We Should Write Sometime: Why Nashville Songwriters Are Flocking to This App

For songwriters, finding the perfect co-writer can feel a lot like dating. Now there’s an app for that: We Should Write Sometime. It uses geolocation to help users find nearby songwriting partners from a network that includes Jonathan Singleton (Tim McGraw’s “Diamond Rings and Old Barstools”), Tim Fagan (Jason Mraz’s “Lucky”) and Matt Squire (Ariana Grande’s “Put Your Hearts Up”).

Much like Tinder and Bumble, We Should Write Sometime allows users to swipe left or right on profiles, which in this case list songwriting specialties and instruments played, along with links to music. If both songwriters swipe right, they can message to schedule a co-write, either remotely or in person. “We always talk about the trend in the increasing number of songwriters it takes to make a hit single,” says app co-founder Kevin McCarty (who formerly worked as Donald Jenkins’ sidekick on the podcast Nashville Hits Collecting Dust). “The need to find those perfect co-writers is critical for success.”

We Should Write Sometime hit app stores in May 2017, and its beta version -- in which it will remain for another year -- launched in 2018. Now, after promoting the app at the 2019 ASCAP “I Create Music” Expo, McCarty and co-founder Richard Casper (co-founder/executive director of CreatiVets, which pairs songwriters with veterans) are more focused on the app than ever -- so much so that McCarty quit his full-time tech sales job in June.

McCarty and Casper plan to unveil in-app premium services this fall, for fees, though they say We Should Write Sometime -- which is currently available in the United States, Canada, Australia and London -- always will be free to download. McCarty says the goal is “obviously [to] minimize how much we make songwriters pay for those premium features, as we want to help them as much as possible.” The pair is exploring sponsorship and ad campaigns, and also is looking to bring on a fourth strategic investor. By the end of the year, it expects to grow its user base from 1,500 to 5,000. “We’re just getting started,” says Casper. “The music industry needs this.”

This article originally appeared in the July 20 issue of Billboard.