Ep. 220: Tayla Parx | Longevity & Building a Lasting Career

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

🗓️ 8 September 2025

⏱️ 79 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today’s guest is more than a hitmaker — she’s a creative force who has shaped the sound of a generation. From penning chart-toppers like “Thank U, Next” (Ariana Grande), “High Hopes” (Panic! at the Disco), and “Love Lies” (Khalid & Normani) to building her own label, publishing company, and artist career, her story is a masterclass in reinvention, resilience, and longevity.

And the writer is… Tayla Parx!

In this episode, Tayla sits down with Ross to unpack how she’s navigated more than a decade at the top of the music industry — from her start in Hairspray to writing with Babyface, to becoming one of the few Black women with a #1 country song. She opens up about:

Surviving the pressures of back-to-back sessions and industry burnout
Turning setbacks into fuel for her artistry and business ventures
Why branding yourself as a songwriter matters as much as the songs
The art of staying relevant without chasing trends
How to keep building a catalog that pays you for decades to come

For every songwriter, artist, or creative grinding to build a career that lasts — this is the blueprint.

🎧 Listen now and learn how Tayla Parx keeps writing hits… again and again.

Chapters

0:00 Teaser – Why Longevity Matters in Music

1:37 Intro: And The Writer Is… Tayla Parx!

8:33 From Dallas Kid to Hairspray & Nickelodeon Star

12:49 Finding Songwriting & Learning From Babyface

14:07 Leaving Acting Behind to Chase Music Full-Time

24:53 The Warner Chappell Era: Building a Writer Community

27:15 Breakthrough Hits: “Thank U, Next” & “High Hopes”

31:38 NMPA Ad – Fighting for Songwriter Rights

32:45 Inside the Story of “Thank U, Next”

39:37 How to Build a Catalog That Pays for Decades

40:55 “Love Lies” & Crossing Genres as a Hitmaker

50:34 Advocating for Women, Black Creatives & LGBTQ+ Voices

52:00 Why Tayla Still Releases Her Own Music

53:20 From Bieber to John Legend to Country #1

55:32 Exploring Jazz, R&B, and Children’s Music

59:34 Song Splits, Collaboration & Session Dynamics

1:03:41 Why Collaboration Matters (and When to Write Alone)

1:11:38 The Secret to Longevity & Reinvention

1:16:25 Closing Reflections & Legacy

And The Writer Is… is presented by The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) — advocating for songwriters, music publishers, and their essential rights.

Learn more at NMPA.org

Hosted by Ross Golan

Executive Produced by Joe London and Jad Saad

Watercolor by Michael White

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

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This industry, it's about who is willing to go the longest. Are you crazy enough to keep going?
0:05.5	Because this gets hard. You end up on Bieber's Justice album. Thank you next. High Hopes. Love Lies
0:11.8	also comes out that year. And then you end up one of a handful of black women who've had a number one
0:17.1	country. I was surrounded by a lot of people who didn't look like me. It helps me
0:21.8	sleep at night knowing that I'm crazy enough to never stop. Everybody's so scared to piss
0:27.6	somebody off, so scared to become irrelevant, especially as a woman. Yeah, you did that, but I think
0:33.0	it might have been luck. Yeah, you did that again, but I still think it might have been luck.
0:37.1	Oh yeah, everybody doesn't have to like me. If you're seeing this at Taylor from 10 years ago, what is it that you would tell her? Honestly, I would just say that's just what gives me the confidence. For me, it's like the consistency, the efficiency, and the longevity of it all. How do you approach those differently? I start with questions, like with artists.
0:57.0	Okay, how do you say I love you?
0:58.0	How do you say I hate you?
1:00.0	Like, I really start with just getting a little bit curious.
1:03.0	If you have a career, it's something that you're dedicating 20, 30 plus years to make it stand for something. What is the answer to the longevity part of that?
1:27.2	This season is presented by NMPA, the National Music Publishers Association, champions of
1:33.6	songwriters and publishers everywhere.
1:37.0	Welcome to And The Writer is, I am your host, Ross Golan.
1:41.6	Today's multi-hyphenated hitmaker is a force in the songwriting community. Her
1:47.7	discography reads like a masterclass in reinvention range and resilience. You may have first
1:53.7	seen her lighting up the screen in hairspray, but make no mistake, this artist has spent over a decade
2:00.1	trailblazing her own path in music, theater, and business.
2:04.5	All the way from Dallas, Texas originally, this writer's gone from TV sets to building her own record label.
2:12.4	And the writer is Taylor Parks.
2:15.9	That was good.
	...

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