Words matter. These are the best Max Martin Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
When I was young, people didn’t even really know what a producer was.
My tastes have always been pretty cheesy. I like Def Leppard. At the same time, my tastes might be pretty universal. I don’t know.
It’s never like, ‘Now I’m going to sit down and write this or that kind of song.’ The melodies may show up in the car, in the shower.
I remember that I started playing brass – not so much because I had a calling but because I thought it looked cool.
Singing involves a great deal of psychology.
As songwriters, we are lucky to have ASCAP on our side, offering support and fighting for our rights.
If you’ve got a verse with a lot of rhythm, you want to pair it with something that doesn’t.
I just believe in collaboration. I mean, I’ve written songs on my own, you know, but I think if the artist has something to bring to the table – someone like Pink, for instance – where they have something to say, it makes your job easier and more special.
I’m a perfectionist.
If nobody recognizes you, if nobody cares, it’s easier to avoid getting carried away. That’s way harder if you’re a famous artist.
You can hear songs that are technically great, songs that tick all the boxes. But for a song to be felt, you need something else.
There are so many traps, so many ways of getting screwed in this business.
There was a phase when I and people around me listened to Prince a lot. A lot. We took Prince fandom to the extreme.
It’s incredibly important to me that you remember a song right after the first or second time you hear it. That something sticks to you, something that makes you feel, ‘I need to hear that song again.’ That’s fundamental. Something you want again. And again.
I’ve learned that things change. The whole boy band thing almost turned into a stock market crash.
The producer should decide what kind of music is being made, what it’s going to sound like – all of it: the why, when, and how.
Life is so much easier without the attention.
Pop music follows the evolution of society in general: Everything moves faster.
When pop culture can influence things in any way, when a song becomes something bigger than just a song, that’s the greatest thing to me.
It’s music. It’s supposed to be fun and inspirational. You have to be inspired. If I did it because it was my ‘job,’ and I only did it to make money, I don’t think I’d still be doing it.
A great pop song should be felt when you hear it.
It’s one thing to speak about it and another to actually do something about it.
I believe you have to start with yourself, think about your bad habits and prejudices, not only in your profession but generally in life. Why do I assume that a doctor is a man? Something is indoctrinated from very early on.
I try to make the songs as good as I can – the way I like it, you know? And I guess my taste sometimes happens to be what other people, particularly radio programmers, like too.
Sometimes you have to think about letting people move on.
