Topics / Songwriting & Production
Songwriting & Production Podcasts
341 shows and 31,321 episodes sit under Songwriting & Production.
Explore songwriting and production podcasts covering co-writing, demo craft, studio recording, mastering, music publishing, and the business of getting songs made.
Photo: Geoff Moore on Unsplash · Unsplash License
Swipe · Songwriting & Production only
Swipe through Songwriting & Production
Save time discovering your next favourite podcast by listening to just the best minute of an episode.
The songwriting & production slate · every cover a link
All 341 songwriting & production shows →
Next to this on the shelf
Subtopics to explore
Listening guide
Getting into Songwriting & Production podcasts
The most revealing conversations begin after the song exists but before anyone agrees it is finished. A melody becomes a record through co-writing, arrangement, engineering, mixing and a hundred small decisions that listeners may never consciously notice. The shows here stay close to that work, whether the setting is a writers’ room, a home studio or a mastering session.
Inside the studio
Recording Studio Rockstars has the lived-in feel of two craft obsessives comparing notes after a long session. Technical language arrives without ceremony, while the relaxed interview format gives guests room to follow a memory or method wherever it leads. RSR567 Micah Tawlks - Co-Writing, Mixing, Blackbird Sessions & Capturing Ideas Before They Disappear puts composition and recording in the same frame. RSR 564 - Packy Lundholm - Writing, Producing & Recording Yourself at Home brings that process into a more solitary workspace, while RSR573 - Greg Giorgio - Hybrid Studio: From Deep Snares and Cue Sends to Creative Mixing Techniques heads deeper into sound-shaping decisions.
The Mastering Show picks up near the other end of the chain. Its measured, collegial conversations assume listeners can handle terms such as LUFS, gain staging and translation, yet the tone remains closer to engineers thinking aloud than a formal lesson. The questions are wonderfully specific: The Mastering Show #108 - Why I was wrong about Loudness Range and The Mastering Show #102 - What IS 'translation' in mastering ? both begin with concepts that invite argument rather than easy rules. Try The Mastering Show #110 - What makes a REAL mastering engineer ? for a broader understanding of the job.
People & Music Industry is built around the people occupying different seats in the production room. John 'Spud' Murphy - Experimental Mix Engineer, Kevin Paul - Mixer, Producer, Audio Educator and Dimitri Tikovo‹ - Producer, Songwriter make its range clear. It is a useful choice when you want the profession itself in view: who does what, and where those roles overlap.
Songs before sessions
Made It In Music: Interviews With Artists, Songwriters, And Music Industry Pros moves comfortably between interviews and workshop-like guidance. Its plainspoken style leaves room for industry vocabulary without turning every conversation into a glossary. The craft sequence is especially strong: Persistence, Patience, and Purpose in Songwriting addresses the long game, Soft Skills in Songwriting with Seth Mosley turns attention toward behavior in the room, and How To Craft Quality Lyrics with Tony Wood narrows the focus to words. Production and commerce remain nearby in Leveling Up Your Music Production: How To Make Songs That Stand Out and Balancing Creativity & Commerciality in the Music Industry.
For a sharper push toward completing work, Songwriting For Guitar Podcast uses compact, directive premises. Ep 125: The Gear Trap: How Songwriters Hold Themselves Back names a familiar diversion. Ep 122: Finish More Songs (5 Ways To Finish This Month) goes straight at unfinished drafts, while Ep 121: Co-writing, Why You Need It! opens the door to collaboration. This is the practical on-ramp for someone who needs momentum more than studio lore.
Artists explaining the choices
Some production stories land best when the artist’s career and creative identity stay in the conversation. And The Writer Is...with Ross Golan frames those stories around individual turning points. Ep. 239: Marcus Mumford (of Mumford & Sons) | 'Catching' Songs + Avoiding Self-Sabotage promises a particularly close fit for writers interested in instinct and interference. Ep. 244: Melanie Martinez | How to Protect Your Creative Spirit in a Commercial World places the work against outside pressure, and Ep. 243: Charlie Puth Pt. 2| The Long Road to Becoming Yourself keeps artistic development in view.
Chord Progression Podcast: The Gateway to New Rock and Metal Music is warmer and looser, with a fan-host who paraphrases, amplifies and then guides the conversation forward. Albums, release cycles and a band’s growth arc provide the recurring shape. Dissecting Sorry X's Debut Album "Exes": Why an Artist's Debut Album Needs to Be a Launching Pad treats the debut as a strategic beginning, while Why Australian Metalcore Band Ocean Sleeper Took 7 Years to Make New Album "Peace When I'm Dead" foregrounds the time behind a release. Production talk embedded in the realities of working rock and metal bands makes this show a fitting choice.
Then there is Rolling Stone Music Now, where criticism and reporting meet in long, reference-rich conversation. The show is less workshop-oriented, but its best production-facing episodes widen the historical frame. Bob Dylan, U2, Neil Young: Daniel Lanois Looks Back at His Life in Music is the obvious doorway, followed by The D'Angelo Tapes: The Late Legend On 'Voodoo,' 'Black Messiah,' and Much More for an artist-and-album perspective.
For broader conversations with musicians, move up to Music Interviews. Head to Artist Interviews for more emphasis on personality and career stories; prefer Independent & Emerging Artists if discovery and early-stage careers matter more than detailed writing or studio practice.
Where to start
Begin with Made It In Music: Interviews With Artists, Songwriters, And Music Industry Pros for the clearest bridge between songs, sessions and business. Recording Studio Rockstars offers engineers and producers talking shop at length; start there if that appeals. Songwriting For Guitar Podcast is the quick intervention for stalled writers, while The Mastering Show is the deeper technical listen for anyone wondering what happens after the mix feels done.
Featured shows below are part of the PlayNext catalog. Updated weekly.
Recommended clips
Top Songwriting & Production moments
The highest-scoring 60-second moments anywhere in songwriting & production, one per show.
Drawn from 666 playable clips across 34 shows.
New on PlayNext
Just added to Songwriting & Production
The newest songwriting & production clips in the library, one per show — ordered by when the clip was made, not when the episode came out.
10 clips, one per show, added between 2026-04-15 and 2026-08-18.
Featured shows
8 shows, described rather than listed
A short write-up for each, plus the job it does in this guide.
Long-form craft interviews with engineers, producers, and working musicians — gear, methodology, room feel, and the practical decisions behind recordings.
Direct conversations on co-writing, demo production, publishing, and the soft skills behind a songwriting career.
Studio professionals talking shop about mixing, mastering, vocal recording, and the tools behind professional-sounding records.
Two seasoned engineers thinking aloud on dynamics, vinyl cutting, Atmos delivery, and decisions made across the production chain.
Covers pop songwriting credits, producer profiles, Grammy production, and the legal and cultural arguments around who owns a song.
Explores songwriting journeys, producer relationships, and studio identity in rock, metalcore, and heavy music.
The independent-artist perspective on songwriting ownership, publishing splits, platform economics, and producer business pressure.
Informal live-room conversations with DJs and producers covering Ableton, labels, drum and bass, and the mechanics of building a music career.
Where to start
4 routes in, one per reader
Covers co-writing room behavior, demo production basics, publishing mechanics, and career habits with practical, plainspoken advice.
A long-form conversation show for engineers and producers — gear, methodology, session stories, and working-musician perspectives.
Covers authorship, Grammy production, copyright cases, and the producer profiles behind major releases.
Live-room conversations with producers and DJs on drum and bass production, label logistics, and the craft of building a music career.
Glossary
Terms worth knowing before you listen
A songwriting session involving two or more writers, common in Nashville, pop, and contemporary R&B. Credit and royalty splits are negotiated as part of the process.
A rough recording of a song used to pitch it to artists, publishers, or labels. Demo quality and presentation have become increasingly important in the streaming era.
The final stage of audio post-production, preparing a mix for distribution by optimizing loudness, tonal balance, and format compatibility.
The percentage breakdown of songwriting royalties between co-writers or between a songwriter and their publisher, established at the time of the co-write.
Placing a song in a film, TV show, ad, or game in exchange for a sync fee paid to the publisher and songwriter. A major income source for catalog owners.
The standard measurement for audio loudness used in streaming platform normalization. Mastering engineers target specific LUFS values for different delivery platforms.