This quote always comes to mind when a discussion of songwriting rules is going on. 

For the artist, the dilemma seems obvious: risk rejection by exploring new worlds, or court acceptance by following well-explored paths. 

Art & Fear-David Bayles, Ted Orland

Every time you present a song for critique that doesn't follow

certain crafting guidelines you can expect to see that noted on your lyric sheets.

And most definitely will hear about it during the discussion period.

I attend a session hosted by a Publishing Company based in Nashville.

They spoke about needing the next new thing. Something different. Songs to stand out from the crowd. Told us what were are hearing now is already old;

if you wrote to mimic current radio songs by the time your song was recorded and released it would be passe. They wanted the next new thing now.

After the lecture they held a critique session.

Songs were judged by their idea of acceptable structure ( verse, verse, chorus, verse, bridge, chorus ) and content ( tailgates, tan lines, tattoos, tequila ).

I sat there wondering how they were ever going to find something 

new and different.

Ten or twenty years from now songs may not have verses. They could be nothing but choruses and bridges. The new acceptable guidelines might be chorus, bridge, chorus. Nobody knows what the future holds. Especially now a days!

Nothing new will ever be created if we are held captive by current acceptable crafting guidelines. This is true of all art forms.

The audience doesn't care about the structure or the names of the parts. 

Words and music put together make a song.

They want to be entertained.