And The Writer Is...with Ross Golan

Every week, And the Writer Is brings you the most important news moving through the music industry — straight, sharp, and no fluff. This week: Maryland just passed the RAP Act, making it illegal to use rap lyrics as courtroom evidence, potentially setting the stage for federal law. Suno's licensing negotiations with Sony and Universal have stalled, leaving major AI royalty questions unresolved. An...

Today's guest is the Irish troubadour who sold out arenas across the world and built one of the most durable careers in modern music, entirely on his own terms. From Dublin street corners and busking for strangers to headlining Madison Square Garden, this conversation is about what that actually costs to build the slow, deliberate construction of a career that answers to no one, yet resonates with...

Today’s guest is one of the most quietly enduring artists in modern pop — a songwriter and performer who’s spent over a decade growing up in public, learning how to separate perception from identity. She was discovered online as a teenager and quickly thrust into an industry that had already decided who she was. But behind the headlines, she was doing the real work — writing, refining her sound, a...

Today’s world builder builds worlds worldwide to make her own universe! Dark and whimsical meets bubblegum grunge when this artist broke out on the scene to create her own cult following.  When doors didn’t open, she built her own.  And The Writer Is……Melanie Martinez! In this episode, Melanie opens up about: • Materializing ideas and her entire creative process • Why she never approache...

Today’s guest is one of the defining voices in modern pop — a songwriter, producer, and artist behind some of the biggest records of the last decade. His songs have been streamed billions of times worldwide. He came to Los Angeles to write for others. Instead, he became a globally identifiable artist — before fully becoming himself. Now, he’s building something that’s truly his. And The Writer Is…...

Today’s guest is one of the fastest-rising voices in modern country — a songwriter whose honesty, wit, and emotional precision have turned deeply personal stories into songs heard everywhere. She just became the 10th woman of the century to top the Billboard 200. Before the sold-out shows and chart-topping records, she was a college student playing small gigs with her dad and brother, trying to fi...

Today’s guest is the frontman of one of the most defining bands of the 2010s — a songwriter whose voice helped shape an era of alternative pop that still echoes today. Before arenas. Before permanence. Before “Sweater Weather” became cultural shorthand. Now, after over a decade of hits, reinvention, and evolution, he looks back on the long arc of The Neighbourhood with clarity — and with honesty a...

Today’s guest is a Grammy-winning songwriter, global pop architect, and one of the most quietly influential voices shaping modern music across borders. Before the world heard her voice, she spent years training inside the K-pop system — learning discipline, structure, and endurance long before recognition ever arrived. When the system didn’t know what to do with her, she pivoted. Slowly....

Today's guest is a festival headliner, Grammy-winning songwriter, and the architect of a sound that accidentally changed the course of folk, country, and alternative music forever. From singing as a family around a kitchen table to headlining arenas with banjos and mandolins, Marcus Mumford built something no one saw coming — and has spent years learning not to get in his own way once the stakes g...

Today's guest is a multi-platinum DJ, producer, and songwriter who turned personal devastation into one of electronic music's most emotionally resonant careers. From opioid addiction in high school to wilderness therapy at rock bottom, he rebuilt his entire life in Denver—sober, alone, and teaching himself music theory from scratch. Now 13 years clean, he's become a voice for mental health in a sc...

Today's guest is a Grammy-winning songwriter, producer, and performer, best known as one-third of The Smeezingtons and a foundational creative force behind Bruno Mars’ career. He has co-written and helped shape some of the most influential pop songs of the last two decades, including Just the Way You Are, Billionaire, Locked Out of Heaven, When I Was Your Man, 24K Magic, Nothin’ on You, and many m...

Today's guest has quietly shaped the sound of a generation. He has written and produced some of the biggest songs of the last 15 years—from One Direction's "Story of My Life" to Niall Horan's "Slow Hands," Sabrina Carpenter's "Taste", Teddy Swims' "Lose Control," and Olivia Dean's "So Easy to Fall in Love." A true songwriter's songwriter, John Ryan doesn't just chase hits—he shapes careers, define...

Today’s guest isn’t just a living legend. He’s one of the architects of modern music. As a songwriter and producer, he’s discovered artists, shaped careers, and defined entire eras. This one is required listening. A once-in-a-generation legendary hybrid of songwriting and production, And The Writer Is... David Foster! In this episode, David breaks down what actually makes music last, the cost of g...

And The Writer Is... Diplo! This episode isn’t about hits. It’s about how culture actually gets made. Taste, burnout, and building culture without permission. From growing up in Florida crate-digging scenes no one cared about, to turning underground instincts into global movements, Diplo breaks down the uncomfortable truth behind longevity in music: following your taste when everyone else wants sa...

And The Writer Is… Alex Warren. Alex joins the podcast to talk openly about resilience, finding his voice, and what it actually takes to turn pain into songs that connect. In this episode, he breaks down: Overcoming homelessness and instability while chasing music Earning credibility in an industry that didn’t immediately take him seriously How vulnerability became his songwriting superpower What...

Today’s guest didn’t just enter the music industry — he grew up inside it. He isn’t just a Grammy-winning producer or a respected solo artist. He’s one of the rare creatives who’s built a career rooted in loyalty, advocacy, and taste — while learning in public and evolving in real time. And The Writer Is… FINNEAS! In this episode, he breaks down: Growing up in the industry without losing your foot...

Today’s guest has carved out one of the most improbable creative legacies of his generation — commanding animation, comedy, film, and orchestral music with the same relentless discipline and near-obsessive craft. What began as a kid sketching characters in his bedroom grew into a fight to build  Family Guy  on his own terms… and eventually into Grammy-nominated big-band records that hono...

Today’s guest is the producer behind some of the biggest songs of the last 15 years — from “Wrecking Ball,” “Timber,” and “Dark Horse” to early records with The Weeknd and Britney Spears. From teaching himself production on cracked software and vinyl turntables… to going on a run of genre-defining hits. And the writer is… Cirkut! In this episode, he opens up about his early grind, the moment Britn...

Today's guest went from making songs on a floppy-disk keyboard, sampling off a Kellogg’s cereal box DAW, and sending blind MySpace messages… to producing the some of the biggest crossover dance anthems of the last decade. And The Writer Is... Zedd! What makes this conversation special isn’t just the hits — it’s how brutally honest he is about the  craft , the  obsession , and the  u...

Today’s guest has rewired modern hip-hop. His fingerprints live all over the last decade but the real story behind that success is far more human, painful, and transformative than the headlines ever show. In this conversation, he opens up about the highs and lows of being a producer in hip-hop: the pressure, the politics, the contracts, the moments that nearly broke him, and the breakthroughs that...

Today's guest is a familiar face... A friend to the podcast and one of the most successful and influential creators in music history. He isn’t just a hitmaker. He's perhaps one of the few people in the history of music to have hits as a songwriter, artist, and producer... completely aside from one another across genres. And The Writer Is... Ryan Tedder! In this episode, he breaks down: 🎯 Why the...

Today's guest is an international soul sensation...From writing “The Hardest Part” on Zoom to conquering imposter syndrome, crafting hits like "Dive" and "Man I Need," and creating her acclaimed album The Art of Loving.. She is on a meteoric rise in music. We discuss raw stories of heartbreak, growth, the magic of songwriting.. and how she learned to protect her voice in a room and write music tha...

Julia Michaels has quietly rewritten the emotional DNA of pop music. From Selena Gomez to Justin Bieber to Sabrina Carpenter — her pen reshaped how vulnerability sounds on the radio. In this episode, Julia sits down with Ross to unpack the craft behind her catalog: the psychology of honest writing, the architecture of a hit, and the years she spent changing pop from behind the glass. They dive int...

Today’s guests are HAIM  — one of the most unique voices in modern music, known for blending rock, pop, and soul into a sound that defined a generation. From garage band beginnings to Grammy nominations, they’ve collaborated with some of the biggest names in music while staying fiercely true to themselves. And the writer(s) are... HAIM! In this episode, we dive into a decade-long journey of g...

Today’s guest is one of the most exciting young artists in the world right now. A once-in-a-generation artist writing and producing every record himself — and turning that independence into global hits. His records aren’t just topping charts — many of them are 100%ers. Self-written, self-produced, and streamed hundreds of millions of times. He’s building a world entirely his own... In this episode...