The songwriter is the person who creates the melodic, harmonic and lyrical elements of a song, while the recording artist is simply the person who records it.It is also important to understand the difference between a songwriter and a lyricist. A lyricist is someone only responsible for the lyrics of a song. While a songwriter is an individual who typically writes the lyrics of the song as well as the musical elements of the song. The songwriter obtains a composition copyright upon the creation of their work, and the artist obtains a sound recording copyright upon the the creation of their recording.
