Stay ConnectedEvery week, we sit down with an acclaimed and venerable songwriter to intimately discuss what happens behind closed doors in the music industry. There are millions of singers, thousands of artists, and only 40 top songs per genre at a time… this podcast is about the people who make them. Produced by Joe London & Ross Golan in association with Big Deal Music & Mega House Music. And The Writer Is… ™
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Copyright: © And The Writer Is
Today's guest is the Swedish producer and songwriter behind "Problem," "Into You," "Love Me Like You Do," "No Tears Left To Cry," "Santa Tell Me," and "Unholy,".
He finally sits down with Ross for an And The Writer Is interview ten years in the making.
He taught himself to make music from a demo CD that came in a cereal box.
A radio singing contest got him discovered, and he signed a publishing deal at 17.
It then took him ten years to land his first real hit. He tells Ross how a year of playing FIFA with Shellback led to Wolf Cousins, and what Max Martin's famous "math" actually is.
If you've ever wondered how the biggest pop songs of the last decade actually get finished, this one's for you
And The Writer Is... Ilya Salmanzadeh!
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CHAPTERS
0:00 Cold open: what Max Martin's "math" really means
1:32 Welcome Ilya Salmanzadeh
3:12 What MXM is: "like Real Madrid signed me"
4:46 Jantelagen: why Swedes won't brag
9:57 Born in Iran, raised in Denmark
16:22 A cereal-box CD and teaching himself music
19:54 The hits: Problem, Into You, Unholy and more
21:32 Early influences: Tracy Chapman, Michael Jackson, hip-hop
24:50 Why the world's biggest pop writers live in Stockholm
27:14 Wanting to be an R&B artist
32:36 The radio singing contest that got him discovered
37:26 Ten years from publishing deal to first hit
39:09 Telemarketing and Apple tech support
43:08 The immigrant drive to prove he belongs
46:21 His first cut: the Bratz album
48:20 A year of FIFA with Shellback and the birth of Wolf Cousins
52:37 The MXM pop family tree
54:21 Competition vs. family inside MXM
58:40 Max Martin: "Why aren't you in LA?"
1:00:41 What Max Martin taught him about songwriting
1:03:13 "Problem": Savan Kotecha's original voice memo
1:08:59 The morning "Problem" hit #1 on iTunes
1:10:57 His father and the number he keeps seeing
1:14:31 Weeks on one pre-chorus: making "Into You"
1:21:55 "Love Me Like You Do" started as a Sunday hang
1:27:08 Producer vs. writer credits: "Bad Blood" and "Bang Bang"
1:31:42 His creative wavelength with Ariana Grande
1:32:23 "No Tears Left To Cry" breaking the pop rules
1:34:00 "God is a woman" was almost for Beyoncé and JAY-Z
1:35:48 Ariana Grande as a producer1:37:27 "Unholy": the hotel staff, Max and his daughter
1:44:20 When a release doesn't hit
1:47:11 14-hour days: how he finishes so much music
1:48:57 Chris Martin, Coldplay and the "mind movie"
1:52:17 Why he keeps working with new artists (Tate McRae, LISA)
1:54:53 "eternal sunshine" vs. "petal": the two-room process
1:56:54 "Santa Tell Me" and chasing a Christmas classic
1:59:24 Has Ilya finally proven his worth to himself?
And The Writer Is, hosted by Ross Golan, is a podcast about the songwriters, producers and artists behind the songs you love.
Instagram: instagram.com/andthewriteris
Hosted by Ross Golan
Produced by Joe London and Jad Saad
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Today’s guest is a multi-platinum rapper and songwriter who took Compton to the charts and gave the world “My Hitta,” “Who Do You Love?” and “Big Bank.”
From his debut album My Krazy Life to collaborations with Drake, Nipsey Hussle, and Nicki Minaj, he’s built a catalog that’s done serious damage to club speakers. Now, with The Gentlemen’s Club, he’s getting personal and reminding everyone there’s a storyteller behind the hits.
And The Writer Is…
YG!
In this episode we go deep on:
- The inspiration behind his new album
- The Def Jam singles deal with five album options: "I could have sued everybody"
- What he'd tell an 18-year-old holding a label offer
- Why having a catalog doesn't mean you own it
- What a YG session looks like: tequila, "next beat," and a BPM in his head
- How "FDT" got made with Nipsey, and why Def Jam wouldn't release it
- The night Nicki said "don't put this out without me"
- "Who Do You Love?": three months, hook writers, and Drake telling him to do it himself
And much more...
Hit subscribe and turn on notifications.
Every week, we go deep with the most interesting creatives in music.
Follow us on socials: @andthewriteris
A special thank you to our sponsors for making these conversations possible.
Our lead sponsor, our Patreon!
Patreon.com/andthewriteris
And @splice — the best sample library on the market. Period.
Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:32 Hiring a "Hitman"
8:07 "Were you ever suicidal?" and the homies who said "same"
9:10 Chin up, chest out: what the streets never let you say
10:28 "2004," the song he cut from the album
24:31 Turning himself in while his song blew up, and the label that called his mom
27:31 Signing young: "I could have sued everybody"
28:24 Ross: athletes get rookie orientation, artists get "good luck"
34:57 What he'd tell an 18-year-old holding a label offer
39:40 The masters trap: you have a catalog, but you don't own it
41:30 What a session with YG actually looks like
47:39 Why he made Gentleman's Club: "they were playing with my name"
50:10 How "Hollywood" with Shoreline Mafia got made
53:51 How "FDT" happened with Nipsey, and why Def Jam passed
59:40 Meeting Nipsey: two different gangs, one mission
1:05:56 How do you stay brave when the people around you get killed?
1:10:59 The night "My Hitta" got made
1:13:03 "Big Bank": Nicki says don't put it out without me
1:18:15 What he knows at 36 that he didn't at 20: the streets don't love you back
1:27:20 "Who Do You Love?": three months and Drake's "you do the hook"
1:30:02 What makes a Mustard beat different
Credits Hosted by Ross Golan
Produced by Joe London and Jad Saad
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Today’s guest is a singer, songwriter, producer and dancer who has spent her career trusting her own instincts—and building a world around them.
From “2 On” to “Nasty” and “No Broke Boys,” Tinashe has kept releasing music through major-label deals, independent projects and viral breakthroughs.
She’s collaborated with artists including Calvin Harris, Charli xcx and Kaytranada, and joins us to talk about the journey behind it all.
And The Writer Is... Tinashe!
Hit subscribe and turn on notifications.
Every week, we go deep with the most interesting creatives in music.
Follow us on socials: @andthewriteris
A special thank you to our sponsors for making these conversations possible.Splice, the best sample library on the market, period.
and our lead sponsor, our Patreon page!
We're still giving away free Universal Audio Recording Gear in our next zoom hang.
Join us on Patreon: patreon.com/andthewriteris
CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
0:46 Tinashe and Ross reconnect—back to The Stunners
3:48 “Deep in the Night”—the song she wrote at five
5:08 Tinashe’s French fry rankings
6:12 Child acting, Whoopi Goldberg, and moving to LA
9:11 Life in a girl group without creative control
11:22 Buying a microphone and building a bedroom studio
14:10 Getting signed—and expecting it to be easy
18:40 Join the ATWI Patreon
19:32 Splice: Sounds and Variations
20:39 Early Travis Scott sessions and being taken seriously in the studio
23:29 Recording 200 songs—and trusting the big producer’s opinion26:33 Trusting your gut and knowing when to leave a session
30:43 “2 On” takes off. What happens after the first hit?
36:03 Writing “2 On” in a garage with friends
37:37 Does having a hit teach you how to make one?
39:20 Leaving her label and rebuilding trust in her own ideas
43:29 What releasing music independently actually takes
46:10 Filming her own videos and building her visual world
48:14 How dancing shapes the way she writes songs
50:08 Working with a label again—and finding Ricky Reed
52:11 Getting the call from Calvin Harris
53:52 Why genre doesn’t define her music
55:19 “Nasty” takes off after she stops needing another hit
57:04 Why she won’t write for a TikTok trend
58:43 Charli xcx and finding freedom after early hits
1:00:41 The unexpected remix journey of “No Broke Boys”
1:03:31 Taking the Grammy off her lock screen after seven years
1:05:14 Making POPSTAR—and giving herself time to play
1:05:55 Which POPSTAR song fits every mood?
1:08:19 Claiming the pop star she’s always been
1:13:32 “Just don’t stop”—keep putting your music out
1:14:42 Her advice to young women in music: intuition
Credits
Hosted by Ross Golan
Produced by Joe London and Jad Saad
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Today’s guest is one of the most unmistakable voices in modern pop — an artist, songwriter and producer who has built a career by making music that sounds like nobody else. Her catalog has passed two billion global streams. She’s played top billing at festivals including Coachella, Lollapalooza and Outside Lands, opened for Olivia Rodrigo, Lorde and Paramore, and collaborated with artists including Nile Rodgers, Beck, Dominic Fike and Sylvan Esso.
And The Writer Is... Remi Wolf!
In this episode, we get into
- The USC training that rebuilt her voice
- Waiting tables and taking Craigslist gigs while building a career
- The 30-minute session behind “Photo ID,”
- Industry lessons for every artist to take notes on...
and much more.
Hit subscribe and turn on notifications. Every week, we go deep with the most interesting creatives in music.
Join us on Patreon: patreon.com/andthewriteris
Follow us on socials: @andthewriteris
A special thank you to our sponsors for making these conversations possible.
Our lead sponsor, NMPA — the National Music Publishers' Association. Your support means the world to us.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
0:40 “You can’t teach tone” — how Remi found hers
2:13 USC: “We’re going to beat you down until you feel like you’re nothing”
6:15 Fourteen, busking the Bay Area, and writing songs in Chloe’s kitchen
13:40 “Carousel” — the first song she ever wrote
15:41 A substitute teacher, an apartment, and her first recording
18:05 Ski racer by day, songwriter by night
19:05 Meeting Jared Solomon at 15 — then finding each other again
21:07 Applebee’s on tour — and the road to sobriety
24:04 Rehab, writing Juno sober, and why clarity changed the songs
29:02 “It’s not ready” — why she refused to release music in college
30:22 Six songs in one week — the reunion that started everything
34:24 Restaurant shifts and Craigslist gigs: how she paid to keep making music
39:26 The Sofar show that led to her first manager
42:39 “I had no expectations” — making music before the industry got involved
45:28 35,000 decisions a day — what creative control actually costs
49:22 “You have to start protecting yourself”
51:34 What is the goal? Redefining success
56:51 Her first album rollout sober
59:21 Social media, warped expectations, and screaming into the void
63:22 “Photo ID,” TikTok, and the accident that helped it explode
66:40 “Photo ID” took 30 minutes — and she thought it was horrible
70:15 Her first professional topline session: “I was overcome with social anxiety”
72:11 Why I’m Allergic to Dogs worked during lockdown
74:56 Why Juno is called Juno
78:50 Hayley Williams and singing with another “belt queen”
82:25 Five years of nonstop touring — and finally hitting pause
87:15 “I Won’t Cry” — her favorite song she’s ever written
89:15 “I was sick of the uptempo shit” — writing 130 songs for Mud
90:49 Her first pitch session was for BTS
92:34 Which Mud song fits every mood
94:10 “I’m the happiest I’ve been in my life”
Credits
Hosted by Ross Golan
Produced by Joe London & Jad Saad
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
And The Update Is…a weekly beat on the industry .
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Today's guest is a musician's musician who co-founded The National, the Grammy-winning band behind Boxer, High Violet and Sleep Well Beast.
He co-wrote and produced Taylor Swift's folklore and evermore, including cardigan and willow. folklore won Album of the Year at the Grammys.
He worked on The Tortured Poets Department and produced Ed Sheeran's Subtract.
He's behind Gracie Abrams' I Love You, I'm Sorry and Noah Kahan's Porch Light.
In the last year alone, he's made records with Mumford & Sons, Florence + the Machine, Brandi Carlile, Sam Barber, Kevin Morby and Suki Waterhouse.
He's one half of Big Red Machine with Bon Iver's Justin Vernon.
And he built Long Pond, the Hudson Valley studio where many of these songs were made.
And The Writer Is... Aaron Dessner!
Hit subscribe and turn on notifications. Every week, we go deep with the most interesting creatives in music.
Follow us on socials: @andthewriteris
A special thank you to our sponsors for making these conversations possible.
Amazon Music for Songwriters. Your support means the world to us.
And SONA — Songwriters of North America. If you write songs, join them. They fight for us.
0:00 Intro
1:00 Cardigan, willow, Porch Light — and eight albums in a year
5:26 Why "I Love You, I'm Sorry" was never the single
7:27 Secretly rooting for the weird song
8:17 When a pop star needs a single right now
10:25 Don't fill the space: how he walks into a session
12:12 Long Pond and "you never make a mistake investing in your creativity"
17:24 Twin brothers and their dad's jazz drums
22:48 "We faked it": how The National got signed
26:48 Playing to no one — then 500 strangers in Michigan
30:05 "Did you lose yourself?"
33:14 When one bandmate starts writing hits for other people
35:38 On stage with Taylor: "You're playing a stadium. It's okay."
37:27 "Hey, it's Taylor": the text in 2020
40:34 The Dropbox folder — and cardigan by 3 a.m.
47:45 The thank-you note that became willow
51:49 Meeting Gracie Abrams — and 2–3 songs a day
57:47 How an instrumentalist became the storyteller's whisperer
1:01:11 Why his albums don't get shelved: finishing Prizefighter
1:04:23 Studio stories: Gracie, Brandi Carlile, Florence, Sam Barber
1:11:40 Noah Kahan arrives burnt out — and Porch Light
1:15:41 Live Q&A: finding the corners, his first key change
1:18:24 Advice for musicians with day jobs
1:20:07 What all the greats have in common
Credits:
Hosted by Ross Golan
Produced by Joe London & Jad Saad
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Today's guest is a Grammy-winning songwriter, bandleader and activist who has spent four decades inside the most famous name in reggae — but whose real story isn't the inheritance. It's the set of rules underneath it, the ones the family actually lives by, which turn out to have almost nothing to do with music.
And The Writer Is... Ziggy Marley!
Subscribe to our channel and follow us on socials @andthewriteris Every week we go deep with the most interesting creatives in music.
A special thank you to our sponsors for making these conversations possible.
Our lead sponsor, NMPA — the National Music Publishers' Association. Your support means the world to us.
And @splice — the best sample library on the market. Period.
Chapters:
0:00 He inherited a legacy and built a voice of his own
0:45 Why reggae heals
4:53 What makes the Marley family so consistent
6:43 Seven kids, and the family business that isn't music
8:36 Why the whole album is tuned to 432
12:32 The one song he left at 440
16:06 What makes this album different from the other fifteen
18:11 Finishing the songs before going into the studio
20:37 Why he wrote "Many Mourn For Bob" 45 years later
24:54 Umbrella or shadow: being a Marley
26:39 The funeral, and the drive to Nine Miles
30:54 NMPA + Splice
33:15 Breaking the four-bar on "Racism"
36:03 "It sounds light, but it's heavy underneath"
38:37 What "Beach in Hawaii" is actually about
43:37 How he found out "Tomorrow People" was a hit
46:14 The Melody Makers, and the line you don't cross
49:15 "Create your own space"
53:45 Advice to the next Marleys
55:27 "You can't just ChatGPT life experience"
59:12 "When the fridge was empty, I was happy"
1:00:26 "I know my value"
1:03:07 "It's always new. Still a kid."
Credits:
Hosted by Ross Golan
Produced by Joe London & Jad Saad
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
And The Update Is…a weekly beat on the industry .
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Today's guest is an artist and songwriter whose career has taken him from teenage YouTube covers to working with Beyoncé, Tyler, The Creator, Brockhampton, Miley Cyrus and Jack Antonoff.
But this conversation is really about something bigger: How to build a career in music without losing yourself along the way.
Ryan talks about learning to trust his own taste, being grateful he never had a hit record, protecting what makes an artist special, and refusing to let success, algorithms or other people's expectations define him.
We also get into Boy in Jeans, Brockhampton, Tyler the Creator's unexpected DM, writing four songs on Cowboy Carter, the making of "Bruises Off the Peach," and his new album Sweet Fortune.
And The Writer Is... Ryan Beatty!
Subscribe for more conversations with the artists, songwriters and producers shaping music.
Follow us: @andthewriteris
A special thank you to our sponsors:
NMPA — the National Music Publishers' Association
Splice — the best sample library on the market. Period.
Chapters
0:00 Intro
1:36 The Greek, Hollywood Bowl & Pokémon evolutions
3:08 Being made fun of for singing
4:09 “I refuse to continue just being one thing”
8:32 Why being hard to define is freedom
9:52 How Ryan approaches a songwriting session
11:52 Teach people how to treat you
13:43 “I’m grateful I’ve never had a hit record”
14:12 What success feels like vs. what it looks like
20:08 “I didn’t feel smart enough to be a songwriter”
20:55 Boy in Jeans — finding his voice as a songwriter
26:42 Jack Antonoff and an unexpected Broadway placement
27:30 NMPA + Splice
29:19 His advice for artists going viral
31:55 The moment he decided to do it his way
34:06 Brockhampton, Kevin Abstract & finding confidence
37:05 Why Ryan never pitches songs
40:43 Tyler, The Creator’s unexpected DM
42:35 Dreaming of David, touring & burnout
44:52 Making “Bruises Off the Peach”
48:17 Finding his actual singing voice
50:30 Cowboy Carter — four songs, told nobody
54:30 Making Sweet Fortune & chasing timelessness
57:32 How he wants listeners to see themselves in his songs
59:36 Amy Allen, Clairo & making the studio a place of joy
1:04:25 “Doing this is scary for me”
Credits
Hosted by Ross Golan
Produced by Joe London & Jad Saad
Edited by Jad Saad
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Today's guest is the drummer who took punk out of the garage, put it on your radio, then on MTV, then on your body. But his real story isn't the discography. It's what he did with everything that was supposed to end him.
From a four-piece kit in Fontana to the center of the album cover, Travis carries three things simultaneously that most musicians never figure out how to hold at once: the craft of writing a drum part as a hook — singing it in his head before his hands ever get there; the conviction that no genre gets to own him, and no one else gets to write his ending; and the contrarian edge to ban Auto-Tune, editing, and drum samples from his own studio at the exact moment the rest of the industry is sprinting toward machine-clean.
And The Writer Is... Travis Barker!
Hit subscribe and turn on notifications. Every week, we go deep with the most interesting creatives in music.
Join us on Patreon: patreon.com/andthewriteris
We're giving away 4 pieces of premium recording gear on zoom on August 25th! Join Patreon for details.
Follow us on socials: @andthewriteris
A special thank you to our sponsors for making these conversations possible. Our lead sponsor, NMPA — the National Music Publishers' Association. Your support means the world to us. And @splice — the best sample library on the market. Period.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
1:51 Why the documentary sat for nine years
3:18 The producers pitch an ending: "Can you just walk onto a plane?"
4:51 Survivor's guilt: "They wouldn't want me to sit here and not fly again"
6:33 "The doc was dead to me" — and living your life like it's a movie
9:41 "I don't make beats." "Now you do. I need it in two days."
12:23 Beastie Boys, Bad Brains, Buck Owens — refusing the box
15:28 The drums are a hook, not a timekeeper
15:54 "That's not music" — the teacher who wouldn't teach him rock
17:25 How he actually writes a part: "I sing it in my head"
18:21 Learning the whole blink-182 set in an hour
21:29 Trash men in Laguna, and one store that sold their tape
22:52 The untitled album, and the day the process changed
25:57 The lyrics he wrote: "We'll have Halloween on Christmas"
27:15 "I Miss You" — the loop he had to convince them to keep
28:07 "You have to put your ego away to be a drummer who's a songwriter"
35:46 The burn center: "How am I going to play drums?"
36:25 The hand he couldn't feel, and why he told no one
43:20 "Too heavy for blink" — Boxcar Racer, and Mark
56:30 "There was no therapy for what happened"
1:10:19 What drummers should actually practice
1:19:29 AI: "I hate it" — no Auto-Tune, no editing, no samples
1:31:20 "All the Small Things" — the day Tom told him to open the valve
1:33:33 "Where's all the hits?" — the note that made Rock Show and First Date
1:35:15 "One More Time": writing about your own band breaking up
Credits:
Hosted by Ross Golan
Produced by Joe London and Jad Saad
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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