{"id":216983,"date":"2024-11-19T15:50:51","date_gmt":"2024-11-19T15:50:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/?p=216983"},"modified":"2024-11-19T16:40:31","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T16:40:31","slug":"dan-nigro-on-changing-the-pop-landscape-with-olivia-rodrigo-and-chappell-roan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/dan-nigro-on-changing-the-pop-landscape-with-olivia-rodrigo-and-chappell-roan\/","title":{"rendered":"Dan Nigro on changing the pop landscape with Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan"},"content":{"rendered":"

MBW\u2019s World\u2019s Greatest Songwriters series celebrates the composers behind the globe\u2019s biggest hits. This time out we talk to Dan Nigro, who, as the key creative collaborator for Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan, is responsible for not just some big hits, but arguably some pretty significant cultural moments. World\u2019s Greatest Songwriters is supported by AMRA<\/a> \u2013 the global digital music collection society which strives to maximize value for songwriters and publishers in the digital age.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/a><\/i><\/a><\/figure>

In the darkest days of the Covid pandemic, it was often hard to know what was going on in the outside world, while the struggle for connection was universal.<\/p>\n

So, for Dan Nigro and Olivia Rodrigo, the start of 2021 was particularly surreal. That was when Rodrigo dropped her debut single, Drivers License<\/em>, co-written with Nigro, and changed both their lives \u2013 and the world of pop music \u2013 forever.<\/p>\n

Because, in a world where everyone was stuck in their own little bubble, Drivers License<\/em> took off like a rocket and became a communal experience. Nigro and Rodrigo would call each other daily, questioning if the sky-high streaming numbers could actually be real.<\/p>\n

Friends would return from their daily jog to report the song was blasting from multiple houses in their neighborhoods. And Nigro himself would wake up every morning at 5am, heart racing, wondering what the hell the next day would bring.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d never really been part of a meteoric record,\u201d he laughs. \u201cI never know when a song is going to be a hit anyway. But that record just took off to the stratosphere. Of course, I knew we were making something special but that never, in my mind, equates to sales or chart numbers. All I could think was, \u2018This is good and it feels really good to be making this\u2026\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div> <\/div> \n

Almost four years on and Sony Music Publishing-signed Nigro really should be getting used to such super-sized success. Rodrigo\u2019s 2021 debut album Sour<\/em>, co-written and produced by Nigro, went on to become the most streamed album by a female artist on Spotify and spawned countless hit singles.<\/p>\n

The 2023 follow-up, Guts<\/em>, which Nigro also produced and co-wrote, has also been a global smash as Rodrigo \u2013 who first came to prominence as an actress on Disney shows \u2013 has become one of the world\u2019s greatest pop stars (or maybe that should be rock stars, given the way she has returned punky guitars to the singles chart frontline). Nigro and Rodrigo were named 2024 Songwriters of the Year by ASCAP.<\/p>\n

And if that wasn\u2019t enough, Nigro is equally closely involved with the rise-and-rise of another global pop femininomenon, Chappell Roan \u2013 not only co-writing and producing her The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess<\/em> album, but stepping in to release her songs through his own Amusement Records (now in partnership with Island) after Roan was dropped by Atlantic.<\/p>\n

Their work together features heavily in this year\u2019s Grammy nominations, with Nigro shortlisted for Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical, while Roan\u2019s work sweeps the Big Four (Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Best New Artist) and beyond, and Rodrigo\u2019s song\u00a0Can\u2019t Catch Me Now<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 written with Nigro for\u00a0The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 is up for Best Song Written For Visual Media.<\/p>\n

All of which makes Nigro pretty much the hottest songwriter-producer on the planet. But his journey here makes the Driving Home 2 U road trip Rodrigo undertook for her documentary of the same name look like popping down to the local grocery store.<\/p>\n

Nigro grew up in Long Island, New York, where his parents started him on piano lessons, aged five. Far from showing the talent that would make him the go-to guy for a generation of pop talent, he \u201cpushed back on playing, performing and practising \u2013 I kinda hated it\u201d. It was only when he picked up a guitar and got into grunge that the music bug bit, and he would spend his summers at the Jones Beach amphitheater, watching what alternative band was in town.<\/p>\n

“Those are the things that draw me to an artist: do they have an interesting song topic, and can you hear that conviction and intensity in the voice?”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Eventually, he formed his own band, As Tall As Lions. They became a moderately sized emo noise, touring extensively and cracking the Top 100 with third album, You Can\u2019t Take It With You<\/em>.<\/p>\n

But the band split in 2010 and Nigro moved to Los Angeles, where he became a jingle composer and songwriter, getting as far away from his indie rock roots as possible to work with the likes of Sky Ferreira and Kylie Minogue. It was when he spotted Rodrigo singing on social media and reached out to suggest collaborating, however, that his career really took off.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just loved her voice and her conviction,\u201d he grins, settling down to talk to MBW in his Highland Park studio. \u201cThose are the things that draw me to an artist: do they have an interesting song topic, and can you hear that conviction and intensity in the voice? I was totally crazy about her writing style, so I felt I had to be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rest, as they say, is pop hysteria. Nigro has even bigger plans for the future \u2013 he\u2019s already working with Roan on a follow-up record and is now thinking of signing other artists to Amusement Records.<\/p>\n

But, for now, it\u2019s time to talk to MBW<\/em> about Olivia, Chappell and what comes next\u2026<\/p>\n

\n
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS INCREDIBLE MOMENT WITH OLIVIA RODRIGO AND CHAPPELL ROAN?<\/h6>\n

It\u2019s pretty awesome. I couldn\u2019t be happier with how things have been received.<\/p>\n

With the Chappell stuff, it feels really incredible because we\u2019ve been working at it for so long. We were trying to push through a certain wall and now we\u2019ve got through, so that\u2019s as good as it gets.<\/p>\n

I grew up playing music and getting signed in the early 2000s and the way that you had to do it was, go out and play shows, prove to people how good you were in a live setting, grow a pocket of a fanbase and then keep on building these little blocks.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always known that Chappell was a great live performer even before she was playing shows; with how good she was on the microphone and how much she could control her voice, you just knew she was going to be able to do something special on stage. It\u2019s amazing for fans that get to experience such a great live performer.<\/p>\n

\n
AS TALL AS LIONS WERE A SUCCESSFUL LIVE ACT TOO \u2013 DID YOU WANT TO BE A BIG ROCK STAR?<\/h6>\n

I don\u2019t know if it was necessarily the dream to be a rock star. I loved the idea of going on stage and being in front of people but, quite soon into playing in a band, I realized I didn\u2019t love it.<\/p>\n

Once we started touring and were on the road all the time, I realized how much I hated not having a routine and I found myself quite disconnected from reality at some points. You\u2019re living in this weird alternate bubble, where you\u2019re moving around, going from show to show, you\u2019re in a new city, you show up at a venue, you\u2019re performing and then getting back in the van and doing it all over again.<\/p>\n

The allure wore off quite quickly for me and I realized I like creating music more than I like performing it. You can show up to a venue and have 500 fans that love you, but still be losing money on the show. That\u2019s really tough to deal with, being completely broke the entire time.<\/p>\n

\n
IS THAT WHY THE BAND SPLIT UP?<\/h6>\n

If we were getting along creatively, it would have been worth it. I never mind putting in hard work and really fighting for something; still to this day I\u2019ll fight until the end for a good song and sacrifice so much for it.<\/p>\n

But if you\u2019re not getting along creatively, there\u2019s no point to it. The main factor for our band breaking up was, we were creatively at odds. You could blame the other factors as well but, ultimately, if the creative juices are flowing, then everything\u2019s cool.<\/p>\n

\n
WAS IT DIFFICULT TO MOVE ON FROM THE BAND?<\/h6>\n

That\u2019s something a lot of people struggle with, because whoever you are is completely wrapped up in [the band].<\/p>\n

But I came into a creative group of people that were making music that was inspiring me. Unlike most people, I took a hard turn into completely trying to cut away from that side of my career.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t want people to associate me with the band, even though I\u2019m proud of the band. I didn\u2019t want anybody to think that was the style of music I was trying to create like, \u2018Dan makes indie rock music\u2019 or whatever. I didn\u2019t want people to go to me for those things. It was actually easier for me to fully separate from it and try to start from square one.<\/p>\n

\n
OLIVIA RODRIGO STARRED IN DISNEY\u2019S HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: THE MUSICAL<\/em>: THE SERIES BEFORE HER MUSIC CAREER. DID YOU HAVE ANY PRECONCEPTIONS ABOUT WHAT SORT OF MUSIC SHE\u2019D WANT TO DO?<\/h6>\n

The funny thing is, I had never seen the TV show \u2013 up to this day I\u2019ve still never seen it. To me, it had nothing to do with that \u2013 I heard her voice, I thought she was great and the fact that she was on a television show was just some other thing that had nothing to do with me wanting to make music with her.<\/p>\n

\n