, swayed to the beat and briefly held her fiancé. But even she was mesmerized when Sombr took the stage and performed Swift’s own songs “Cardigan” and “Dear John.”
“His writing is so extraordinary that it actually makes me jealous,” Swift said following Sombr’s tribute. “It’s guaranteed to end up at the top of my Spotify Wrapped.”
Swift’s speech on craft
Swift’s induction into the Hall of Fame marked a historic moment: She becomes the youngest woman ever inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The artist was aware of the importance of this moment – in her acceptance speech she described her own development as a songwriter and drew on the “Mary Poppins bag” full of sophisticated language images that makes her songs so distinctive.
“Finishing ‘Love Story’ was an act of trusting my own instincts as a writer,” she said. (As she described it, co-writer Craig Wiseman had responded with indifference to an early version.) “Now more than ever, in an industry seemingly dominated by metrics and data and analytics, where we’re all trying to predict whether something will trend or not…songwriters must trust their human instincts. And I think the thousands of hours I’ve lovingly poured into this craft have taught me to recognize the ideas that jump out, that sparkle and resonate – the ideas that resonate with me mean the most.”