Ep. 262: Ryan Beatty | How to Make It in Music Without Losing Yourself

Today's guest is an artist and songwriter whose career has taken him from teenage YouTube covers to working with Beyoncé, Tyler, The Creator, Brockhampton, Miley Cyrus and Jack Antonoff.

But this conversation is really about something bigger: How to build a career in music without losing yourself along the way.

Ryan talks about learning to trust his own taste, being grateful he never had a hit record, protecting what makes an artist special, and refusing to let success, algorithms or other people's expectations define him.

We also get into Boy in Jeans, Brockhampton, Tyler the Creator's unexpected DM, writing four songs on Cowboy Carter, the making of "Bruises Off the Peach," and his new album Sweet Fortune.

And The Writer Is... Ryan Beatty!

Subscribe for more conversations with the artists, songwriters and producers shaping music.

Follow us: @andthewriteris

A special thank you to our sponsors:

NMPA — the National Music Publishers' Association

Splice — the best sample library on the market. Period.

Chapters

0:00 Intro

1:36 The Greek, Hollywood Bowl & Pokémon evolutions

3:08 Being made fun of for singing

4:09 “I refuse to continue just being one thing”

8:32 Why being hard to define is freedom

9:52 How Ryan approaches a songwriting session

11:52 Teach people how to treat you

13:43 “I’m grateful I’ve never had a hit record”

14:12 What success feels like vs. what it looks like

20:08 “I didn’t feel smart enough to be a songwriter”

20:55 Boy in Jeans — finding his voice as a songwriter

26:42 Jack Antonoff and an unexpected Broadway placement

27:30 NMPA + Splice

29:19 His advice for artists going viral

31:55 The moment he decided to do it his way

34:06 Brockhampton, Kevin Abstract & finding confidence

37:05 Why Ryan never pitches songs

40:43 Tyler, The Creator’s unexpected DM

42:35 Dreaming of David, touring & burnout

44:52 Making “Bruises Off the Peach”

48:17 Finding his actual singing voice

50:30 Cowboy Carter — four songs, told nobody

54:30 Making Sweet Fortune & chasing timelessness

57:32 How he wants listeners to see themselves in his songs

59:36 Amy Allen, Clairo & making the studio a place of joy

1:04:25 “Doing this is scary for me”

Credits

Hosted by Ross Golan

Produced by Joe London & Jad Saad

Edited by Jad Saad

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.