How Middle Class Songwriters Disappeared w/ Ryan Tedder & David Israelite

Why is it so hard to earn a living as a songwriter today? Ryan Tedder — artist, songwriter, producer and founder of Runner Music — and David Israelite — president & CEO of NMPA — join Billboard On The Record to talk through the many economic pressures facing modern songwriters. Tedder and Israelite discuss how social media and streaming has impacted the way songs are written, and how the growth of writing rooms, sampling and courtesy credits for non-writing artists has led to less money for the average working class songwriter. Israelite explains why radio's decline threatens crucial income for songwriters, and Tedder opens up about his creative process and how embracing collaboration has become his key to crafting hits for artists like Tate McRae, Beyonce, Jonas Brothers and Maroon 5 in recent years. Additionally, the two talk about creative opportunities with emerging AI tools, like Suno, and why K-pop has become a particularly lucrative genre for songwriters today.

Love what you hear? Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe so you never miss an episode of Billboard On The Record.

Keep up with us on IG @billboardontherecord and @wordsbykristin.

Billboard On The Record is a podcast in partnership with SickBird Productions. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices