Why do many pop songs have so many different songwriters listed?

Question

I see so many songs with 3-5 or more listed in the credits. I always thought sometimes one person wrote music, and another wrote lyrics. Why can it take around 5 people to write a song?

In: 120

Answer 1

I suspect that the truth is a bit more sinister than other comments are acknowledging. There’s a saying the in the music industry – “change a word, get a third”, i.e. a minimal adjustment to a song results in a songwriting credit that gets that person paid further down the road. And this, I think, is how a lot of industry people get paid – not up front, but by carving royalties away from the actual songwriter.