There are plenty of musicians out there that are known for their talents when it comes to songwriting. Of course, they write amazing material for themselves, but they also tend to branch out and write for others. There are times where they use their own name to receive writing credit when they write a song for another artist, while sometimes they opt to use a pseudonym.

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When a musician uses a pseudonym when they're writing music whether it's for themselves or someone else, it's a way to take the spotlight off of themselves. It becomes less of "this is the song so-and-so wrote" and puts more of a focus on the performer of the song. Some of the most famous people in the music industry have used pseudonyms and most of us didn't even know it!

9 Taylor Swift (Nils Sjöberg)

We all know by now that Taylor Swift is an amazing songwriter. Yes, she's written some amazing songs for her own albums over the years, but not many people know that she also writes for some other artists, but she doesn't use her own name. Instead, she uses a pseudonym as a writing credit instead of Taylor Swift.

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Taylor has been known to use many pseudonyms, and one of them is Nils Sjöberg. She used Nils Sjöberg when she secretly co-wrote the song "This Is What You Came For" by ex Calvin Harris featuring Rihanna. By using the fake name, no one knew she even wrote the song, and she didn't take the spotlight from Calvin or Rihanna.

8 Joe Alwyn (William Bowery)

Taking a page out of his girlfriend's book, Joe Alwyn has also dabbled in a bit of songwriting, and thanks to Taylor Swift, he used a pseudonym to do so. Using the name William Bowery, Joe co-wrote a total of five songs for Taylor — "exile" and "betty" on folklore and "champagne problems," "coney island," and "evermore" on her second surprise album, evermore. Of course, he used the name to keep the attention off of himself, but Taylor's fans being the investigators that they are, soon figured out their little secret.

Mick Jagger & Keith Richards (The Glimmer Twins)

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It's no secret that Rolling Stones members Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are the best of friends and have been for decades now. Not only did they play together in the same band, but they also did a lot of songwriting together. They've written a majority of the Rolling Stones' songs and have also co-produced a majority of the Rolling Stones' albums too. When you look up the music they've created, you might not always see their names together, as they've come to use a pseudonym — The Glimmer Twins. The name covers them both and you can spot them using that pseudonym on a number of occasions.

7 John Lennon

John Lennon is one of the most famous singers and songwriters who were once in The Beatles. Even after his tragic death, he's still one of the most famous people in the music industry, as his legacy still carries on today. When he was still alive, he did a lot of songwriting, not just for himself and The Beatles, but for other musicians as well. He had a number of pseudonyms that he constantly used and rotated over the years. His most popular pseudonym was Dr. Winson O'Boogie, but also used other names such as Mel Torment, Rev. Fred Ghurkin, and even John O'Cean.

6 Paul McCartney (Bernard Webb)

Paul McCartney is another insanely famous singer and songwriter who was once part of The Beatles. Much like John Lennon, Paul did a lot of songwriting not only for himself but for others as well. In fact, he once used a pseudonym to see if he could have a song be a hit without having to use his name.

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He used the pseudonym Bernard Webb to write a song called "Woman" that he gave to Peter Asher and Gordon Waller. It turns out that Paul had a knack for songwriting (like we ever had a doubt) as the song went to #14 on the US pop charts and #28 in the UK. It proves that he can write good music and have it be successful without having to use his name.

5 Elton John (Reginald Dwight)

Elton John is one of the most famous musicians in the world. Elton wrote a number of songs using a pseudonym. He didn't always give these songs to others, but he did keep a majority of them for himself. Elton used the name Reggae Dwight as his pseudonym while writing, and it was actually a play on his real name, Reginald Dwight. A lot of the songs that he wrote under the pseudonym were for his double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, among a few other songs.

4 Neil Young (Bernard Shakey)

Neil Young is another incredible musician who was known to use a pseudonym. Unlike the other musicians on this list, he tended to use his pseudonym a little more when it came to directing rather than writing music. As a result, he's directed or co-directed a number of films over the years while using the pseudonym Bernard Shakey. These films include Journey Through the PastRust Never Sleeps, and Human Highway. Regardless if it's in music or in film, Neil uses his pseudonym in order to not have his real name overshadow the project.

3 Prince (Jamie Starr)

Prince was an incredible and one-of-a-kind musician that the music world will forever miss. Of course, Prince was known for his own music, but he was also known for writing music for other musicians. Instead of writing under his own name to overshadow the performer, Prince would use a pseudonym so no one would know who was doing the writing. For example, Prince wrote the song "Jungle Love" for the band Time. When you look at the writing credits, you won't see the name Prince. Instead, you'll see his pseudonyms Jamie Starr and The Starr Company.

2 George Harrison (L'Angelo Misterioso)

Yet another member of The Beatles on the list, George Harrison has also used a pseudonym when it comes to writing music. George once wrote a song called "Badge" alongside Eric Clapton that would go on to appear on the album Goodbye by Cream. Because there were contractual issues with The Beatles, he was not able to use his real name on the song. Therefore, he opted to use the pseudonym L'Angelo Misterioso. He would also use this same pseudonym when he played rhythm guitar for Jack Bruce's first solo album.

1 Harry Styles (Mick Greenberg)

Since breaking out into the music world with One Direction, we've come to learn that Harry Styles is he's an amazing songwriter. One Direction fans figured out that Harry actually has a pseudonym and has written music for others. When X-Factor USA winners Alex and Sierra released their song "I Love You," it was noted that one of the writers was Mick Greenberg. Many fans were able to connect the dogs and figure out that Harry used the name. He's been noted saying that he's used the name Mick Green to check into hotels before, not to mention when you search that name on The American Society of Composers, it connects you to Harry's name! Looks like Harry is also familiar with pseudonyms.

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