Max Martin | |
|---|---|
 Martin in 2023 | |
| Born | Karl Martin Sandberg (1971-02-26)26 February 1971 (age 54) |
| Other names | Martin White |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1984–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | Full list |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | |
Musical artist | |
Karl Martin Sandberg (born 26 February 1971),[1][2] known professionally asMax Martin, is a Swedish record producer and songwriter. He rose to prominence in the late 1990s with songwriting credits on a string of hit singles, such asBritney Spears's "...Baby One More Time" (1998), theBackstreet Boys's "I Want It That Way" (1999),Celine Dion's "That's the Way It Is" (1999), andNSYNC's "It's Gonna Be Me" (2000).
Martin has written or co-written 28Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles; 26 of which he has produced or co-produced, an all-time record for the chart as of March 2024[update]. His credits includeKaty Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" (2008) and "Roar" (2013),Maroon 5's "One More Night" (2012),Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off", "Blank Space" (2014) and "The Fate of Ophelia" (2025), andthe Weeknd's "Can't Feel My Face" (2015), "Blinding Lights" (2019) and "Save Your Tears" (2020). "Blinding Lights" is thebest performing song of all time according to the chart.[3][4] Martin has written the second-most number-one singles on the chart, behind onlyPaul McCartney (32), having surpassedJohn Lennon (26) with his 27th number one in March 2024.[5][6][7] Many of Martin's hits were used in the 2019 jukebox musical& Juliet.
In early 2013,The Hollywood Reporter tallied his singles sales at over 135 million copies.[8][9] According toVariety, his net worth was approximately $260 million in 2017; the previous year, his corporate entity generated revenue of $54 million with a profit of $19 million.[10] Martin has won theASCAP Songwriter of the Year award a record 11 times.[11][12][13] He has also won fiveGrammy Awards, includingProducer of the Year, and nominations for anAcademy Award and twoGolden Globe Awards.
Sandberg was born and grew up inStenhamra,Ekerö Municipality,Stockholm County. His mother was a middle school teacher and his father was a police officer.[14] As a child, Martin was a student of Sweden's public music-education scheme, and once said he had "public music education to thank for everything".[15]
As a teenager he sang in a variety of bands before joining aglam-style metal band calledIt's Alive in 1985 as their singer and frontman.[16] It's Alive was formed by Peter Kahm and ex-Lazy membersPer Aldeheim and Kim Björkgren on guitars, and John Rosth who had been a member of Lineout. Martin eventually dropped out of high school to pursue a career in music with his band under the nickname "Martin White". In 1988 It's Alive participated in Rock-SM (English: Swedish Rock Championship), a nationwidebattle of the bands, and had a residency at a nightclub inCyprus. The band got a breakthrough in 1991, as Dave Constable ofMegarock Records offered them to make a demo record. The later debut album was originally pressed in 1,000 copies and later on given away as a free cover tape in the UK by theMetal Forces magazine.
The decision to focus on a music career paid off as they landed a record deal on producerDenniz Pop's labelCheiron Records, aBMG affiliate. After recording their second albumEarthquake Visions, they released three singles in conjunction with the record and toured through Europe in 1994 supportingKingdom Come.Earthquake Visions eventually sold a disappointing 30,000 copies, despite being released in as many as 30 countries. More importantly though, Martin also began collaborating on songs withDenniz Pop. Recognizing a talent for writing pop songs in the young rocker, Denniz Pop renamed his new protégé Max Martin and eventually became Martin's mentor.[17]
I didn't even know what a producer did, I spent two years–day and night–in that studio trying to learn what the hell was going on.
In 1993, Martin was hired byCheiron Studios and spent some time learning the basics, before the first production collaboration between PoP and Martin: theRednex song "Wish You Were Here" in 1994. When Martin produced the intro toE-Type's song "This Is the Way", E-Type and PoP credited it to the made up producer alias "Max Martin", thus inventing his artist name. Martin was informed after-the-fact, when the printed records came back.[19] They both worked onAce of Base's second album,The Bridge (1995), shortly thereafter, as well as on albums by3T,Army of Lovers[20] andLeila K.[21] To date,The Bridge has sold more than six million copies worldwide, including one million in the United States.[22] When Martin eventually left his bandIt's Alive in late 1995, he was replaced by Anders Hansson.
In 1995, Cheiron Studios was hired byZomba to work on Backstreet Boys' self-titled debut albumBackstreet Boys (1996).Zomba became the main working partner since the success in 1995. Martin took part in the production of "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" (1996), co-written withHerbie Crichlow, a single which quickly wentplatinum and climbed to No. 2 on theBillboard Hot 100, as well as the singles "As Long As You Love Me" (1997) and "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" (1997). The album was not released in the U.S. until 1997, but was released overseas and caught on all across Europe, eventually selling around 8 million copies worldwide. This led to the Backstreet Boys being relaunched in their home country later on, this time more successfully.[23] Later that year, Martin co-wrote and co-producedRobyn's hits "Show Me Love" and "Do You Know (What It Takes)" which ended up on theBillboard Hot 100 top 10.[8]
In 1998,Cheiron Productions worked on albums byFive andJessica Folcker. Jessica Folcker had first been hired as a backing singer for tracks with Ace of Base andDr. Alban, and her debut albumJessica became an instant hit with singles like "Tell Me What You Like" and "How Will I Know Who You Are" which both soldplatinum. After Denniz PoP died of cancer that same summer, Martin took over as director of Cheiron Studios. He soon started working with writer/producerRami Yacoub, who continued to be his partner for many years. Martin also wrote two songs withBryan Adams during this time, "Cloud Number Nine" and "Before The Night Is Over".
In late 1999,Celine Dion released "That's the Way It Is", a song co-written by Max Martin to promote hergreatest hits albumAll the Way... A Decade of Song. The song became a hit, going to number 1 on the adult contemporary charts in the United States and Canada, and reaching top 10 all over the world. Since the song was released in November 1999, it has cycled 500,000 times on almost 1400 radio stations across Canada and the U.S.In 2003 Martin co-wrote and produced three songs for Dion's albumOne Heart. One of them, called "Faith", was released in 2003 as a promotional single in Canada and reached number 4 on the Quebec Airplay Chart and number 37 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary Chart.
Martin, Andreas Carlsson, and Rami Yacoub wroteWestlife's song "I Need You" for the first Westlife albumWestlife (1999). Martin, Nick Jarl, Steve Mac, and Patric Jonsson wrote Westlife's song "You Make Me Feel" for their second albumCoast to Coast (2000). Max Martin,Rami Yacoub, and Andreas Carlsson also wrote one of Westlife's hits, "When You're Looking Like That", for their second albumCoast to Coast (2000).
Martin wrote, co-wrote, and co-produced 7 out of the 12 songs on the Backstreet Boys' third albumMillennium (1999), including all the singles.[24] "I Want It That Way", a hit song Martin co-wrote withAndreas Carlsson and co-produced withKristian Lundin, became the group's biggest single to date and it is still popular today, being voted No. 10 in the MTV/Rolling Stone list of the "100 Greatest Pop Songs".[25][26]100 Greatest Songs of the '90s, a VH1 special, ranked the song at number 3, making it the highest ranked boy-band single and pop song.[27]Millennium sold over 1.1 million units in its first week in the United States, setting a record for most albums sold in its debut week (that record was later beaten byNSYNC's 2000 albumNo Strings Attached), and was the best-selling album in the world.[28][29]
When working on her own solo album, to be released in 2001 onStockholm Records,Lisa Miskovsky wrote the lyrics for the Backstreet Boys' hit single "Shape of My Heart" with Max Martin and Rami. The song, originally written for Miskovsky's own album, was passed on to the Backstreet Boys by Max Martin when Miskovsky decided that it did not fit her style. The song became the first single off the group's fourth albumBlack & Blue (2000).[30] In the first week of release, "Shape of My Heart" immediately jumped into the Top Five in Sweden, Norway, Canada, Germany and another 15 countries.[31]Black & Blue, containing several songs produced and written by Martin, sold 1.6 million units in its first week in America. Martin again receivedASCAP's award "Songwriter of the Year" both in 2000 and 2001.[32] In April 2013 the Backstreet Boys memberBrian Littrell invited Martin to collaborate on their single "In A World Like This". The single peaked atNo.6 in theOricon chart and performed well in the rest of the world. Martin collaborated on theNever Gone songs "Climbing the Walls", "Just Want You to Know", "Siberia" and "I Still...". Martin wanted the album to be more of a contemporary, alternative pop album with a little R&B. The resulting album had a more organic music style with more live instruments, and was a departure from the Backstreet Boys' earlier work.
[Martin] gets exactly what I am saying when I tell him what I want and don't want musically. His melodies are incredible and he is always coming up with weird sounds, which I love... There is nobody I feel more comfortable collaborating with in the studio
In 1998, Martin wrote and co-producedSpears' debut single, "...Baby One More Time", for her debut album of thesame name. The single was originally offered to theBackstreet Boys andTLC, though both passed on the song.[34] That same year, Martin also co-wrote and co-produced the third single "(You Drive Me) Crazy". By 1999, the album...Baby One More Time had sold over 15 million copies in the U.S., certifyingDiamond Status.[35] Also, within a year of its release,...Baby One More Time had become the best-sellingLP by a teenager in history, selling over 30 million copies.[36]
Martin was the first non-American citizen ever to win ASCAP's award "Songwriter of the Year" in 1999, an award he also won in 2000 and 2001.[37]
Martin worked on Spears's follow-up recordsOops!... I Did It Again (2000) andBritney (2001). He co-wrote and co-produced the singles "Oops!... I Did It Again" (2000), "Lucky" (2000), "Stronger" (2000), "Overprotected" (2001), and "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" (2002).
The duo ended up parting ways when Spears distanced herself fromteen pop. Spears recordedIn the Zone (2003) andBlackout (2007).
At the request of Spears, Martin produced and wrote for Spears' sixth studio albumCircus (2008). Martin co-wrote and produced the provocatively titled electro pop song, "If U Seek Amy", which was chosen by fans to be the third single of the album. Martin then produced the number one hit, "3", for Spears' compilation albumThe Singles Collection (2009).
Martin was one of the executive producers of Spears's seventh album,Femme Fatale (2011), alongsideDr. Luke. He produced several songs for the album, including the successful singles "Hold It Against Me", "Till the World Ends", "I Wanna Go", and "Criminal".[38][39]
Following the death ofDenniz PoP,Cheiron Studios was closed down in 2000. Martin and Tom Talomaa then started a new production company namedMaratone in January 2001 and moved into the famousCosmos Studios building. The first songs to be written and produced at Maratone were four tracks forBritney Spears's albumBritney (2001). The Maratone production crew initially consisted of producers/songwriters Max Martin, Rami, Alexandra,Arnthor Birgisson andShellback. Following the work withCeline Dion on the albumOne Heart in 2003, few new hits appeared from Maratone until 2005.
In 2004,Kelly Clarkson traveled to Sweden to collaborate with Martin andDr. Luke on her second studio album,Breakaway. These collaborations resulted in the rock-influenced singles "Since U Been Gone" (2004) and "Behind These Hazel Eyes" (2005). In 2009, Martin co-wrote Clarkson's single "My Life Would Suck Without You", which was a number one hit.
In 2005, Martin collaborated with the Norwegian singerMarion Raven for the release of her debut album, titledHere I Am, writing and co-writing the songs "Break You", "End of Me", "Here I Am", "Little By Little", "In Spite of Me", and "Six Feet Under".
Martin co-wrote and produced three songs onPink's platinum-selling albumI'm Not Dead, including the singles, "U + Ur Hand" (2006), "Who Knew" (2006), and "Cuz I Can" (2007).
Martin also collaborated with Pink for her next album,Funhouse (2008). Martin co-wrote the first smash hit single, "So What" (2008), plus the singles "Please Don't Leave Me" (2009) and "I Don't Believe You" (2009). The duo wrote "Whataya Want From Me" during the sessions forFunhouse, but ultimately the song was recorded and released as a single byAdam Lambert.
Later, Martin co-wrote hits for Pink including "Raise Your Glass" (2010), "Fuckin' Perfect" (2011), and "Just like Fire" (2016), for various Pink-related projects. For her seventh studio album,Beautiful Trauma (2017), he co-wrote "Revenge", "Whatever You Want", "For Now", and "Secrets". In 2019, for her eighth studio album,Hurts 2B Human (2019), he co-wrote "(Hey Why) Miss You Sometime". In 2023, he co-wrote and co-produced lead single "Never Gonna Not Dance Again" from her eighth studio albumTrustfall.
In 2010, Martin co-wrote and co-producedUsher's song "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" that went number-one on the USRhythmic charts and top-ten on the main Hot 100.[40] In 2011, Usher and Martin co-wrote single "Fast Car" from the 2012 repackage ofTaio Cruz's third albumTY.O. Working together again, Martin co-wrote and co-produced on Usher's seventh studio albumLooking 4 Myself in 2012 making thedance-pop song "Scream" that went number-one on the USDance Club Songs chart and number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was certified platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[41]
Martin worked withAvril Lavigne on two songs, "Alone" and "I Will Be", which were released on some deluxe editions of Lavigne's third studio albumThe Best Damn Thing (2007). In 2010, "Dancing Crazy", a song they co-wrote and Martin co-produced in theGoodbye Lullaby sessions, was released byMiranda Cosgrove and charted at #100 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Martin would later work on four additional songs for Lavigne's fourth studio albumGoodbye Lullaby (2011): the three singles "What the Hell" (2011), "Smile" (2011), and "Wish You Were Here" (2011), and album track "I Love You".
Max Martin first worked withJessie J on her international hit "Domino",[42] which achieved top ten success in countries including Canada, The United States, and Australia. Following the success of "Domino", Martin co-produced "Bang Bang" (2014) for Jessie J,Ariana Grande andNicki Minaj.
Max Martin worked withKaty Perry on her second albumOne of the Boys (2008), including the number-one single "I Kissed a Girl", and top 5 hit single "Hot n Cold". He also worked on her follow-up albumTeenage Dream (2010), including theBillboard Hot 100 numbers-one hit singles "California Gurls" (2010), "Teenage Dream" (2010), "E.T." (2011),"Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" (2011) and the top ten hit "The One That Got Away" (2011). Martin also co-wrote the songs "Part of Me" (2012) and "Wide Awake" (2012), the former of which topped theBillboard Hot 100.
For her fourth albumPrism (2013), he co-wrote and produced ten of its songs, including the No. 1 singles "Roar" (2013) and "Dark Horse" (2013). In 2016, Martin and Perry collaborated on standalone single "Rise" for the NBC Coverage of the2016 Summer Olympics, reaching number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.
On her fifth albumWitness (2017), Martin co-wrote numerous songs, including the lead single "Chained to the Rhythm" which peaked at number 4 on the Hot 100, as well as the title track. In 2024, Martin would reunite with Perry, co-writing "Gorgeous" from her seventh studio album143.
Confirmed by RCA Executives on 18 December 2011, Martin worked onChristina Aguilera's seventh studio albumLotus (2012) and was the producer of her lead single, "Your Body" (2012), as well as another song titled "Let There Be Love". Both songs reached the top of theBillboard dance/club chart.
Martin has collaborated withTaylor Swift on four of her albums. Their first collaboration was theBillboard Hot 100 number-one hit "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" (2012) for her albumRed (2012). Martin also co-wrote and co-produced two other singles on the album: "I Knew You Were Trouble" (2012), which peaked at number two on theBillboard Hot 100, and "22" (2013). He co-wrote "Message in a Bottle" forRed, but it was not released until 2021, when it was included onRed (Taylor's Version) and issued as a single.
Martin also contributed to her follow-up record,1989 (2014). He co-wrote and co-produced ten songs, including the singles "Shake It Off", "Blank Space", "Bad Blood", "Wildest Dreams", "Style", and "New Romantics".[43] The former three songs reached number one on theBillboard Hot 100.[44]
Martin later worked with Swift onReputation (2017), co-writing and co-producing eight songs, including the singles "...Ready for It?", "End Game", and "Delicate".
In August 2025, Swift announced her twelfth albumThe Life of a Showgirl, with Martin co-producing alongside Swift and Shellback.[45]
Martin first worked withAriana Grande on her second studio albumMy Everything (2014). Martin produced the first single, "Problem", which peaked at No. 2 on theBillboard Hot 100 as well as No. 1 in the UK, later becoming one of thelist of best-selling singles. Other songs from the album Martin produced include "Break Free" (peaking at No. 4 on theBillboard Hot 100) and "Bang Bang" (peaking at No. 3 on theBillboard Hot 100 and No. 1 in the UK).
Martin contributed heavily to her third studio album,Dangerous Woman (2016), most notably the singles "Dangerous Woman", "Into You", and "Side to Side", all of which peaked within the top twenty on theBillboard Hot 100.
Martin also contributed to her follow-up recordsSweetener (2018) andThank U, Next (2019), co-writing the singles "No Tears Left to Cry", "God Is a Woman", and "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored", among other songs.
Grande released her lead single "Yes, And?" from her seventh studio albumEternal Sunshine on 12 January 2024. She wrote and produced the song with Martin and Ilya Salmanzadeh. Martin also co-wrote and co-produced 10 other tracks from the album, including "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)". He would later co-write and co-produce all five new songs on her 2025 reissueEternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead, which all charted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Martin co-wrote and produced three songs fromthe Weeknd's sophomore album,Beauty Behind the Madness (2015), namely "Can't Feel My Face"—which peaked at number one on theBillboard Hot 100—"In the Night" and "Shameless". He co-wrote and produced four songs ("Rockin'", "Love To Lay", "A Lonely Night", and "Ordinary Life") from the Weeknd's third album,Starboy (2016).[46]
He contributed "Hardest to Love", "Scared to Live", "Blinding Lights", "In Your Eyes", and "Save Your Tears" to the Weeknd's fourth studio album,After Hours (2020). The latter album was both a critical and commercial success.
Martin also co-wrote and assisted in the production of "Take My Breath", released in August 2021. He also produced or co produced the majority of the songs on the Weeknd's fifth studio albumDawn FM (2022).
Martin appears on The Weeknd's sixth studio albumHurry Up Tomorrow (2025), co-writing and/or producing the songs "Open Hearts", "Give Me Mercy", "Drive", "Society", "Runaway", and discarded lead single "Dancing in the Flames".
Martin appeared as a keyboardist on two singles fromColdplay's eighth studio albumEveryday Life (2019): "Orphans" and "Champion of the World". In June 2021, Coldplay announced their ninth studio albumMusic of the Spheres (2021), with Martin serving as the album's producer.[47] The album received mixed reviews from critics but was a commercial success, debuting at the top of theUK Albums Chart and becoming the album with most sales in a week in the United Kingdom sinceEd Sheeran'sNo.6 Collaborations Project (2019).[48]
Music of the Spheres (2021) included songs such as "Higher Power", "Let Somebody Go", whichSelena Gomez appears on, and "My Universe", whichBTS appears on. "My Universe" debuted at number one on theBillboard Hot 100, giving Martin his twenty fifth number one as a writer and twenty third number one as a producer on the chart.[49] With that song, he tied withGeorge Martin for producer with mostBillboard Hot 100 number ones. (He would later pass Martin.[50]) He recently co-wrote and co-produced a majority of their 2024 studio albumMoon Music.
Martin co-wrote "It's My Life" with fellowSongwriters Hall of Fame inducteesJon Bon Jovi andRichie Sambora. It was released on 8 May 2000 as the lead single fromBon Jovi's seventh studio album,Crush. The song was certified 6× platinum in Australia; 3× platinum in the United States; 2× platinum in New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom; platinum in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and Switzerland; and gold in Brazil, France, Japan, and the Netherlands.[51]
Fourth runner-up of the eighth season ofAmerican IdolAllison Iraheta collaborated with Martin on her debut album. Her first single, "Friday I'll Be Over U" was written by Martin.[52]On 17 August 2009,American Idol runner-upAdam Lambert announced viaTwitter that he was in New York City with Martin recording a song for his debut album. It turned out to be the song "Whataya Want From Me";[53] that was also written byP!nk.
Martin also co-wrote "Into the Nightlife", a popular club track recorded byCyndi Lauper in 2008 and produced, alongside Zedd, and co-wrote "Beauty and a Beat", onJustin Bieber's 2012 albumBelieve.
Martin also produced several albums forEurodance actE-type.
In 2005, Max Martin wrote the first single-song forpop-punk duothe Veronicas, "4ever", with Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, for their debut studio albumThe Secret Life Of... (2005). Also he wrote "Everything I'm Not", the second single-song of the Veronicas, the same year, again with Gottwald,Rami,Jessica Origliasso andLisa Origliasso for the same album.
In January 2014, Martin produced a two-minute advertisement entitled "Volvo XC70: Made By Sweden",[54] featuring soccer playerZlatan Ibrahimović. The video of the advertisement received several million views on YouTube.
2008 saw him collaborate withDaughtry for one of their singles from their 2006 debut albumDaughtry: the song "Feels Like Tonight" written withDr. Luke.
In early 2014, Martin co-wrote the song "Dare (La La La)" forShakira'sself-titled album.
In April–May 2014, Martin producedJennifer Lopez's song "First Love", alongsideIlya,Shellback andSavan Kotecha.
Between 2014 and 2015, Martin produced singles "Ghost Town" and "Another Lonely Night" byAdam Lambert, before executive-producing his third studio albumThe Original High.
In January 2015, he co-wrote and co-producedEllie Goulding's "Love Me like You Do", which reached number 3 on theBillboard Hot 100,[55] while also producing several songs from her albumDelirium including the hit single "On My Mind", which was released on 17 September 2015.
In July 2015, Martin producedDemi Lovato's song "Cool for the Summer" which reached number 11 on theBillboard Hot 100. He also contributed to "Confident" and "For You" from their fifth studio albumConfident.
Martin also worked withSelena Gomez on her second studio album,Revival, producing its third single "Hands to Myself", which became her third consecutive top 10 hit from the album.
In November 2015,Adele's album25 was released and Martin co-wrote and co-produced the record's third single "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" with Shellback; it would eventually become a top 10 hit in the US and the UK.
In 2016, he co-wrote the song "Can't Stop the Feeling!" byJustin Timberlake which is also the title song for the filmTrolls with Shellback. The song became Timberlake's fifth and Martin's twenty-second number-one hit in the US.[56] It reached the top spot in 16 other countries. The song gave Timberlake and Martin their first nomination for anAcademy Award for Best Original Song.
In 2019, Martin co-produced and co-wroteEd Sheeran's andJustin Bieber's hit single "I Don't Care".[57] Martin also co-wroteSam Smith's single "How Do You Sleep?".
In November 2019, Martin co-wrote and co-produced the Weeknd's single "Blinding Lights".[58][59][60]
In 2020, Martin co-produced and co-wrote "Stupid Love", the first single fromLady Gaga's sixth studio album,Chromatica. This marks the first time the two have worked together.[61]
In 2021, Martin co-wrote and co-produced "Can I Get It" by Adele from her fourth studio album,30.
In 2022, Martin co-produced and co-wroteMåneskin's single "Supermodel".[62] He also co-produced and co-wroteLizzo's song "2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)", from her fourth studio album,Special.[63]
In 2023, Martin co-wrote and co-producedConan Gray's singles "Never Ending Song" and "Killing Me". He also co-wrote and co-produced Ed Sheeran's single "Eyes Closed" from his fifth studio album,−.
When accepting thePolar Music Prize, Martin highlightedABBA,Kiss,Prince andLasse Holm as inspirations.[64]
The traditional division of work in the record industry often has the artist or songwriter writing the songs and then hiring a producer to help shape the sound. But at Cheiron, it was the other way around; the producers wrote the songs, played the instruments, and engineered and mixed the recordings, and the artist was only brought in near the end of the process to do the vocals. For example, on Britney Spears's second albumOops!... I Did It Again (2000), Cheiron had already written seven songs and had proceeded to record the layers of music before Britney even arrived at the studios in early November 1999. It took her only one week to do the vocals. Martin and his team worked more like a band that alternated singers. Martin explained his working method:
I want to be part of every note, every single moment going on in the studio. I want nothing forgotten, I want nothing missed. I'm a perfectionist. The producer should decide what kind of music is being made, what it's going to sound like–all of it, the why, when and how.[65] –LA Times, 6/05/00
Martin's influence on the music field is also seen in the effect he has had on co-producers. The music siteStereogum singles out three people as his "disciples",Savan Kotecha,Dr. Luke, andShellback.[66]Time magazine reported that "There's a cluster of high-powered songwriters who are based in Sweden, and the grandmaster is Max Martin and that when Kotecha worked withOne Direction he credited Martin's influence: "We work melody first. That's Max Martin's school. We'll spend days, sometimes weeks, challenging the melody. The goal is to make it sound like anyone can do this, but it's actually very difficult. In Sweden, you don't do anything until you do it right."[67]The New Yorker reported that Martin was Dr. Luke's "Swedish mentor and frequent collaborator. If Luke is the Skywalker of pop songcraft, Max is the Obi-Wan: the reclusive master. ...The vital spark in the musical emergence of Dr. Luke was meeting Max Martin".[68] Dr. Luke himself says of the chemistry between him and Martin, "It happened really fast. It was magical. ...[Martin taught me that] Instead of making tracks for five thousand people, why not make tracks for a million?"[68] The magazine for Sweden'scollection societySTIM reported that Shellback became an "apprentice" with Martin acting as "his mentor" at Maratone Studios after 2006 when "Max Martin saw something special in the young man fromKarlshamn. Judging by the incredible success Shellback has had since, Martin's A&R skills are some of the best in the music business".[69]
Martin's song catalog was used in the stage musical& Juliet, which opened on theWest End in 2019.[70][71]
Martin met his wife, Jenny (née Petersson) fromMörrum, around 2000 and they married in 2011.[72] The couple have a daughter, born around 2001.[73][74]
Martin lives inLos Angeles and inStockholm.
Since 1998, Martin has written or co-written 28Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit songs (most of which he has also produced or co-produced). Eight of these songsdebuted at number one on the chart.[75]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | "Can't Stop the Feeling!" | Best Original Song | Nominated |
| Year | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Songwriter of the Year | Won |
| 2000 | Won | |
| 2001 | Won | |
| 2011 | Won | |
| 2012 | Won | |
| 2013 | Won | |
| 2014 | Won | |
| 2015 | Won | |
| 2016 | Won | |
| 2017 | Won | |
| 2018 | Won |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | "Love Me Like You Do" | Best Original Song | Nominated |
| 2017 | "Can't Stop the Feeling!" | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | "I Want It That Way" | Record of the Year | Nominated | [76] |
| Song of the Year | Nominated | |||
| Millennium | Album of the Year | Nominated | ||
| 2011 | Teenage Dream | Nominated | ||
| 2013 | "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" | Record of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2014 | Red | Album of the Year | Nominated | |
| "Roar" | Song of the Year | Nominated | ||
| 2015 | "Shake It Off" | Record of the Year | Nominated | |
| Song of the Year | Nominated | |||
| Himself | Producer of the Year, Non-Classical | Won | ||
| 2016 | "Can't Feel My Face" | Record of the Year | Nominated | |
| "Blank Space" | Nominated | |||
| Song of the Year | Nominated | |||
| Beauty Behind the Madness | Album of the Year | Nominated | ||
| 1989 | Won | |||
| Best Pop Vocal Album | Won | |||
| "Love Me like You Do" | Best Song Written for Visual Media | Nominated | ||
| 2017 | "Can't Stop the Feeling!" | Won | ||
| "Just like Fire" | Nominated | |||
| 25 | Album of the Year | Won | ||
| Himself | Producer of the Year, Non-Classical | Nominated | ||
| 2020 | Thank U, Next | Album of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2023 | 30 | Nominated | ||
| Special | Nominated | |||
| Music of the Spheres | Nominated | |||
| 2025 | "Yes, And?" | Best Dance Pop Recording | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Self | Polar Music Prize | Honoree |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | "A Beautiful Game"(fromTed Lasso) | Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics | Won | [77] |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | & Juliet | Best Musical | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Denniz PoP & Max Martin | Swedish Dance Music Awards 1996 – Best Producers | Won |
| 1997 | Denniz PoP & Max Martin | Grammis Awards – Special Jury Prize | Won |
| 2010 | Max Martin | STIM Platinum Guitar | Won |
| 2016 | Max Martin | Polar Music Prize | Won |
In 2016, Max Martin,Björn Ulvaeus and pop songwriterNiclas Molinder founded the "Music Rights Awareness Foundation".[78][79] This political foundation aims to increase knowledge of music rights worldwide, through education and support, and to help music creators to take control of their rights and be able to live on their music – regardless of economical, geographical and cultural conditions.[80]
TheWorld Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Music Rights Awareness Foundation (MRAF) have established a consortium,WIPO for Creators,[81] to promote awareness ofintellectual property (IP) rights and support creators in securing recognition and fair remuneration for their work. The initiative was launched through an agreement signed by WIPO Director GeneralFrancis Gurry and MRAF co-founders Björn Ulvaeus,Niclas Molinder, and Max Martin; it seeks to engage public and private stakeholders in global education and support programs. Emphasizing the importance of effective copyright systems, especially amid the COVID-19 crisis and the growing complexity of the digital marketplace, the consortium aims to strengthen creators' understanding of IP rights and data management to ensure proper compensation and credit for their contributions.[82] Bjorn Ulvaeus, shared a video explaining how knowledge of IP rights is key to a successful music career.[83]
Hans pappa var polis och mamma mellanstadielärare.
