And The Writer Is...with Ross Golan

And The Writer Is
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Every 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... ™ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 1d ago

    Ep. 268: Ilya Salmanzadeh | How The Swedes Cracked Hit Songwriting and Why Most People Won't

    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! JOIN THE ATWI PATREON Monthly Zoom hangs, demo feedback, special guests and 200+ archived audio episodes (Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Shania Twain, Babyface and more): Patreon.com/andthewriteris THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR SPLICE Try Variations in the Splice Sounds plugin. It makes new versions of any Splice sample with a different structure, key and BPM, and the original creators get paid every time. Splice.com 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.

    Ep. 268: Ilya Salmanzadeh | How The Swedes Cracked Hit Songwriting and Why Most People Won't

  2. Oct 6

    Ep. 267: YG Opens Up. Bad Deals, Hit Records, and a Midlife Crisis

    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.

    Ep. 267: YG Opens Up. Bad Deals, Hit Records, and a Midlife Crisis

  3. Sep 29

    Ep. 266: Tinashe’s Guide to Making It on Your Own Terms

    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.

    Ep. 266: Tinashe’s Guide to Making It on Your Own Terms

  4. Sep 22

    Ep. 265: How Remi Wolf Built Her Career: Study the Greats, Take the Gig, Say Yes

    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.

    Ep. 265: How Remi Wolf Built Her Career: Study the Greats, Take the Gig, Say Yes

  5. Sep 19

    And The Update Is...Ella Langley Makes Billboard History, UMG Sues DistroKid & Songwriters Fight for Healthcare

    And The Update Is…a weekly beat on the industry . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    And The Update Is...Ella Langley Makes Billboard History, UMG Sues DistroKid & Songwriters Fight for Healthcare

  6. Sep 15

    Ep. 264: How Aaron Dessner Became an Industry Favorite and the 3AM Text That Became 'folklore'

    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.

  7. Sep 8

    Ep. 263: Ziggy Marley on Family Rules for Life, Music, and Success

    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.

    Ep. 263: Ziggy Marley on Family Rules for Life, Music, and Success

  8. Sep 4

    And The Update Is...The Industry Mourns Dolly, AI Music, $11 BILLION in Ticket Fees & Ella Langley Takes Over the Charts

    And The Update Is…a weekly beat on the industry . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    And The Update Is...The Industry Mourns Dolly, AI Music, $11 BILLION in Ticket Fees & Ella Langley Takes Over the Charts
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About

Every 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... ™ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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