Excellent post! I completely agree and this completely sums up the original point I was making

It's nothing to do with music snobbery. I like some of Adele's stuff and I recognise she has a decent voice. It's just that if you are going to award Best Songwriter to an artist then they ought to have been totally responsible for all creative aspects of the songs. Eg during the Beatles heyday, songwriting credits were given to Lennon/McCartney, despite the fact that for much of their later period they wrote songs individually. Adele was given the songwriting category because the Ivor Novello judges felt obliged to give her recognition somewhere and decided the best album of the year was not 21, so they shoehorned her into another top category, which doesn't look too sensible if you know she didn't write the songs by herself .

You keep repeating this garbage, do you KNOW this for a fact or is it just wishful thinking. 'Shoehorned her into another top category', give me strength

Look I don't get the issue here. She co-wrote the songs yes, but she has obviously had some creative involvement in them, whether it is just lyrics or whether she contributes to the nuts and bolts of the tune. They are very personal lyrics so that is obviously coming from her. So its not like she did nothing.

It is not like songwriters turn up, play songs, she says right I'll have that one, and they change a couple of lines for her to write so she gets a credit. Like the worst pop acts these days do.

You could argue its a shame whoever she writes the songs with doesn't get to come up on stage and accept the award with her, but I'm sure they'll be more than happy with the royalties they get paid.

You can argue that the Adele way of song writing is semi manufacturing things, but so what when the end product is great. Its only like they are creating a temporary band and bouncing ideas off one another.

People have different talents in bands. I'm sure if you took most U2 songs apart it would be The Edge doing most of the actual music, the bass player and drummer playing off that and Bono coming up with the words. But you couldn't imagine any of them being as good if they were apart from one another.

Actually, it really isn't worth it so edited.

I just try to be honest as i can, i am a firm believer that awards should be handed out to artists that deserve them, if they are not then the award loses credability both in the profession and amoungst music fans alike. A songwriter award is a top award and certainly should never be handed out to artists that co-write a total album with professional songwriters who are not part of the artists band. It just seems to me they felt they had to give her something due to her album sales and this was the only award they could fit her into.

I believe Adeles awards were connected with album sales and I also believe if it hadn't become fashionable to buy her albums then she'd probably of been forgotten about by now

A friend of mine used to work for the PRS, so she saw exactly how much particular artists contributed to particular songs. She was surprised to learn that artists like Adele and Jessie J received <10% of the writing credits for their biggest hits.

That would be about right in my estimation, most of the time chart pop artists with writing credits they provide the lyrics whilst leaving the music to the pros.

Does that include everyone who has ever had a co-write or just some must say liking your double standards again

yeah i bet they were really struggling to think of a category she'd excelled in.

I wonder if people would have a problem if PJ Harvey had won songwriter of the year...cos i'll let you into a secret, she only co-writes

:yawn: :yawn: :yawn:

The same old, tired insults come out every time someone's music tastes are challenged. The fact is, some artists are better than others. That's (supposedly) why they have things like award ceremonies in the first place, to give recognition to the best in their category, otherwise what's the point of awards if everyone's of equal merit?

I happen to think there are better songwriters out there than Adele. Or let's try to be gracious and say that there are equally good songwriters out there. Why didn't they get an award? Because they didn't sell gazillions of albums? Because the songs they write are too unconventional to appeal to a mainstream audience?

I don't know what artists and industry people were on the voting panel but it feels to me as if none of them could be bothered to look outside Heart FM's endlessly repeating playlist for potential winners.

As well as that the "who is better than who" thing is entirely subjective. I am sure I will say that someone I like is better than someone you like. I don't like Adele as an artist but many do and that's fair enough.

That is some secret you have there, because according the the inlay for Let England Shake all songs are written by PJ Harvey on her own.

Don't be silly. Working with other musicians in the studio on the sound of the album is not co-writing. That's why it says "All songs written and composed by PJ Harvey". So I don't expect most people would have a problem if she won, not least because she won "best album" at the same award ceremony.

That is not a fact, that is an opinion, your fauilure to know the difference explains your attitude.

There are some good reads on the homepage of american songwriter about writing of someone...
and one and ...
look up on the search box for ADElE (someone...) and Greg Wells (one...)
maybe her songwriter-peers had looked up the reports before deciding to give her the awards.
likewise Ryan Tedder declared his contribution was only 10% (he wrote the first two verses on turnig tables after he reviced 2 song files (rolling + he wont go) from ADELE
by the way many tanks to kony for introducing me to Lana Del Rey

It's bleedin' obvious. She was expected to win BEST ALBUM. That's what happened at the Grammys and at most of the other major award ceremonies. But the IN panel decided otherwise.. Are you seriously suggesting therefore that the IN should have snubbed her instead? It would have reflected on them badly. They had to give her something in the major categories. Does it really need to be spelled out?

Yet more rubbish. You do not know this, you just make it up as you go along. It is just your opinion, it is NOT fact, no matter how you try and 'spell it out'. Or maybe you were on the panel?
Why not go and support your own favourite artist rather than 'slagging off' Adele. She is British and I am proud of her achievements.

that gets my goat. Why should we get behind someone because they're British? I couldn't give two hoots.
But thats probably because I'm lucky enough to be Scottish so it's nothing to do with us.

Why indeed? It's better than 'slagging them off' at every opportunity especially when they are obviously talented. Now that's what gets my goat.

I feel the same, i like artists because of their music not where they come from. I love iron maiden but would never champion for them ahead of american rock bands just because they are british. Like you i dont get this mentality at all.

I never said that I didn't champion artists who are not British. It's just not a very nice trait to keep demeaning Adele. It says more about those who do than it does about me.

So because someone is from the same group of land as me I should instantly like them?
Yeah that's pretty sensible.

Oh, your scottish fellow Annie Lennox was more touched than you but maybe she can better recognise good music