词曲作家是指写作歌曲的人，亦可以称作作曲家。制作流行歌曲的工作通常会分摊给许多人。流行文化歌曲可以是由音乐出版社直接聘任专属的词曲作家写作。

有些词曲作家自行担当音乐出版社的角色，另一些则与音乐出版社合作。现在的词曲作家不再需要唱片公司的支持，随着科技的进步，任何人都可以在家里录制歌曲。

除了传统的学师方式学习写作歌曲，一些大学和学院也提供相关的课程。对于从事创作歌曲的工作，现代音乐科技的知识，写作歌曲的基本原理及商业技巧都是必要的条件。多家音乐学院有提供写作歌曲的文凭及学位课程。

写作歌曲及出版的版税是词曲作家的重要收入来源，特别是当他们所写的歌曲成为畅销唱片。根据美国的法律，1934年以后所写的歌曲只有作者可以拷贝，合法权限可供购买、出售及转让，受国际著作权法的保护。

A songwriter is an individual who writes the lyrics, melodies and chord progressions for songs, typically for a popular music genre such as pop music or country music. A songwriter can also be called a composer, although the latter term tends to be mainly used for individuals from the classical music genre. The pressure from the music industry to produce popular hits means that songwriting is often an activity for which the task are distributed between a number of people. For example, a songwriter who excels at writing lyrics might be paired with a songwriter with a gift for creating original melodies. Pop songs may be written by group members from the band or by staff writers – songwriters directly employed by music publishers. Some songwriters serve as their own music publishers, while others have outside publishers. In the 2010s, songwriters are no longer dependent on labels to support their music. Technology has advanced to the point where songwriters can record at home with a laptop and a good-quality USB microphone.