Explore every episode of the podcast Hitmakers Exposed

Alex shares some special, surreal, moments from his journey through music: From kid Pasco, fiddling with hand-me-down devices and watching Paul McCartney on Tv to, becoming 6x Grammy Award winning audio engineer, mixer and producer, working with Paul McCartney and other major artists in person.

Alex won Grammy Album and Record of the year awards in 2016 for his work on Adele’s ‘25’,  Alternative Album and Best Engineered awards in 2018 for his work on Beck’s Album ‘Colors’, Best Engineered album in 2021, and Best Rock Album in 2022 for his work on the Foo Fighters album 'Medicine at Midnight'. Alex also won NAMM TEC Awards in both 2016 and 2019 for his work with Beck.

Hit Makers Exposed brings you the best advice out there, raw and uncensored, from experts who have walked the walk through the music business 🔥

To find out how we can help you, come and talk to our professionals

Get more from The Songwriting Academy and join the FREE Songwriting Community HERE

The best advice out there, raw and uncensored, from experts who have walked the walk through the music business 🔥

To find out how we can help you, come and talk to our professionals

Get more from The Songwriting Academy and join the FREE Songwriting Community HERE

A totally inspiring interview with Grammy nominee and music entrepreneur Nathan Cross. How to ride the highs and lows of the music business and still stay a good person.

Nathan is an acclaimed Music Producer & DJ from London, UK. Over the last few years his work has been championed by many of the world’s biggest DJ’s. His work has featured on many reputed independent Dance labels amongst the majors too. Having co-written 2019’s biggest dance hits ‘Piece of Your Heart’ by Meduza and official remixes for Bastille and Flume amongst others. On top of all this Nathan manages a relentless production schedule running his own studio and ghost producing for a large number of Djs and producers in the House scene.

The best advice out there, raw and uncensored, from experts who have walked the walk through the music business 🔥

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I loved this conversation with two super cool professionals from the world of music in TV and Movies.

Mike Ladman is Senior Music Supervisor at Droga5. Since joining Droga5 in 2016, Mike  has developed the Music Department and manages music and audio capabilities across the agency and client roster. During this time, Mike has helped lead the agency to win over 25 music and advertising industry awards, notably four Cannes Lions, two D&AD Pencils, four Clios and six AMP awards, among others, across Droga5 clients such as Google, The New York Times, Hennessy and others. In 2018, Mike was named one of Billboard’s s Top Branding Power Players. He has been an international music delegate around the world at music festivals and conferences in Denmark, Amsterdam, Israel, Brazil and more. Prior to joining Droga5, he was a Music Producer at McCann for nearly seven years, where he provided music for clients, such as Microsoft, the United States Army, Verizon, MasterCard and more, across the agency’s roster. Mike received his first film credit managing the music supervision for an indie film, Tracktown, which premiered at the LA Film Festival in 2016. In his free time, you can find Mike DJing around New York City as DJ PuppyHiccups.

Nikolas Keenan (p.k.a. "shy niko") is a songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, engineer and music supervisor. Born and raised in Chicago, IL his career has spanned over 10+ years. It began under a poorly devised French artist moniker while doing remixes for major labels and independent releases with Kitsuné (Boys Noize, La Roux, Bloc Party). Formerly a full time Head of Music at global advertising agency VMLY&R, Nik has seen many sides to the creative industry from producing artists, to crafting original music for commercials, to leading music supervision for major brands. His original music can be heard across global brands like Apple, Meta, Google, Nike, J.P. Morgan Chase, Samsung, Puma, Sonos, Michael Kors, Coca-Cola, Coors, Sephora, Coach, Toyota, and many more. His music has also been featured on popular shows such as Hulu's The Kardashian's, ABC's Grown-ish, MTV's Siesta Key, HBO's ...And Just Like That and films on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and more. His music has also been featured by Chicago's very own, Lyrical Lemonade, and other major publications such as Pitchfork and Forbes. In the studio, Nik has collaborated with artists such as Skizzy Mars, Grouplove, Loren Gray, Ayelle, Piwa, and many more. He currently lives in Chicago and drinks way too much iced coffee.

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Pete Ganbarg is a 2-time Grammy Award-winning music business executive who is currently President of A&R for Atlantic Records and President of ATCO Records.

Pete began his career in A&R in 1989 at SBK Records through a mutual friendship with SBK founder Charles Koppelman's son, Brian Koppelman. Brian had previously encouraged Pete to join the label while student-teaching English in Middletown, Connecticut, stating “one day you have to work for my dad.” When SBK ceased operations in the late-1990s, Pete joined Clive Davis at Arista Records as Sr. Director, A&R. The first artist he worked with at Arista was Santana, for whom Pete conceived and A&R’d the 30× Platinum World Wide, 9X Grammy Winning Album of the Year, Supernatural.

In early 2001, Pete left Arista and joined Epic Records as Sr. Vice President, A&R.

Pete left Epic in late 2003 to start his own A&R consulting business, Pure Tone Music. Pure Tone's label clients included Arista Records, RCA Records, Virgin Records, and Atlantic Records. Company projects included albums by Daughtry, Kelly Clarkson, David Cook, Halestorm, Train, Santana, Kenny G, Aaron Neville, America, Donna Summer, and Chaka Khan.

He joined Atlantic Records as Executive Vice President/Head of A&R in mid-October 2008 and was named President of A&R in late 2017.

As of 2021, he also hosts "Rock & Roll High School," a podcast interview series that spotlights figures from the history of contemporary music.

Ganbarg is a graduate of Wesleyan University. 

The best advice out there, raw and uncensored, from experts who have walked the walk through the music business 🔥

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I had the total pleasure of spending time chatting with my friend Bob Harris who has the most remarkable stories from a rich history in TV and Radio broadcasting.

From Marc Bolan to John Lennon, Bob. has spent time with pretty much every musical icon out there.  As Chris Martin from Coldplay put it...“Bob Harris is a straight-up legend”.

Enjoy!

The best advice out there, raw and uncensored, from experts who have walked the walk through the music business 🔥

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Get more from The Songwriting Academy and join the FREE Songwriting Community HERE

I had the total pleasure of spending time chatting with my friend Bob Harris who has the most remarkable stories from a rich history in TV and Radio broadcasting.

From Marc Bolan to John Lennon, Bob. has spent time with pretty much every musical icon out there.  As Chris Martin from Coldplay put it...“Bob Harris is a straight-up legend”.

Enjoy!

The best advice out there, raw and uncensored, from experts who have walked the walk through the music business 🔥

To find out how we can help you, come and talk to our professionals

Get more from The Songwriting Academy and join the FREE Songwriting Community HERE

Will joins us from his new home in Los Angeles to talk songwriting, production, KPop Mega-hits and a journey through alcoholism and addiction. to sobriety. One of the funniest and most charming people in the music business, this episode is a must-listen.

Will has produced and co-written records for acts as diverse as Aloe Blacc, Girls Generation, Loona, The Pussy Cat Dolls, VIZE X Papa Roach, WSTRN, Sean Kingston, Exo, Lady Leshurr, HRVY, The Vamps, Boa, Eve, Klingande, Red Velvet, Cliq, Eve, Robin M, Lost Frequencies & Love Harder to name just a few. Will is included on the Billboard "Songs That Defined The Decade" for his huge groundbreaking single for Girls Generation "I Got A Boy" which reached #1 on the Billboard World Chart. The single appeared on the Time Magazine list for best songs at the #5 position. Billboard said it was one of the most forward-thinking lead pop singles heard in any country."I Got A Boy" also appears on the "100 best K Pop songs" via Billboard. Will went on to produce and co-write "Wolf" for Exo and "Happiness" for Red Velvelt two further groundbreaking huge K Pop smash hit singles that are synonymous with the K Pop genre.

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An inspirational conversation with a multi-million selling hit songwriter in both pop and country music.

Sharon is a multi platinum songwriter who started her career in music in her home state, Florida,  as a singer.

She spent years as a session singer (Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, George Jones and many others) until her first recorded song hit for the Oak Ridge Boys, followed shortly by the iconic, MY HEROES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN COWBOYS, by Waylon Jennings and then recorded by Willie Nelson on OSCAR winning soundtrack of The Electric Horseman film.

After enjoying long term success as a country music songwriter, she moved to Stockholm in 2008 and penned Agnes’ worldwide hit, RELEASE ME and continues to travel back and forth between Europe and the States composing all genres of music… including scores for musical theatre in Europe and The States.

Sharon is a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame

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Behind the hits with extraordinary songwriter/producer Sam Hollander.

As one of the most renowned, multi-platinum songwriters and producers in the game, Sam Hollander has written and produced for the likes of Panic! At The Disco, One Direction, Fitz and the Tantrums, Weezer, Katy Perry, Blink-182, Ringo Starr, Def Leppard, Carole King, Billy Idol, Jewel, Train, Tom Morello and Gym Class Heroes amongst many others. To date, he’s achieved 22 US Top 40 Hits, as well as 10 Number 1's, 10 top fives, and 87 Top 10 chart positions globally. His songs have been streamed over 7 billion times, and in 2019, he held the #1 position on the Billboard Rock Songwriters Chart for nine weeks, a year-end record. Sam has also been chosen to be on Variety's Hitmakers list, as well as being named Rolling Stone's Hot List Producer of the Year.

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Continued chat with Andy Ross, award-winning music supervisor and executive music producer with over 30 years of diversified experience in the music industry, including stints as artist manager, label chief, and publisher.

Andy won a Guild of Music Supervisors Award for his music supervision on director Damien Chazelle’s three-time Academy Award winning jazz movie Whiplash, and has been responsible for music supervision and curation of music in over 200 film, TV and advertising projects. As manager of UK band Psapp he helped land them the theme song to the award winning ABC show ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, currently gearing up for its 18th season after 365 episodes. He has commissioned over 100 original songs by writers such as Diane Warren, Dr John, Conor Oberst, Gary Numan & Howard Jones.

Currently he is the Creative Director and co-founder at Exit Strategy Productions where he oversees all aspects of creative music production and works on the development, creation and production of feature films and TV projects.

The best advice out there, raw and uncensored, from experts who have walked the walk through the music business 🔥

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An intimate chat with Andy Ross, an award-winning music supervisor and executive music producer with over 30 years of diversified experience in the music industry, including stints as artist manager, label chief, and publisher.

Andy won a Guild of Music Supervisors Award for his music supervision on director Damien Chazelle’s three-time Academy Award winning jazz movie Whiplash, and has been responsible for music supervision and curation of music in over 200 film, TV and advertising projects. As manager of UK band Psapp he helped land them the theme song to the award winning ABC show ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, currently gearing up for its 18th season after 365 episodes. He has commissioned over 100 original songs by writers such as Diane Warren, Dr John, Conor Oberst, Gary Numan & Howard Jones.

Currently he is the Creative Director and co-founder at Exit Strategy Productions where he oversees all aspects of creative music production and works on the development, creation and production of feature films and TV projects.

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Fabulous stories from a 40 year career in the business. From jamming with Queen at a weird party with painted naked people in glass cases to angry neighbours kept awake by The Beach Boys practising in his New York apartment at 3am.

Larry's career has been all the way there and back, with some wonderful life defining moments along the way.

Larry Dvoskin is a Grammy nominated musician, #1 best selling author, entrepreneur, investor, music consultant and freelance writer for Rolling Stone magazine.

In a variety of roles his credits  include David Bowie, Sammy Hagar, Bono, MGMT, Sean Lennon, Al Jardine of The Beach Boys, Unicef, UN, RCA, EMI, Warner Brothers, MTV, CBS, ABC, and as a creator and executive producer has sold television shows sold to NBC, MTV, Logo, and others

He has taught Songwriting at the NYU School of Professional Studies for 22 years and is the Founder and President of Do What You Love Media, Miracle Music Inc, and Cool Guy Music Inc.

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Carving a unique place in the business world with his Keynote Concerts, Tiamo has identified a way to make a great living doing what he loves most...making music.

Tiamo De Vettori has spoken to over 100,000 people on 250+ stages at conferences and seminars and combines speaking with original live music to deliver “Keynote Concerts”.

Tiamo was named L.A. Music Award’s “Singer/Songwriter of the Year”, is a #1 best selling published author, appeared as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel’s stage, and was featured as a “Coach to Watch” by the Amazing Women and Men of Power Magazine.

Tiamo also leads his own sold out seminars for aspiring speakers and inspirational music artists from around the world.

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Fabulous stories from a 40 year career in the business. From jamming with Queen at a weird party with painted naked people in glass cases to angry neighbours kept awake by The Beach Boys practising in his New York apartment at 3am.

Larry's career has been all the way there and back, with some wonderful life defining moments along the way.

Larry Dvoskin is a Grammy nominated musician, #1 best selling author, entrepreneur, investor, music consultant and freelance writer for Rolling Stone magazine.

In a variety of roles his credits  include David Bowie, Sammy Hagar, Bono, MGMT, Sean Lennon, Al Jardine of The Beach Boys, Unicef, UN, RCA, EMI, Warner Brothers, MTV, CBS, ABC, and as a creator and executive producer has sold television shows sold to NBC, MTV, Logo, and others

He has taught Songwriting at the NYU School of Professional Studies for 22 years and is the Founder and President of Do What You Love Media, Miracle Music Inc, and Cool Guy Music Inc.

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The fascinating world of string orchestration and composition is unveiled by Grammy award winning Steve Sidwell in this open chat about his work, the artists he has worked with and the highs in his life we would all love to experience.

Steve has featured on numerous albums, television shows, advertising campaigns and films with his distinctive and innovative orchestrations and compositions.

Steve’s has produced some outstanding and award winning specialist commissions. Including ‘Elements and Motion’ written for the 79th Academy Awards and the sensational ‘Honda Choir’. Steve’s 2015 GRAMMY Award was for the Best Musical Theatre Album for the original cast album Beautiful: The Musical; Steve was also nominated for a Tony Award for Best Orchestration for Beautiful The Carole King Musical.

With album credits from Robbie Williams to Dame Shirley Bassey, Steve has performed professionally with many international artists. Contributions to movie tracks include Moulin Rouge, Romeo & Juliet, Bridget Jones’ Diary to name but a few.

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Wonderful music business stories including the day Phil angrily swore at Paul McCartney.

Phil is principally known as a songwriter and musician and for co-writing and recording "Karma Chameleon", one of the biggest hits of the 1980s era with Boy George and Culture Club during his tenure as keyboard player and backing vocalist for the group on every live performance throughout the world during the 1980s. 

Prior to this, Pickett co-founded hit-making pop band Sailor in 1973 which achieved considerable chart-topping success in the mid-1970s glam rock period and with whom he still regularly performs to the present day. 

Pickett's songs have also been recorded by many other artists including Labi Siffre, Sheena Easton, Georgie Fame, Joe Cocker, Brian Kennedy and Malcolm McLaren, used in countless TV commercials and included in the soundtrack of Hollywood films Electric Dreams, Top Secret!, The Lost Boys and his West End Musical Theatre debut, Casper The Musical.

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Martin chats with global hitmaker Shep about his life in music, the hits, the ups and downs and the state of the music today.  Shep has had over 140 of his songs recorded and released worldwide and continues to be one of the most sought after songwriters in the business.

Sheppard attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City. Upon graduation, he formed two bands, which were signed to EMI and SIRE respectively. During this time, Sheppard co-wrote material with other songwriters.

Upon deciding to focus on songwriting full-time, Sheppard went on to achieve 14 top 3 single positions in the United Kingdom and Europe, including his second UK number-one single, "Don't Stop Movin'" by S Club 7. This single also secured Solomon a BRIT Award for "Song of the Year".

After returning to song-writing in the United States Sheppard began co-writing cuts with artists such as Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Celine Dion, and Enrique Iglesias. He then went onto write Ryan Cabrera's “True” which charted at #4 CHR Pop and won Solomon a BMI award for Best Song.

Sheppard wrote the song “Shiver” for Natalie Imbruglia which went onto be a #1 Pan European airplay hit and Paris Hilton's first single “Stars Are Blind” which was a worldwide top #5 single. He has been also working with American singer Jessie Malakouti.

In 2011 Sheppard's releases include the UK Top 10 radio track Wonderland's 'Not a Love Song,'(Mercury UK) One Direction's 'Tell Me a Lie,' (Syco UK) and J-Lo's 'Everybody's Girl' from the Love Album (Island Def Jam).

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Lee Dannay has over twenty five years experience in the music industry, including 15 years at Sony Music, as a senior A&R executive for both Epic and Columbia Records, plus five years at Warner/Chappell Music Publishing. While at Sony, Lee signed, developed and worked with a variety of artists including John Mayer, Shawn Mullins, Five For Fighting, Anna Nalick and General Public.

Lee also worked as a senior music producer for America’s Got Talent, involved in casting and artist development for the music talent portion of the show, and as an executive producer for the artists subsequently signed.

Through her own creative consulting company, GoodWorks Music, Inc., Lee maintains the role of Creative Director and founding member of a music therapy initiative called Knock Out Noise, which researches and creates music and musical templates for disorders related to sensory processing.

Currently, Lee is head of A&R for Nashville based entertainment company Thirty Tigers, responsible for signing artists, providing A&R services for the roster as needed, and assisting with the development of the Thirty Tigers publishing venture.

Additionally, Lee is an adjunct professor at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, teaching the Business of Music Publishing and is a voting member of The Recording Academy.

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Michelle Escoffery is a powerhouse in the music industry, celebrated as an award-winning singer-songwriter and an inspiration to all who cross her path. With an impressive career spanning over three decades, Michelle has proven herself time and again as a force to be reckoned with. 

She has been honored with prestigious accolades such as the Ivor Novello Award and Brit Award, which stand as testament to her creative talent and professional contributions. She is currently making history as the first President of PRS for Music Member's Council, where she passionately represents and advocates for her fellow music creators. Additionally, she dedicates her time as a Trustee for the PRS Foundation, demonstrating her unwavering commitment to supporting and uplifting the wider music community. 

Beyond her musical prowess, Michelle is a champion of wellness. For over two decades, she has empowered creative entrepreneurs as a Life Navigation Consultant and executive mentor. Her transformative guidance helps individuals meet the demands of daily life with creativity and spiritual practice, enabling them to ignite their energy, maintain their flow, and avoid burnout. Above all, Michelle's unique speciality as a Joy facilitator, helps individuals access and embody boundless joy in every aspect of their lives.

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From an abusive school  environment as a dyslexic, angry young man to music mogul who worked his way to the top following his passion and gut instinct.

A fascinating intimate and honest conversation with one of the hardest working people in the music business, now tech entrepreneur, Guy Holmes.

Guy Holmes is a business strategist, venture capitalist, and music industry veteran based between London and Los Angeles. As the founder and CEO of Gut Records and Intermedia promotions, Guy earned his reputation for discovering, developing and launching artists including U2, Right Said Fred, Duran Duran, Tom Jones, Jesse J, and David Guetta, among many others. The label released a diverse range of music from pop through to indie/rock and dance. The first single released, Right Said Fred's song, "I'm Too Sexy", became a massive worldwide hit, reaching Number One in twenty-eight countries, including the United States, where it spent three weeks at Number One. 

Gaining success at an early age, Guy continued to climb the ranks as a successful entrepreneur year after year and quickly gained a reputation in his industry for being loyal, focused and a true mentor to his business peers. Whether he was turning the infamous “Crazy Frog” ring-tone into a global sensation (pre-YouTube) or managing the comeback of Michael Jackson, Guy has consistently shown his skill for cultivating brands, developing commercially viable products, and successfully stimulating public interest through expertly-conceived media campaigns. 

Now applying his business instincts to the world of startups, he brings more than 35 years of experience in marketing, sales structure, branding, as well as business and legal set up to companies looking to launch and scale quickly but wisely. 

Guy is advising and strategizing for several multi-national companies including Sennheiser Electronic GMBH, Magic Leap, Tractor Ted ltd, and Snappt LLC and Pink Floyd, “Their Mortal Remains” exhibition as it travels the world . Guy is driven both by his creativity and his instincts to find the next big thing.

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A lifetime in music has led Charlie Dore from being a Billboard Top 20 artist with her hit song Pilot Of The Airwaves to selling tens of millions of records writing songs for Celine Dion, Tina Turner, Lisa Stansfield, Paul Carrack, Ricky Ross and Jimmy Nail, notching up Top 10 hits in Italy, Germany and France, a US No 4 and a UK No 1.

Follow her life in this podcast, with stories of being charmed by Robin Williams and how it felt listening to George Harrison sing and play one of her songs as they sit in his back garden.

Charlie has also worked as an actress in theatre, film, (the award-winning Ploughman’s Lunch) TV, Radio with Eric Idle and co-founded London Comedy Impro venue, The Hurricane Club, performing alongside many comedy icons including Bill Bailey, Stuart Lee and Robin Williams. She has also composed for three BBC drama series and two films.

Charlie continues writing for and with other artists and enjoys mentoring emerging songwriters when she’s not recording, touring or performing online with her own band.

https://charliedore.com/

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A lifetime in music has led Charlie Dore from being a Billboard Top 20 artist with her hit song Pilot Of The Airwaves to selling tens of millions of records writing songs for Celine Dion, Tina Turner, Lisa Stansfield, Paul Carrack, Ricky Ross and Jimmy Nail, notching up Top 10 hits in Italy, Germany and France, a US No 4 and a UK No 1.

Follow her life in this podcast, with stories of being charmed by Robin Williams and how it felt listening to George Harrison sing and play one of her songs as they sit in his back garden.

Charlie has also worked as an actress in theatre, film, (the award-winning Ploughman’s Lunch) TV, Radio with Eric Idle and co-founded London Comedy Impro venue, The Hurricane Club, performing alongside many comedy icons including Bill Bailey, Stuart Lee and Robin Williams. She has also composed for three BBC drama series and two films.

Charlie continues writing for and with other artists and enjoys mentoring emerging songwriters when she’s not recording, touring or performing online with her own band.

https://charliedore.com/

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Known affectionately as Mo Pleasure, this renowned multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer, began playing acoustic piano at the age of four and by his early teens already mastered several instruments including bass, trumpet, guitar, drums and violin. He has played with Ray Charles, Michael Jackson, Christian Aguilera, Mary J. Blige and Earth, Wind & Fire.

Upon receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from University of Connecticut, Mo began his professional music career playing bass with Ray Charles. He then began working as a session musician, backing some of the most accomplished talents in Jazz ,R&B and pop including George Duke, Natalie Cole, Dianne Reeves, Christina Aguilera, Jonathan Butler, Rachelle Ferrell, Brian Culbertson, Michael McDonald, Oleta Adams, Chaka Khan, Roberta Flack, Marcus Miller, Mary J. Blige, and Frankie Beverly and Maze, to name a few.

From 1989 through 1992, Mo was both keyboardist and musical director with saxophonist Najee, pianist Alex Bugnon, and vocalists Philip Bailey, Patti Austin and Jon Lucien. In 1993, he became a member of the legendary group Earth, Wind & Fire, and ascended to become the band’s musical director from 1994-2001. Mo was featured playing keyboards, trumpet and guitar with Janet Jackson’s 2001 All For You tour and played keyboards and trumpet with Boney James’ 2004 Pure tour. As a principal member of the group Devoted Spirits he was featured playing keyboards for Jimi Hendrix’s 60th Birthday Celebration and the 2004 Power of Soul: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix tour.

Mo was a keyboardist in Michael Jackson’s final touring band that was scheduled to perform in the late superstar’s historic 2009, comeback tour at London’s O2 Arena.

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Cody Partridge is the President and Lead Music Supervisor at Pear Tree Music Supervision. With close to a decade of experience in the industry, his 150+ credits help demonstrate his versatility in navigating Music clearances and placements over all forms of Media. 
Cody prides himself on being an Indiana Jones of music clearances, constantly finding the hidden gems, and never allowing rights holders to go undiscovered. In addition, he is also well versed in navigating Unions implications when placing any affiliated recordings, assuring clients a pleasurable worry free experience in all aspects of Authentic Music use. 
Some highlights of his recent credits include: Letterkenny, Schitt’s Creek, and various advertising campaigns, including Telus, Canada Life, and Scotiabank. 
Cody is also on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Guild of Music Supervisors, and acts as the Treasurer

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Mark Garfield is a drummer, producer, songwriter and music publisher – founder co owner of Pop-Up Music a UK a music publisher and sync agent. He has drummed, produced and written for artists including, Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols), Dr Fink (Prince), Eddie Kramer (producer Jimmy Hendrix, Led Zeppelin…), Pete Brown (Cream), Mo Foster (Jeff Beck, Phil Collins), Clem Burke (Blondie), Neal X (Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Marc Almond), Arthur Brown, Micky Moody/Bernie Marsden (Whitesnake) and Hotei (Kill Bill OST). Netflix composer on Insatiable.

Mark founded Sync Agency Pop-Up Music and has since placed music with:

• 3 tracks in Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood;

• Netflix: Stranger Things, Ratched, I Am Not Okay With This, Insatiable, Nasty Cherry, Street Food, Close; Pose, The Serpent

• Amazon: The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, I’m Your Woman, The Grand Tour

• Apple TV: Long Way Up, Amazing Stories, Pam and Tommy, Welcome To The Chippendales

• BBC: Giri Haji; The Little Drummer Girl, I May Destroy You,

• CBS: Blood And Treasure; The Twilight Zone

• History Channel: Project Blue Book

• Far Cry 5, Watch Dogs Legion, Rock Band 4

• Poretti, Estee Lauder, Nina Ricci, Jeep

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The stories behind the life of global hit songwriter Pam Sheyne.

Now based in Los Angeles, New Zealand born Pam Sheyne’s career has resulted in a number of globally recognised hit records, major film end titles, sales of 50+ million records, 100+ platinum, gold and silver sales certifications, 7 BMI Pop airplay citations and a prestigious Ivor Novello award.

Whilst best known for the global breakthrough single “Genie In A Bottle” for Christina Aguilera (No.1 USA Hot 100/No.1 UK), she was also responsible for Dream’s debut hit “He Loves U Not” (USA No.2 Hot 100/No.1 Soundscan) as well as Jessica Simpson’s “Irresistible” (No.15 USA Hot 100).

Her songs have been covered by a number of international artists including Seal, Corrine Bailey Rae, The Backstreet Boys, O Town, Nick Lachey, Laura Pausini, Hayley Westenra, Lindsay Lohan, Eternal, Play, No Angels, Cece Winans, Point of Grace and The Saturdays.

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In this inspiring interview, Paddy reveals the ups and downs of being a creative, how to maintain the positivity and self belief, and shares the stories behind the hits.

Paddy Byrne is a multi million selling British songwriter, musician and producer known for working in a variety of genres with multi platinum and developing artists alike such as Snakehips, Paloma Faith, Ella Eyre, Tom Grennan, Olly Murs, Will Young, Gabrielle, Sinead Harnett, Daley, Devlin, Felon, Watermat, I Blame Coco and Mononoke.

His focus is always on the song, the artist’s vision and their vocal. He is as accomplished when writing and producing an entire song as he is writing lyrics and top line for other productions.

Paddy started his professional career writing and singing in his band ‘Byrne’ gaining widespread acclaim for their self produced album ‘Slowly & Gloriously’, receiving unanimously positive reviews including 9/10 in NME, 4/5 UNCUT and 5/5 Observer Music Monthly.

Following the birth of his first son he stopped touring and set up his studio and began co-writing and producing. His journey from the indi scene as an artist to co-creating in more commercial genres was immediately successful working with Will Young on four songs for his album ‘Let It Go’. His experience as a lead singer and writer gives him a deep affinity with artists and a love of vocal expression and lyric.

He has written and produced many multi platinum selling songs and is currently working with a wide variety of established and up and coming artists, writers and producers.

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In this inspiring interview, Paddy reveals the ups and downs of being a creative, how to maintain the positivity and self belief, and shares the stories behind the hits.

Paddy Byrne is a multi million selling British songwriter, musician and producer known for working in a variety of genres with multi platinum and developing artists alike such as Snakehips, Paloma Faith, Ella Eyre, Tom Grennan, Olly Murs, Will Young, Gabrielle, Sinead Harnett, Daley, Devlin, Felon, Watermat, I Blame Coco and Mononoke.

His focus is always on the song, the artist’s vision and their vocal. He is as accomplished when writing and producing an entire song as he is writing lyrics and top line for other productions.

Paddy started his professional career writing and singing in his band ‘Byrne’ gaining widespread acclaim for their self produced album ‘Slowly & Gloriously’, receiving unanimously positive reviews including 9/10 in NME, 4/5 UNCUT and 5/5 Observer Music Monthly.

Following the birth of his first son he stopped touring and set up his studio and began co-writing and producing. His journey from the indi scene as an artist to co-creating in more commercial genres was immediately successful working with Will Young on four songs for his album ‘Let It Go’. His experience as a lead singer and writer gives him a deep affinity with artists and a love of vocal expression and lyric.

He has written and produced many multi platinum selling songs and is currently working with a wide variety of established and up and coming artists, writers and producers.

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Sie is a Grammy, Mercury Prize and MOBO nominated Producer, Songwriter, Mixer, and Engineer with 28 years of professional experience in the music industry and 14 years as a Sony ATV Publishing in house songwriter. The last few decades have seen Sie constantly produce, write and mix music with artists and labels at every level. Sie sees his longevity in the industry down to his insatiable thirst for all things forward facing. Be that helping developing technology for Ableton to development of the production process. Sie has managed to stay current all these years bringing his love for the underground with him to the over ground.

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Part 2 of 2 | Includes Live Performance of Wrecking Ball
Hit songwriter and producer Sacha is best known for co-writing James Blunt's hit singles "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover" as well as Miley Cyrus' hit song "Wrecking Ball". He has worked with artists such as Adele, Lana Del Rey, Jason Mraz, Tears for Fears, Duffy and many more. In this live interview with TSA founder Martin, he reveals the stories behind the hits and the reality of being invited into writing sessions with CeeLo and Beyoncé. 

Live from The Songwriting Academy International Songwriting Conference 2018 in London.

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Part 1 of 2 | Includes Live Performance of You're Beautiful
Hit songwriter and producer Sacha is best known for co-writing James Blunt's hit singles "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover" as well as Miley Cyrus' hit song "Wrecking Ball". He has worked with artists such as Adele, Lana Del Rey, Jason Mraz, Tears for Fears, Duffy and many more. In this live interview with TSA founder Martin, he reveals the stories behind the hits and the reality of being invited into writing sessions with CeeLo and Beyoncé. 

Live from The Songwriting Academy International Songwriting Conference 2018 in London.

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Live from The Songwriting Academy International Conference in London 2019, legendary record producer Trevor Horn talks about his life in music from early days learning bass as a youngster to making global hit records for Seal, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Grace Jones, Rod Stewart and more...and of course Trevor shares the story behind the iconic  Video Killed The Radio Star. Still as passionate as ever after multiple BRIT Awards and a Grammy, Trevor bares all in this amazing interview.

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From a huge country music career writing for Faith Hill, George Strait, Waylon Jennings and many more of the greats, to penning "Never Give Up On A Good Thing" for George Benson, to global pop success with Jennifer Lopez' "Waiting For Tonight". Michael has done it all, or you'd think so...but he still has huge dreams, new goals and is working as hard as ever creating new music with his rare mix of talent, humility, joy and love.

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Paul Statham is a multi platinum selling songwriter and producer who has been published by Warner Chappell Music for over 20 years. Paul co-wrote with Dido the breakthrough single “Here With Me” and the title track of her first album No Angel, selling over 20 million records.

Paul also wrote two tracks on Kylie’s massive album “Fever” Kylie as well as songs for The Saturdays, Matt Cardle, Gabriella Cilmie, Peter Andre, Rachel Stevens, Right Said Fred, Tina Arena and many European acts inc the Italian artist Noemi (recent album “Made in London was a no 1 record in Italy ). He has also worked with more left field artists, writing 7 albums with former Bauhaus vocalist Peter Murphy, 2 albums with Mercury prize nominated Helicopter Girl, and Scottish rock band Simple Minds.

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Jonas ”MoonChild” Zekkari is a highly accomplished Swedish-Moroccan songwriter, co-producer, and music publishing label owner. With extensive experience in the music industry, MoonChild has established a successful career in Japan and South Korea, working with many high-profile recording artists, including J-Soul-Brothers, Nissy, Generations, Exile the Second, Ryuji Imaichi, Alisa Ueno, Jay ’Ed, Dance Earth Party, and many more.

MoonChild’s songwriting discography is impressive, boasting four world number one hits and several other international best-selling songs. He was also the co-writer of the Japanese MTV VMA winners in 2015 (J-Soul Brothers) and 2016 (Nissy). Furthermore, he played a significant role in the 2017 Japanese Album of the year, and the ”Live Show Dvd” of the year, which won him two Japan Disc Awards in 2018. These prestigious awards are equivalent to the Grammy Awards in Japan.

MoonChild’s success extends beyond Asia, as he has collaborated with legendary techno group Scooter and released music with other international artists such as Menudo and Niels Van Gogh. He brings a unique perspective and exceptional skillset to Moonbase Music. With his wealth of experience and industry connections, MoonChild is committed to supporting and nurturing the next generation of music creators at Moonbase Music.

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Join host Martin Sutton and 12 special guest hit songwriters, producers and music business leaders discussing the impact that A.I. has, and will have on the music business and its creatives. Guests (in order of appearance):
Kevin McCove
Andrew Rollins
Jeff Franzel
Shane Whalen
Helienne Lindvall
Vincent Corver
Ally McErlaine
Jonathan Li
Sie Medway-Smith
Rob Wells
Nick Evans
Charlie Dore

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Talking about life, music and making hit records with the multi-platinum award winning songwriter and producer behind the music of artists including  Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Adam Lambert, Nick Lachey, Mika, Katharine McPhee, Backstreet Boys, Paloma Faith, Nelly Furtado, Big Time Rush, Cyndi Lauper and many more.

Rob talks about his life in music, his approach to making records and gives priceless advice for all emerging creatives today.

His work has been featured in numerous films, television shows, commercials and video games worldwide.

With a star on the Mississauga Music Walk of Fame, Rob has appeared as a music producer on “Canadian Idol”, “The House Of Carters” & “The Next Star”.  His awards include first place in numerous songwriting competitions, and SOCAN #1 awards with gold, platinum & multi-platinum certifications.

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Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman – better known collectively as Stock Aitken Waterman – are amongst the most successful songwriters, arrangers and producers in the history of pop music.

​Stock Aitken Waterman wrote and/or produced well over 100 UK Top 40 singles (many of which were also worldwide hits), and contributed to over 50 hit albums. They worked with a variety of different artists, including Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Rick Astley, Bananarama, Dead or Alive, Mel and Kim, Princess, Hazell Dean, Donna Summer, Cliff Richard, Debbie Harry, Divine, Edwin Starr, Errol Brown, Georgie Fame, Judas Priest, La Toya Jackson, Laura Branigan, Samantha Fox, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Sinitta, The Three Degrees and Sir Paul McCartney.

Listen to Matt Aitken's story behind the man, the music and the hit factory of a generation ...

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Legendary record producer Chris Neil talks about his decades of experience producing global hit records for Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Cher, Mike & The Mechanics, Sheena Easton and many more household names. What makes a hit song, a great artist and a great record? This plus solid advice for emerging artists and producers on how to carve a career in today's music business.

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Prepare to be inspired! Vocologist and Singing Rehabilitation Specialist Carol-Lynne shares invaluable advice on how to find your voice, keep your voice and the empowerment of respecting your true sound. From coaching Juno Award winning artists to complete beginners, Carol-Lynne, also known as CQ, combines athletic voice science with soulful connection.
https://www.cqvoice.com
Instagram and Tik Tok | @cqvoice

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The fascinating story of Michael Walker, CEO of Modern Musician, who started in a struggling indie punk band surviving on peanut butter wraps, but then found a way of "Tour Hacking" which immediately catapulted their sales and visibility.

Now a highly regarded mentor and music tech entrepreneur, Michael shares some key secrets to indie artist success in today's music marketplace.

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Describing herself simply as a ‘modern English musician’, Eliza Carthy is one of the most recognisable faces in British folk. 

She has received an MBE; numerous BBC R2 Folk Awards; two Mercury Prize nominations; was the first English traditional musician to be nominated for a BBC R3 Award for World Music, and in 2021 became President of the English Folk Dance & Song Society.

Born into a formidable musical dynasty, her mother Norma was one of The Watersons and her father Martin Carthy is a hugely influential singer and guitarist, the incredible range of traditional and contemporary musicians who were part of the extended Waterson/Carthy world helped her develop her own unique approach to music.

Championed from an early age by the likes of John Peel, Andy Kershaw & Billy Bragg, Eliza has rarely stood still artistically. With a wealth of musical & life experience under her belt, Eliza’s talent has matured and is flourishing. She continues to bring new audiences to English folk through well-judged recordings, performances, and collaborations with the likes of Paul Weller, Jools Holland, Patrick Wolf, and Kae Tempest.

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Multi-million record selling songwriter and pianist Jeff Franzel shares his stories about playing piano for Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Junior in front of audiences including President Ford and writing life changing songs for Hollywood blockbuster movies. Jeff gives stellar advice on how to stay  inspired, how to get a song started and how to be authentic every time you create. Make sure you listen to "I Never Saw Blue Like That Before" by Shawn Colvin!

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Andrew Rollins opens up about his tough childhood, 30 years of sobriety and becoming one of the most sought after songwriters on the scene. Andrew is an Emmy award winner who has played guitar with music legends including BB King, Jose Feliciano and Dionne Warwick. He has had nine of his songs placed in ABC's Nashville TV show and has a music publishing company with his long term friend Randy Jackson.

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From chef to global music entrepreneur with tens of millions of sales and over 200  pieces of music placed with Disney, Swedish songwriter Niclas Molinder opens up to Martin Sutton about living his dream life in the music business. Niclas is the CEO of Session Studio, working alongside Max Martin and Bjorn Ulvaeus from Abba to provide a vital service for songwriters and producers.

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Join me as I talk to one of the nicest and most talented men in the music business, Andrew Roachford, who has one of the finest voices I have ever had the pleasure of working with.

Andrew shot to fame with his solo  project Roachford, having a string of success throughout the 1990s, becoming Columbia's biggest-selling UK act for ten years, including the massive hit record Cuddly Toy.

He subsequently went on to become one of the frontmen of  Mike & The Mechanics, and still tours the world playing to a huge loyal fanbase.

In 2019 Andrew was appointed Member Of The Order Of The British Empire for his services to music.

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Liz Rodrigues was a timid young girl terrified of standing in front of audiences and performing, who grew into a strong and confident singer and hit songwriter. She has written and performed with Eminem, had her songs released by Pink, Gwen Stefani, Nicole Scherzinger and Pitbull amongst others, and recently achieved a lifelong dream by having six of her songs recorded and released by her teen idol Celine Dion. Listen to Liz's journey from humble beginnings to major hitmaker.

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Steve Anderson shares advice from his lifetime of experience in the music business as a songwriter, producer and musical director. Steve has worked with pop icon Kylie Minogue for 25 years, plus many other legends including Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney.

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World famous songwriter/producer and 2 times Grammy nominee Jake talks openly about his life in music, what it was like writing and producing the + album with Ed Sheeran, how the creative process is different for everyone, and drops gold about what it takes to be a successful artist in the music business. Recorded live at the The Songwriting Academy International Conference in 2019.

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He's a songwriter, musician, bandleader and all round top guy, who has a history of 25 years fighting for the rights of musicians with the Musicians Union in the UK.

Keith shares some of the best advice on building a career and a network, for emerging songwriters, musicians and artists everywhere. Listen and learn!

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