Hundreds of people crowded into the Barbie Club in Tel Aviv last week to see young musician Kfir Epstein in his festive debut performance. In spite of the large crowd, Epstein, 26, is still not a familiar name among the general public. On the other hand, he is already an active member of the music industry. Epstein is one of the many songwriters who are behind songs performed by familiar performers. We can assume, for instance, that none of the tens of thousands of fans who bought Harel Skaat's 2006 debut album would recognize Epstein in the street as the person who wrote the ballad "Im hu yelech" ("If He Goes") that is recorded on it.

More veteran singers than Skaat, including Gidi Gov, Rita, Nurit Galron, Arik Einstein and the late Zohar Argov, also have used the services of innumerable songwriters and composers over the years to create the songs that became identified with them. A substantial proportion of the veteran writers who are responsible for the songs that have become the "anthems" of Israeli music - including Haim Hefer, Tzruya Lahav, Yehonatan Gefen and Yaakov Rotblit - are still active; in recent years they have been joined by many others that produce the hits for today's stars, which then can be heard on telephone ringtones.

Many of the up-and- coming songwriters in the local music market are artists themselves, who have not yet made their mark as performers, or have already tried their luck in the past, unsuccessfully. The list of singers who owe their success to these songwriters includes Sarit Hadad, Maya Buskila, Idan Yaniv, Miri Mesika and of course the stars of "Kokhav Nolad" ("A Star is Born" - the Israeli version of "American Idol"), Ninet Tayeb and Skaat.

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Songs on commission

One of the songwriters who is in demand among the younger generation of performers is Dor Daniel, 24. Daniel composed the music for the song "Mashehu mimeni" ("Something From Me") that appears on the debut album by Skaat, who served with Daniel in one of the army entertainment troupes. Daniel also wrote the words and music for "Ahava ktana" ("Little Love"), performed by Shiri Maimon. Writing the two hits not only turned Daniel into a popular songwriter, but also led to a recording contract with Helikon. Soon he will be issuing his own debut album.

Daniel wrote "Mashehu mimeni" for himself when he was 17, but wrote "Ahava ktana" on commission. "It was my first attempt to examine whether I was capable of writing a song for a female singer," he says, explaining that many of the artists who turn to him don't hesitate to mention songs he has written already.

"Artists are not embarrassed to give examples and to say 'I want you to write me another "Ahava ktana."' That's fine with me. If someone liked the style of 'Mashehu mimeni,' I'll be happy to try to create something in that style for him. I didn't invent the wheel. I wrote a calm and pleasant ballad that acquired its additional value from Skaat's rendition. I don't have ego issues."

Daniel considers writing for other singers an "extra bonus," which at best will promote his own career. For Didi Shahar the opposite is true: Shahar, who wrote and composed Mesika's "Tipa tipa" ("Drop by Drop") and "Ba'a eleikhem" ("Coming to You"), and the hit "Metziut aheret" ("Other Reality"), sung by Eyal Golan, issued his own first solo album about two and a half years ago. Although the songs on the album received little exposure on the radio, they sparked many requests from performers.

Shahar says he is not bothered when a song that he has written reaches a high spot on the playlist: "I know that this may sound self-righteous, but when I hear another artist performing a song I wrote better than I do, I feel that I've succeeded. In most cases these are songs that I wrote in the first place for other artists, and they're very different from the style of the songs I write for myself. The songs that I write for myself have to be clever and sophisticated, and when I write for others I allow myself to write more simply and directly."

'Heart-to-heart talks'

Another artist who has tried his luck as a soloist - but has been most successful when helping others to become famous - is Amit Tzach, the son of producer Shlomo Tzach and singer Ilana Avital. Tzach, 28, is presently living in New York and working as a composer and musical producer. He composed, adapted and produced the music for the new album by Boaz Sharabi, "Linshom" ("Breathing"), as well as writing all the lyrics of the songs together with Sharabi. In the past he has also written and composed songs for Skaat, for Shlomit Aharon and for the James Boys band. In 2003 he came out with his debut album, "B'Shmoneh leyad hapsanter" ("Eight O'Clock Near the Piano").

Tzach claims he is not frustrated by the fact that his album was not a commercial success. "For me an album like that of Boaz Sharabi is my album, and I feel only pride in it. In my own album I chose a very noncommercial style, songs with piano accompaniment. If there were feelings of envy involved here, I wouldn't be able to work in the profession, plain and simple," he says, adding: "There's no question that as a musician I'm also motivated by ego, but if I want to succeed as a songwriter I have to put my ego back in its proper place."

Like many songwriters, Tzach works mostly on commission and in close cooperation with the performer. "I receive my inspiration from the artist," he explains. "First and foremost I have conversations with him and examine his point of view and what he wants to convey in the song. When the artist performs the song he has to feel as though he were the one who wrote it. In the case of Boaz we sat together on a daily basis for a year and conducted heart-to-heart talks about life, until the album was written."

Shahar, on the other hand, prefers to have little contact with the artist for whom he is writing. "The distance from the artist makes things easier for me," he admits. "In most cases I prefer to imagine the person and to try to guess by myself who he is. When I wrote "Ba'a eleikhem," I listened to Miri Mesika's songs, and from her voice I pictured someone who was very connected to her parents' home. This game is what leaves me room for imagination."

Tzach, Daniel and Shahar still dream of succeeding as performers as well, while other of their colleagues have chosen to give up center stage. Itai Zilberstein, 36, has since 2001 issued two albums with Meir Amar, his partner in the Na'arei Raful (Raful's Boys) duo. In spite of achieving a certain fame, Zilberstein and Amar - a member of the Teapacks band, familiarly known as "Big M" - experienced their first real breakthrough when they wrote "Ktzat meshuga'at" ("A Little Crazy"), which appeared on the Sarit Hadad album "Rak ahava tavi ahava" ("Only Love Will Bring Love"). As a result of the song's success, the two were asked to write lyrics and compose music for Mesika and Gali Atari. They also wrote "Ani lo zamin" ("I'm Unavailable") for Moshik Afia, which became a hit.

Zilberstein says that his decision to concentrate on writing was a conscious one. "I couldn't stand the business of being photographed and interviewed for television," he explains. "We performed on [Eli] Yatzpan's program three years ago, after the first album came out, and during the performance I felt so pressured and suffered so much that we decided to put an end to the story. I finally understood that this entire business of exposure is really not for me."

For him the greatest pleasure is behind the scenes. "To arrive at a performance and hear thousands of people singing the song you wrote is absolutely great," Zilberstein says. "It's like going to your son's high-school graduation and hearing that he's an outstanding student. There's no greater source of enjoyment and pride."

Barak Feldman, who is known thanks to his cooperation with Yoni Bloch, also prefers to remain on the sidelines. Feldman, who met Bloch via the Bama Hadasha (New Stage) Web site, wrote all the songs on Bloch's debut album together with him. Since then he has also cooperated with him in writing the songs that accompany the opening credits of "Hashir shelanu" ("Our Song," a popular Israeli soap opera) and "A Star is Born." He also wrote all the songs in Efrat Gosh's debut album.

"I'm very uncomfortable with the whole business of exposure and the celebrity culture," says Feldman, 35, who earns his living from a job in high-tech. "I really enjoy being in a position of someone who is influential and creates successful songs, but at the end of the day doesn't have to be the one who is recognized on the street."