Songwriter Soup

Alysa Vanderheym (Rolling Up The Welcome Mat & Patterns Kelsea Ballerini, “Lose Somebody” Kygo & OneRepublic, “Hold On Me” Jelly Roll) gets into some big fat topics on the pod this week.

The discussion covers craftsmanship, critical acclaim and the risks and advantages of artists who veer away from the radio and towards a finer art.

The juiciest part of this episode BY FAR is when the crew talks about points, fees, t...

Matt Dragstrem (“I’ll Name The Dogs” Blake Shelton, “What My World Spins Around” Jordan Davis, “Just To Say We Did” Kenny Chesney) is a guy you’d meet at a party and find out years later, he wrote all of your favorite country songs.

Songwriter Soup is proud to platform the least braggy writer in all of music row and discuss his journey from Starbucks to staff writer and how someone without that self promotion bug makes they...

Tayla Parx (“7 rings” & thank u, next” Ariana Grande, “High Hopes” Panic! At The Disco, “Like JENNIE” JENNIE) joins the crew this week and this episode covers a LOT— the LA style publishing deal compared to a Nashville style deal, how to tailor your business set up to fit your life and lifestyle, and how to approach mentoring with the aim to better the culture and leave something sustainable behind. Tayla is a one and ...

Ok, strap in guys, this will be the most entertaining episode of Songwriter Soup so far, and maybe forevermore. Laura’s prediction for future Songwriter Of The Year, Thomas Daniel, is on the podcast this week, representing (for now, and not for long) the middle class songwriter.

By that we mean, Thomas is fully in the meat of ‘publishing deal land’ and hasn’t had that first big hit… YET (absolutely inevitable). His question...

Ryan Hurd (“Heartless” Diplo feat. Morgan Wallen, “What My World Spins Around” Jordan Davis, “What If I Never Get Over You” Lady A) sits with the Songwriter Soup trio to talk brass tacks music industry business.

Ryan describes the justifiable lure of releasing your own music exactly the way you like it, but helps fill in some blanks about how complicated, time consuming, FREAKING expensive and not-at-all-casual it is to swi...

Grammy-winning songwriter and artist Brandy Clark (“Mama’s Broken Heart” Miranda Lambert, “Follow Your Arrow” Kacey Musgraves, Shucked on Broadway) has carved out one of the most respected careers in modern music.

Brandy joins the Soup crew for a heartfelt conversation about trusting your instincts, recognizing those life-changing moments, and choosing purpose over pressure. From the Music Row to Broadway, this conversation...

Grammy winning hit songwriter, Shane McAnally (“Body Like A Back Road” Sam Hunt, “American Kids” Kenny Chesney, “Fancy Like” Walker Hayes) has achieved every imaginable accolade and is seen by the community (and most certainly, this Songwriter Soup crew) as one of the greatest songwriters of this era.

The trio sits down with Shane for a candid conversation about how addicting the mountain top is, and how gratitude and servi...

Carrie Karpenin (“High Road” Koe Wetzel & Jessie Murph, “The Man That Came Back” Jessie Murph, “People Vs. Maryanne Sue” Devon Again) sits down with the SS crew this week to discuss the journey for girls in boy spaces (behind drum thrones and producer seats), the thrill and exhaustion of being a touring musician, and letting your cowriters remind you who you are.

This episode covers the risk tenured writers take when lo...

The songwriting community lost one of its finest. Hall of Fame Songwriter, Brett James (Jesus Take The Wheel” Carrie Underwood, “On My Way To You” Cody Johnson, “Mr. Know-It-All” Kelly Clarkson) was known by so many of us as a remarkably open and loving human.

He was a fierce songwriter rights advocate, and one of the biggest contributors to the American Songbook in this era. His accomplishments as a songwriter span decades...

Grammy Award winning songwriter and producer, Jordan Reynolds (“Tequila, “Speechless” Dan + Shay & “10,000 Hours” Justin Bieber & Dan + Shay), joins the Songwriter Soup crew to discuss a songwriter’s search for a hero, A.I., studio aesthetics, and the subtle care that comes from making a slow cup of coffee for cowriters.

Jordan, a music row staple and everyone’s favorite conversationalist, is a perfect way to start ...

Two time BMI songwriter of the year, Jesse Frasure (“Halfway To Hell” Jelly Roll, “Dirt On My Boots” Jon Pardi, “Marry Me” Thomas Rhett) closes out the spring season, as always, joined by the Songwriter Soup trio.

This episode includes a candid conversation about the highs, the lows, the ease, the difficulty, and the jealousy that come standard with all of our songwriter dreams. Jesse opens up a candid conversation on how t...

You might recognize today’s Songwriter Soup guest’s name and voice—Rob Ragosta (“Need A Favor” & “Winning Streak” Jelly Roll) is the brother of previous SS guest, Joe Ragosta!

On this episode the group talks about family, community and how important the maintenance of both can help keep your head on straight through the ups, downs, highs and lows of the songwriter grind. It also covers the delicate balance of ego and h...

This week on Songwriter Soup, the trio is joined by Nashville producer and songwriter, Trent Willmon. This episode covers a wealth of information about production, vocals, and why Trent is open (and even excited!) to record outside songs with his frequent collaborator, Cody Johnson. For those of you who don’t know, an outside song is a song that an artist cuts without being on the copyright. There are a thousand reasons wh...

This week, the Songwriter Soup trio is joined by the incredible Connie Harrington (“I Drive Your Truck” Lee Brice, “Mine Would Be You” Blake Shelton, “No Caller ID” & “Bless Your Heart” Megan Moroney).

No shortage of wisdom, truth bombs and tears on this episode, y’all. Connie has seen it all and managed to stay, not just relevant, but bar-setting every damn time she gets one to stick to the wall.

See Privacy Policy at ...

The Songwriter Soup crew sits down with FBMM’s own, Erica Rosa, lovingly and accurately known as the “royalty guru", to explore how money flows through the music industry. While originally set to focus on publishing royalties (this is a songwriter podcast after all), things naturally veered right to the actual beginning.

How does music make money from the tippy top down? Erica offers a clear breakdown, from streaming and p...

Seth Ennis (“The Boys Back Home” Dylan Marlowe & Dylan Scott, “She Drives Away” Jon Pardi, “Hooked” Dylan Scott, “Tough To Tie Down” Jordan Davis) joins The Soup gang to discuss the challenges of going from an artist who writes great songs to a full time hit songwriter and the importance of friendship as you make your way up the ranks.

Seth and Laura clear up an adorable ten year old work snafu, and coo over how amazing...

To celebrate Kelly Archer’s recent two-week country number one, “I’m Gonna Love You” (Cody Johnson & Carrie Underwood), we thought we’d re-release our interview with our girl, Kelly! Enjoy one of our favorite episodes of Songwriter Soup.

Kelly Archer (“Sleep Without You” Brett Young, “Wild As Her” Corey Kent, “Somebody Else Will” Justin Moore) explains what it’s like to write songs in Nashville before and after becoming...

Steph Jones (“Espresso” & “Nonsense” Sabrina Carpenter, “hole in the bottle” Kelsea Ballerini, “People You Know” Selena Gomez) might actually be the songwriting community’s most easiest to love songwriter.

The Soup Crew learns all about Steph’s interest in scents and how it finds it’s way into her songwriting career, and the path she took through the praise and worship world that led her to a hits in pop and country.

Ste...

Replay, baby! Nashville's on Spring Break this week, so enjoy this oldie-but-goodie. It's full of great nuggets. We'll see you next week with a new episode!

Break-ups are never easy, especially when it comes to co-writing. This week, our hosts examine the reasons it may be necessary to say goodbye to a collaborator and how to do it with care.

The trio also talks about the virtues of Nashville’s even split policy, writing no...