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Fred Mollin Unplugged: Hits, Heartbreak, and the Art of Producing Legends

with host Terrance “Terry” Sawchuk — terrancesawchuk.com

What does it take to produce the greatest songwriters on earth—and still love the work decades later? Grammy-nominated, Juno Award-winning producer Fred Mollin joins Terrance Sawchuk to talk about building trust with legends (Jimmy Webb, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Mathis, Billy Joel, James Taylor), surviving label bankruptcies, composing for film/TV, and why great producers are often great reducers.

You’ll hear the true story behind “Sometimes When We Touch,” how a label collapse wiped out life-changing royalties, why U.S. theatrical runs don’t pay performance royalties to composers (but Europe does), and the making of Jimmy Webb’s intimate classic Ten Easy Pieces—including the version of “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” that Bob Dylan singled out in his book The Philosophy of Modern Song. Fred also shares an email that nearly led to producing Dylan himself.

If you care about songs, studios, and the humans who make them, this one’s a masterclass.

Highlights

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  Trust, taste, and the producer as “reducer”

  
  


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  The crash course: label bankruptcy and lost producer royalties

  
  


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  TV/film back-end vs. U.S. theatrical: what pays and what doesn’t

  
  


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  How Ten Easy Pieces was really recorded (and why it feels live)

  
  


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  Calling in favors: building a Rolodex that gets legends to say “yes”

  
  


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  Modern albums, mega-tracklists, and the algorithm era

  
  


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  Trauma, truth, and why autobiographical songs hit harder

  
  

Timestamps

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  00:49 Intro: Why Sold for a Song exists

  
  


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  02:00 Who is Fred Mollin?

  
  


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  06:45 Dan Hill, Matt McCauley & producing a global hit

  
  


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  10:50 When the label goes bankrupt (and your check vanishes)

  
  


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  12:30 Film/TV royalties 101 (U.S. vs. Europe)

  
  


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  13:30 The Clive Davis “yes-sir” moment

  
  


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  17:45 Becoming the “duets” guy & calling legends

  
  


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  21:20 Making Jimmy Webb’s Ten Easy Pieces

  
  


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  25:30 Standing on the shoulders of great players

  
  


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  26:50 The Bob Dylan email (and what might have been)

  
  


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  29:10 Working with Lamont Dozier & the Motown wellspring

  
  


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  32:30 The algorithm era vs. live, charted studio magic

  
  


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  34:15 Creativity, trauma, and writing what hurts

  
  


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  37:50 Fred’s book, tour, and new Jimmy Webb project

  
  

Resources & Links

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  Fred’s book (signed): FredMollinUnplugged.com

  
  


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  Fred’s site: FredMollin.com

  
  


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  Host: Terrance Sawchuk — TerranceSawchuk.com

  
  

www.fredmollin.com

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