What language for our songs?

Very often I am asked whether it is better to write and sing in English or Italian (or whatever is your language)

I think it depends only on the credibility of one’s music and not on an a priori reasoning.

 

In a completely globalized world, in fact, it no longer makes sense to make distinctions between languages and opportunities. And even if we wanted to think only of Italy, well… it’s fair to say that more than 70% of the music broadcast on the radio is already in English!
Despite this, there is still a sort of reticence on the part of many operators in the sector (promoters, record companies, producers…) in taking into consideration Italian artists who sing in English.

In part it is a position that can be shared, also due to the fact that comparison with international projects imposes a very high level.
The international recording industry is much more prosperous and is able to cultivate artists and producers of a certainly higher level than ours.
In part, however, I believe it is also a preconception, a sort of outright xenophilia.

 

But fortunately this is not always the case, on the contrary.
I happened to produce Italian artists in international projects and see them work very well, even in Italy.
The latest example is that of Travis Cold, a boy from Naples who with his song “Life in a day” has climbed the charts in several European countries including ours (Watch the Video).

A self-production which later became a success and was contracted at European level by Time.
Of course, he is very good, credible in terms of pronunciation and sound, but he is not the only example.

Mario Biondi, Elisa, Planet Funk, many Italian artists have made themselves known by singing in English.
Kelly Joyce, for whom I produced two albums, also sold more than a million copies worldwide.

I believe that in the future, examples like these will be more and more frequent.

It is a fact that continuing to think locally today no longer makes sense. Traveling in Europe costs less than in Italy, communications thanks to the internet are increasingly simple and English will be used more and more on a daily basis (think of how much it is already used today among very young people).

And as regards the development of musical projects, there are many international promotion agencies, and even very serious ones (www.musicpromotion.com for example is one of these).

Live agencies, European meetings (such as the Midem in Cannes or the Berlin Music Week) are all fantastic opportunities for an artist who wants to enter the European panorama.

Furthermore, I can confirm that the discography outside our country is much more receptive than it is here.

It’s true, it’s essential to have good pronunciation, even if only English or Americans speak perfect English. In fact, let’s think about how many projects in English start every day from all over the world and with a thousand different accents.

So give yourself a chance. And why not, give it to yourself in English!
It’s the message of your music that needs to be strong!
If you want more information on how to develop your project internationally, contact me!

Lorenzo Sebastiani
info@lorenzosebastiani.com