Making the Cut
Seven essential shows highlighting creators and collaborators dive deep into how inspiration becomes a finished recording
Songwriting has long been at the core of music, and for a time, it was one of the surest ways to make a living. Today’s industry, driven by streams and fractional royalty rates, has made it harder for writers to sustain the craft, but that won’t stop the talented from trying.
The boom in podcasts about song creation proves songcraft has universal appeal. Some episodes put recognizable names and faces in the guest seat, but many spotlight the unseen creatives behind the scenes.
Although you don’t have to be a musician to ask how it’s done, many of these podcasts are hosted by professional songwriters. What they share is an emphasis on the relentless hard work it takes to land a first hit, and the continued graft to keep the momentum going. The message is clear: it’s not glamorous, but once a song connects with people, it’s totally worth it.
Here are seven songwriting podcasts we recommend, ordered by launch date from longest-running to newest.
Sodajerker on Songwriting
Liverpool-based musician duo Simon Barber and Brian O’Connor, professionally known as Sodajerker, have been hosting the Sodajerker on Songwriting podcast for 15 years. Delving deep into the songwriting process with classic and current creators, they have welcomed Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Jimmy Webb, and Todd Rundgren and, more recently, Chaka Khan and Phil Collins. Episodes focus on specific landmark songs while also spotlighting each guest’s current release, and often providing revealing insight. The award-winning podcast spawned the BBC World Service documentary The Secrets of Songwriting, and as of 2020, its interview archive is housed at the British Library.
Song Exploder
Hrishikesh Hirway’s Song Exploder is many music lovers’ gateway podcast to the songwriting world. Launched in 2014, the series has more than 300 episodes, each dissecting a single song in under half an hour. An accomplished musician who has released albums as The One AM Radio, Hirway turned to podcasting after a bout of writer’s block, hoping to find a breakthrough in fellow musicians’ creative processes. The popular show took on a life of its own, however, becoming his day job and spawning a Netflix series. It goes from strength to strength with recent guests like Elvis Costello, Olivia Rodrigo, and Charli XCX.
Switched on Pop
Podcasters turned authors Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding have been examining Top 40 songs since 2014 to decipher why they became hits and what we, as listeners, are responding to. A professor of musicology and a songwriter/music educator, respectively, the pair’s approach is both academic and forensic. Episodes sometimes feature artists, among them Carly Rae Jepsen, Tove Lo, and Lizzy McAlpine. More often, the two analyze the music in granular detail. The series spawned a book, Switched On Pop: How Popular Music Works and Why It Matters (2019), and the podcast is featured on Netflix.
Editor’s picks
And the Writer Is…With Ross Golan
Being featured on And the Writer Is… has become a badge of honor for song creators. Hosted by acclaimed songwriter Ross Golan, who has penned hits for Selena Gomez, Jason Derulo, and Celine Dion, the weekly podcast offers a peek behind the scenes at how the song sausage is made. Guests have included Finneas, Bebe Rexha, Ryan Tedder, and Ziggy Marley. Geared toward music professionals and fans alike, the series has more than 250 episodes. Running over an hour, each conversation unpacks the songwriting process and the guest’s musical journey, focusing as much on the hard times as the successes.
Songwriters on Process
Songwriters on Process zeroes in on the writing more than the song, understandable given its host, Ben Opipari, holds a PhD in English language and literature. The project began in 2010 as written interviews with songwriters and evolved in 2022 into a podcast about writers talking about writing, which could apply to songs or books. His far-reaching guest list runs from Julia Jacklin, Rostam, and Jason Newsted to Lucius and Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard. What sets the podcast apart is that Opipari is not a songwriter, but his love for music and the writing process is apparent in his thorough interview style.
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Songwriter Soup
Geared toward established and burgeoning songwriters, Songwriter Soup, hosted by Grammy-nominated songwriter Laura Veltz, is an invaluable resource. The industry- and lifestyle-focused podcast serves as an audio handbook for songwriters, sharing best practices and insider pro tips for surviving and thriving in this difficult-to-navigate creative space. Among the experts Veltz has welcomed are Tayla Parx, Gabe Simon, and Joybeth Taylor who kicked off the series’ fifth season. This season also marks Songwriter Soup as an official nonprofit, expanding its reach beyond conversation to practical ways for songwriters to protect themselves professionally and personally.
Unfamous With Justin Tranter
Justin Tranter could have retired long ago, having penned multiple billion-streaming hits such as Justin Bieber’s “Sorry,” Imagine Dragons’ “Believer,” and Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” Instead, the Grammy nominee has expanded his reach into various fields, including the podcast Unfamous, where he chats with shapers of pop culture, including industry decision-makers and music creators. Guests come in pairs: the celebrity, so to speak, and the collaborator who helped get them where they are. Launched earlier this year, the podcast has already dissected the careers of Katy Perry, Melanie Martinez, Troye Sivan, and Debbie Gibson, among others.