Ep. 216: Ryan Tedder (pt.3) | The Truth About Fame & How to Win in Music and Life

And The Writer Is...with Ross Golan

And The Writer Is

Unknown, Music Interviews, Songwriting, Music, Songwriters, Education, Interviews, Music Creation, Artists

4.9 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 7 July 2025

⏱️ 87 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today’s guest is the mastermind behind some of the biggest songs on earth – a creative force whose melodies have shaped generations. From crafting timeless anthems with Beyoncé, Adele, and Taylor Swift to leading OneRepublic to global dominance, he’s not just a hitmaker – he’s an architect of modern music.

In this conversation, Ryan Tedder rips the veil off fame and fortune, revealing the hidden costs of success, the brutal truths no one talks about, and his unfiltered blueprint for building wealth, longevity, and creative mastery in a world obsessed with trends. He dives deep into why most artists fail, how boredom became his superpower, and what it actually takes to build a legacy that lasts.

This isn’t an interview. It’s a wake-up call for every creator chasing relevance in 2025 and beyond.

And The Writer Is… Ryan Tedder! (Part 3)

Produced by Joe London, Ross Golan, & Jad Saad

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

00:52 His Morning Routine That Changed Everything

02:06 How Boredom Made Him Creative

03:40 The Hidden Dark Side of Fame

05:50 Justin Timberlake’s Brutal Warning

10:15 Fame is a Prison: Stories from the Top

14:14 Why He Hid His Singing Talent as a Kid

17:25 Lady Gaga’s Secret Ambition Revealed

20:55 Money Makes You a Target

23:02 His Dream: Rich But Unknown

25:26 Investing Millions Outside Music

27:05 Why Famous Artists Go Broke

31:02 Getting Dropped Saved His Career

36:13 What $50 Million a Year Really Means

39:22 NMPA Sponsor Break

41:01 Labels Want You Wild & Broke

44:40 Can You Win Without Flexing?

47:12 Managers Who Destroy Artists’ Careers

50:52 Why Tate McRae Is Built Different

53:37 OneRepublic’s Secret to Longevity

57:12 Sync Deals vs Streaming: Where Money Really Is

01:00:52 His Songwriting Secrets & ‘God Moments’

01:05:00 How He Stays Creative After 20+ Years

01:09:00 The Role of Trust in Hit-Making

01:13:00 Stories of Working With DJs & Pop Stars

01:17:00 The Future of Music & AI’s Impact

01:21:00 His Philosophy on Work Ethic & Success

01:25:00 Final Words: Advice to Creators

01:29:00 Outro

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Transcript

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0:00.0	To the degree that you can be the most Swiss Army knife as possible, you will have a job the rest of your life in music.
0:06.6	Having worked with a lot of the famous people in the world, I would not wish that type of success on my kids.
0:12.5	I had a guy tell me when I was 20. He was a Michael Jackson's business manager.
0:16.1	And he told me, he's like, kid, if you ever make a dollar in this town, pull it out of music, put it into real estate.
0:21.4	And I didn't know what that meant.
0:22.8	And I was surrounded by people in the early 2000s who had these fantastic two or three year runs and then burned through all the money.
0:30.2	The secret to success for any artist, don't let money be your guide.
0:34.0	Be really good at what you do.
0:35.0	Money finds you.
0:36.1	Envy, jealousy is the thief of joy.
0:38.7	If you are healthy, you have good friends and good family, you wake up every day and you have a job
0:44.6	that doesn't feel like a job. You've won the lottery in life, period.
0:52.7	Welcome to And The Writer is. I'm your host, Ross Golan.
0:56.1	Today's guest is Ryan Tetter.
0:58.1	I would normally go through a long list of all the things he's done, but this is his third interview.
1:03.5	Oh my God.
1:04.5	Are you ever bored?
1:07.4	I grew up and spent 20 years in Oklahoma.
1:11.2	Shouted Oklahoma. And anybody who's spent that much years in Oklahoma. Shouted Oklahoma.
1:12.1	And anybody who spent that much time in Oklahoma knows boredom.
1:15.4	I was bored out of my freaking mind from the youngest age, I can imagine.
1:21.5	And that is the time that allowed me to pursue all the things.
	...

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