What do Britney Spears’ “…Baby One More Time“, the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way“, Celine Dion’s “That’s The Way It Is“, Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” or The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” have in common? They were all written, co-written, produced or co-produced by a Swede whose career started in the 1990s: Max Martin (real name Karl Martin Sandberg, born in 1971).
John Seabrook, author of the book The Song Machine (How To Make A Hit), presented him in the New Yorker as the Cyrano de Bergerac of Pop Music, the man behind the scenes making the hits, the luxury ghostwriter of pop stars.
How did Max Martin start his career?
Max Martin started his career at the Cheron production company, alongside another genius producer, his mentor, Denniz Pop, who died far too early in 1998 at the age of 35.
Martin and Pop (whose real name was Dag Krister Volle) collaborated as early as 1993 on the writing of Ace Of Base’s 2nd album (The Bridge, 1995), propelled the year before to the top of the charts with their hit “All That She Wants”.
After Abba (launched by their victory in 1974 at the Eurovision contest with Waterloo) and Roxette (The Look), Ace Of Base confirmed Sweden’s status as a major exporter of hits to the four corners of the planet. Martin is credited on the single Beautiful Life.
The years that followed confirmed Max Martin’s flair and talent as a producer, alongside Denniz Pop and then on his own.
His fortune is now estimated at more than 250 million dollars. Only Paul McCartney and John Lennon have had more chart-topping singles as songwriters than Max Martin. As a producer, Martin is tied for #1 with the Beatles’ producer (another “Martin”), George Martin.
What are the recent collaborations of Max Martin?
In addition to the artists already mentioned, Max Martin has collaborated with Pink, Usher, Avril Lavigne, Jessie J, Katy Perry (I Kissed A Girl), Christina Aguilera, Ariana Grande, Coldplay, Bon Jovi (It’s My Life), etc. More recently he has participated in the tracks Supermodel by Måneskin and 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready) by Lizzo.
A selection of tracks from Max Martin’s catalog were used to compose the playlist for the musical &Juliet, which opened in London’s West End in 2019.
How to define Max Martin’s style?
In one sentence: a little bit of everything, cleverly balanced.
The color of the songs composed or produced by Max Martin is inspired by Abba’s chords and textures, the dynamics initiated by his mentor Denniz Pop (who was not a musician), the “Stadium Rock” hits of the 1980s and the American R&B of the early 1990s. Lyrically, the songs are not literary. The main objective of the text is to sound right on the melody, as the chorus of Britney Spears “Hit Me Baby One More Time” or the “I Want It That Way” of the BackStreet Boys attest.
This totally uninhibited mix of diverse influences proved to be a winning cocktail. Few artists in the shadows can boast such an impressive track record as that of this Swedish author-composer-producer.
For the record, Max Martin usually records his own version of all his songs, which the stars perform as a sort of cover version.
Unlike Lennon and McCartney, who co-wrote most of their songs as a duo, without using other collaborators, Max Martin, like the Obi Wan of a circle of disciples, surrounds himself with talented co-writers and co-producers. This is undoubtedly a key factor in his continued success.
Max Martin, Shellback’s mentor
Max Martin was the mentor of Shellback (born in 1985). Shellback (real name Karl Johan Schuster) started working with Martin at the age of 16. At first, as he explains in a Netflix documentary (The Stockholm Syndrome), he just served coffee and helped his mentor. But one day, Max Martin put his foot down by offering one of his tracks to Pink. The song “So What” reached the top of the charts in 2008! Since then Shellback has collaborated with Adam Lambert, Usher, Kesha, Robyn, Adele, Justin Timberlake, Maroon 5, Christina Aguilera, One Direction, Lily Allen, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Ed Sheeran, Ava Max, Sam Smith and many more!
Together with Martin and his friend Julius Petersson, Shellback founded the publishing company The Wolf Cousins, to develop the careers of other emerging producers. The success was immediate with the hits Problem by Ariane Grande and Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding. The next generation is assured!
How much does it cost to work with Max Martin?
According to NPR, you’ll have to pay at least $100,000 per track to hire Max Martin as a producer (for an album, the bill will exceed $1 million). This is obviously without counting the publishing shares that will be paid to him as royalties.
I am curious to know what will be the next planetary hits of the Cyrano of Pop and his fellows.
What is the secret of the success of Swedish singer-songwriters?
According to the experts on the subject, it can be summed up in one word: Jantelagen, a typically Swedish “anti-bragging” concept that basically means not wanting to flaunt one’s success, accepting the fact of remaining in the shadows, leaving the place to others, the performers in this case.
This form of Nordic humility, associated with a hyper-developed melodic sense, an ability to express feelings simply in a streamlined English and an exceptional work ethic, has been the driving force behind the success of Swedish songwriters and producers for decades!
