Even if you don’t know his name, there can hardly be a human alive who hasn’t heard at least half a dozen songs by Max Martin, who’s done more to shape today’s pop music landscape than almost anyone else. He’s launched the careers of legends, and been the go-to guy for anybody whose career needed a surefire hit. 
Born in Stockholm, he learnt the skills of the trade under Denniz Pop, one of the most successful songwriters and producers of the ‘90s, and quickly became his own pop powerhouse. He’s achieved success beyond anyone’s wildest dreams, with, to date, 25 number ones on the US Billboard charts. 
In 2016, he was awarded the prestigious Polar Music Prize by the King of Sweden himself. And now there’s even a jukebox musical, & Juliet, featuring some of his most beloved songs. If you’re still not sure who he is, how about a roll call of some of the talent he’s worked with? There’s Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, Kelly Clarkson, Robyn, Backstreet Boys, Adele, The Weeknd, Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Lady Gaga… need we go on? 
So we couldn’t have a Nordic music podcast without discussing this titan. We invited brilliant music journalist, Michael Cragg, who is also the founder of Maxopedia, the one-stop shop for all things Max Martin, to join us on the podcast and share his thoughts on the Swede and his greatest achievements, those Max Martin tracks that you didn’t even know were Max Martin tracks, and his take on what the future holds. 
Don’t forget to check out our Max Martin Playlist at https://www.melodyam.com/max where we took on the painstaking task of whittling down his hits for your delectation.