You've been there. Your Sim is sitting on the edge of the bed, guitar in hand, scribbling frantically in a notebook. You’ve been staring at that progress bar for what feels like three days. It’s moving at the speed of a tectonic plate. Honestly, the Sims 4 write songs mechanic is one of the most notoriously grindy parts of the entire game, and if you don’t know how the internal clocks work, you’ll probably give up before you ever hear those royalties hit your mailbox.
It’s not just you.
The game doesn't really explain that writing a song is a massive commitment of in-game time—usually taking around 12 units of "Sim time" to complete a single piece. Compare that to painting a masterpiece in two hours or writing a whole novel in four. Music in Del Sol Valley or Willow Creek is a different beast entirely.
The Brutal Reality of the Songwriting Grind
To even start, you need to hit Level 8 in a specific instrument. Whether it’s the violin, guitar, piano, or the pipe organ from Vampires, that Level 8 milestone is your gatekeeper. Once you’re there, you click the instrument and select "Write Song."
Here is the thing most people get wrong: they try to do it all in one sitting.
Your Sim’s needs will tank. They’ll get hungry. They’ll pass out on the floor. When you cancel the action to save your Sim from literal starvation, the song isn't gone, but it’s hidden. You have to go into your Sim’s inventory—the little box icon—and find the sheet music scrawled on a piece of paper. Clicking that paper is the only way to "Resume Writing." If you click the instrument again and hit "Write Song," you’re just starting a brand new, empty progress bar. Don’t do that. You’ll end up with a dozen unfinished scraps and zero royalties.
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Why it feels so slow
The developers at Maxis designed the music career to be a "long-tail" reward system. Unlike the painting career where you get a lump sum immediately, songwriting is about passive income. Because that income repeats every day at 10:00 AM, the "cost" to create the asset is intentionally high.
If your Sim has the Creative trait, they might get Inspired more often, which helps, but it doesn't actually speed up the physical animation of the bar filling up. The Musing reward trait (from choosing a Creative aspiration) provides a better boost to skill gain while inspired, but again, the song duration is a fixed value in the game's tuning files.
Licensed to Kill (Your Patience)
So you finished the song. Great. You named it something silly like "Plumbob Blues." Now you want the money.
You head to the mailbox. You see the option to "License Song." You feel a sense of accomplishment. Then you realize you can only license one song per instrument per week. This is the biggest bottleneck in the game. Even if you are a virtuoso who has written ten symphonies, the music industry in The Sims 4 is apparently run by a very slow bureaucracy. You can license a guitar song on Monday and a piano song on Tuesday, but you can't license a second guitar song until the following Monday.
Breaking down the Royalties
The payouts are... okay. They aren't going to make you a millionaire overnight like the "Making Money" scenario might. Usually, you’re looking at anywhere from §100 to §500 per day per song. It adds up. If you have five songs licensed across different instruments, you're bringing in a steady §2,000 a day without lifting a finger.
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- Piano: Often yields slightly higher base royalties.
- Violin: Great for "Classical" vibes and decent mid-range pay.
- Guitar: Most accessible but the royalty range is wildly inconsistent.
- Lyrics: If you use the microphone, you can write lyrics, which counts as its own category.
Pro-Tips for the Aspiring Rockstar
If you're serious about the Sims 4 write songs life, you need to optimize the environment. Sims work faster and stay in the zone longer if the room is decorated to provide an Inspired aura. Put up those career reward plaques or high-quality paintings.
Also, get the Professional Woodwork Workbench and craft some instruments if you have the skill. Playing a "Masterwork" guitar that you built yourself doesn't technically speed up the writing, but it ensures your Sim's "Play" and "Practice" sessions before writing maximize their mood.
The "Inspired" Loop
- Take a Thoughtful Shower. This is the easiest way to get the +1 Inspired moodlet.
- Browse Art on the computer or "Pluck for Inspiration" on the guitar.
- Ensure your Sim is "Very Inspired" before clicking that sheet music in the inventory.
- Keep a "Potion of Plentiful Needs" (from the Rewards Store) handy so you don't have to stop for bathroom breaks.
Common Glitches and How to Fix Them
Sometimes, the "Write Song" action just... breaks. Your Sim stands there, resets (the T-pose reset), and the sheet music disappears. If this happens, it’s usually because of a routing issue. Make sure there’s plenty of space around the chair or bench they are using.
Another weird quirk? If you travel to a different lot while a song is in progress, sometimes the progress resets or the sheet music gets stuck in a "Read Only" state. Always try to finish a song on your home lot. It's safer.
Also, if you're using mods like MC Command Center, you can actually "cheat" the speed of the songwriting process if you find the grind truly unbearable. Many players use UI Cheats Extension to just right-click that progress bar and be done with it. We won't judge. The vanilla timing is genuinely punishing.
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Getting Into the Mix Master Station
If you have Get Famous, the Sims 4 write songs experience changes a bit. You can use the Mix Master Music Station to produce tracks. This is much faster than the traditional instrument method. You "Remix" or "Produce" a track, then you can release it immediately through a label.
It's a different vibe—more DJ, less singer-songwriter—but if you want the "World Famous Celebrity" status without the 12-hour guitar sessions, this is the path to take. You still get royalties, and you can even sign with labels like Maxis Music Machine or Dinky Beats for different multipliers on your earnings.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Session
Ready to dominate the charts? Here is how you should handle your Sim's musical career starting right now.
- Check your Inventory: First thing, look for any purple or white sheet music icons. Those are your unfinished projects.
- The 3-Hour Rule: Don't try to write the whole song at once. Dedicate 3 Sim-hours every morning after a Thoughtful Shower. You’ll finish the song in about four days without losing your mind.
- Diversify: Don't just stick to the guitar. Get to Level 8 in Piano and Violin too. This allows you to have three different royalty checks coming in simultaneously since the one-week cooldown is instrument-specific.
- Keep the "Inspired" Moodlet Active: Use the "Lump of Clay" trick. Playing with clay can often trigger the Inspired emotion quickly without needing a shower or a computer.
- Watch the Mailbox: Mark your calendar. If you licensed a song on a Tuesday, be ready to license the next one the following Tuesday morning. Don't waste those potential royalty days.
The grind is real, but there’s something genuinely satisfying about seeing your Sim's name in the notification pop-up every morning. It’s the closest thing to "winning" the creative career path in the game. Just remember: it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Keep that sheet music in your inventory, keep the coffee brewing, and eventually, your Sim will be the voice of a generation—or at least the voice of a very profitable 10:00 AM notification.