This week Ari sits down with Tor Hermansen, half of the production/songwriter duo Stargate. Stargate has written and produced major hit songs for artists such as Beyonce, Rihanna, Selena Gomez, Katy Perry, and Coldplay, to name a few. Tor has billions of streams, has written and produced 10 Billboard Hot 100 #1 singles in the US and 11 in the UK. He has won 2 Grammy Awards and received the ASCAP songwriter of the year award twice. Stargate’s writer and producer credits include Beyoncé’s global hit “Irreplaceable,” Beyoncé and Shakira’s “Beautiful Liar,” extensive work with Rihanna including “Rude Boy,” “Don’t Stop The Music,” “Only Girl (In the World),” What’s My Name, “S&M, “Diamonds,” Selena Gomez’ “Come & Get It” and “Same Old Love,” Fifth Harmony’s “Worth It” and Katy Perry’s “Firework.” Most recently, the team produced Coldplay’s album A Head Full of Dreams, co-wrote and produced Julia Michael’s current hit “Issues.”

Tor talks about the process of songwriting and producing, working with artists and topliners. He shares great advice on how to write and work in the room with other songwriters, producers, and topliners. Tor also shares valuable insight on demoing, writing, re-writing, scaling up a musical production, and more. Ari and Tor dive deep into the business end of songwriting and producing as well; they discuss the 9-month intensive LAAMP program (Los Angeles Academy for Artists and Music Producers) Tor and his Stargate partner Mikkel Eriksen created for aspiring artists, songwriters, and producers in LA and how to get involved. If you’re interested in how songwriting and producing works at the hit level, this episode is for you!

Chapters

00:00 No Compromising in Music Creation

00:33 Introduction to Tora Hermanson and Stargate

02:51 Songwriting and Production Process Insights

04:41 The Evolution of Music Production

10:19 The Pitch Game: Is It Dead?

13:14 Identifying a Hit: The Unpredictable Nature

16:03 The Role of Social Media in Music Success

18:52 Adapting to New Mediums: TikTok and Streaming

21:27 The Creation of 'Issues' with Julia Michaels

24:41 Evolving Production Techniques

27:51 Collaboration and Song Development

30:33 Creative Freedom in the Final Product

32:11 The Art of Collaboration in Songwriting

37:01 Navigating the Songwriting Process

46:59 The Business of Songwriting and Representation

49:16 Building a Career as a Songwriter

56:45 Creating a Nurturing Environment for Artists

01:04:50 Defining Success in the New Music Business

Edited and mixed by Ari Davids

Music by Brassroots District

Produced by the team at Ari’s Take

Order the THIRD EDITION of How to Make It in the New Music Business: https://book.aristake.com

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