Songwriting Collaboration or co-writing is...well, should I say any more?! You can write a song completely on your own but you will need to be a great lyricist and an exceptional musician all in one. However, we both know that there are certain areas where you got the most powerful, creative ideas and there are other areas where you have problems coming up with such powerful stuff...This is where Songwriting Collaboration or co-writing normally kicks in.

However, You can be the great all in one package but still need collaboration. Actually, there isn't a songwriter who doesn't need collaboration...Yes, a lot of people have written GREAT songs all alone (Klaus Meine's "Wind of Change" and Roger Waters'"Another Brick in The Wall" for example) but those very same people needed to collaborate with other songwriters along the way (Waters and David Gilmour wrote "Hey You" together for example). If you want to keep your songs interesting and become a real songwriter with a bunch of good songs written and others still to be written, you will certainly need songwriting collaboration or co-writing.

A complete song has lyrics, melody and arrangement...

1- One can co-write the lyrics or the melody or the song arrangement, without regard to the rest of the song.
2- One can write one of those three things (ex: lyrics) all alone and ask another songwriter to write the rest or even only part of the rest (ex: melody).
3- Two or more songwriters can just write the whole thing together.

A good songwriter shouldn't limit himself/herself to one type of co-writing; every song (or idea) is a new situation that has its own rules...Generally, find what suits you best..You can even mix those types. As time goes by, you will find out about your weaknesses in songwriting and those are the areas where you need collaboration most.

For example, I usually can come up with a nice melody, arrangement is something I can do, but I always have a hard time finding words for my music. Yes, I do have a certain idea about what the song is about I can come up with a line or two...But to keep the lyrics going I always need help. So my favorite collaboration style is a mix of type one and type two; that is I like to write the melody and the arrangement alone(2) and co-write the lyrics(1).

Co-writing in itself has no disadvantages...Any drawback is actually a result of the co-writers' behavior while collaborating. A whole song, or a good idea can go to waste because of the disagreement between the collaborators. This disagreement is sometimes a result of the inability of a co-writer to accept that his/her partner has a better idea than his/hers. It may also be a disagreement about copyright and royalty shares. It can be that collaborators don't understand each other, or even don't like each other. There are lots of "psychological" problems that collaborators may experience and they are the same problems that people may experience in any other team work.

Well, find someone who is trustworthy because you are trusting him/her with your ideas and those worth money. Also, a good co-writer respects other people's ideas and is a good listener, if somebody makes fun of your thinking or just dismisses your ideas...Leave!! Furthermore, you should be sure that he/she knows what he/she is doing. You don't want to collaborate on your arrangement with someone who knows very little about music theory (Don't hesitate to tell people sorry when you feel you don't agree).

Also, I -personally- prefer that it would be someone I have known for a while; it just feels more comfortable. Of course, if you got a band that plays original songs, collaboration with the other members is a must.

Absolutely NOOOO!! Actually, collaboration over the internet is growing fast and is becoming more and more efficient and important. I have listened to songs that were written by people who have never seen each other and they sound great (The guys who play it are bands who know each other and physically meet in the same studio, a lot of people misunderstand this part. Only the writing was done overseas!!). Collaborating over the internet opens more possibilities and is easier on the psychological level (this is a personal experience). You can use forums, chat rooms...etc. anything to share ideas, lyrics and music(This is off topic, but my Computer Science textbook was written by three people who live in the States, Europe and Asia!!).

Now, out of experience I know that it might be difficult to collaborate on music over the internet. Midi files are especially helpful, but those give no chance to add voice...so if you need voice you have to have a mic. and some nice music software to put your track in a form that is exciting and appealing to your co-writer. I use "TrackNotes" from "Virtual Studio Systems", it is like a complete mini-studio on your computer and it is more than enough help if you need to put out a demo for your collaborator to listen to, respond to and modify.

Only one: your collaborator may vanish in thin air...like any other person that you chat with for example. So, make sure you are working with more than a "nickname" and an e-mail. Get a full name and complete contact information. This is actually very important for copyright too, because -for example- names have to be spelled right in the agreement, collaborators have to be accessible...etc.

Start with Writing Fever Forum, it is a forum made especially for songwriting collaboration and its members include very fine lyricists and musicians...It is a really nice and "safe" place to start for songwriters who are still reluctant about collaboration and also those who are still finding their way around the whole thing of songwriting.

As you become more assured about songwriting collaboration and your songwriting skills in general, start looking for people in your local community who share your interests and who are strong where you are weak. If you find one or two, those are enough...You can even arrange regular meetings, not just co-write when you have a problem with a song. Meeting and co-writing on a regular basis is a great boost to you songwriting skills, creativity and productivity...You should really try it at some point.

Last, If you have a band, talk to other members about songwriting and find out if anyone likes to write songs...There is no way around collaborating with those of your band mates who want to write songs. If you refuse to collaborate, your band is finished (Pink Floyd's Waters vs. Gilmour struggle is a good example).

I am no lawyer, so this is not a legal advice.

If a collaborator wrote the lyrics and another did the melody, then copyright issues are easy to figure out. If, however, the collaborators co-wrote the lyrics or the arrangement or even the whole song together then problems may arise. The best thing is to agree on equal shares no matter how much a particular songwriter contributed to the songwriting process. If you write with someone a lot and you noticed that he/she always contributes much less than you, talk about non-equal shares. However, make sure you talk and reach an agreement before you actually start writing; because the whole song(together with your effort writing it) may hang out completely useless if you guys fail to agree about copyright and royalty