As a Senior Research Fellow at BCU for the music industries, popular music and digital culture sectors, Simon Barber鈥檚 passion for songwriting has led to the creation of the internationally recognised podcast Sodajerker On Songwriting. As one half of the 鈥楽odajerker鈥� team, composed of Simon and his long-time friend Brian O鈥機onnor, we spoke to Simon about what motivates him to interview some of the world鈥檚 most successful songwriters, the most rewarding aspects, and his hopes for the podcast.
What motivates Simon to keep on making new episodes for the podcast?
As a scholar and as someone with a great interest in this field, Simon is motivated to find out as much as he can about how songwriting is conducted. Considering the people he speaks to are the top practitioners in the field, he delights in getting a chance to pick their brains and to ultimately make something that people listen to.
Having charted in more than 60 countries, Sodajerker On Songwriting has gained international recognition. The fact that the podcast has a listenership and that it鈥檚 popular has motivated Simon to continue making more episodes as they consistently see an interaction with their listeners through reviews and emails.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 believe the things that have happened, and that鈥檚 another reason to carry on because if that happened last year then maybe something amazing is around the corner鈥�.
What does Simon hope listeners can gain or learn from the podcast?
With songwriting being at the core of the podcast, Simon wants listeners to understand how interesting, important, and exciting the songwriting process actually is.
鈥淧opular music is entirely founded on this principle that people sit down and conjure up material out of nothing. Without songwriting, you wouldn鈥檛 have anything really. It鈥檚 a critically important art form and it needs to be properly understood, and I think the podcast goes some way towards achieving that and helping people understand why it鈥檚 so important and so interesting鈥�.
Beyond that, Simon emphasises that songwriting reveals a lot about people鈥檚 industriousness and creativity, and that it can be applied to other things in life. He points out how beneficial it is for human beings and their wellbeing to have a hobby or a profession where they can make something beautiful and put it into the world. The guests on his podcast manage to do this for a living and so it鈥檚 inspiring for him to hear what they have to say, both as a music fan and as someone who wants to write songs as well.
What has been the most rewarding part of making the podcast?
Creating such a high-profile podcast has undoubtedly come with many great perks for its producers/hosts, the main highlight being that they get to speak to some of their heroes.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e like mythical figures, it鈥檚 almost like they don鈥檛 exist. It鈥檚 crazy when you get a degree of proximity to those people and you get to really understand that they鈥檙e just people and essentially they鈥檙e all doing the same kind of thing. They鈥檙e all just trying to write good songs and they鈥檙e all in pursuit of that goal, and it鈥檚 just as difficult for them as it is for me or for anyone鈥�.
There have been countless rewarding experiences for Simon that have been as a result of the Sodajerker On Songwriting podcast. For example, making the BBC World Service documentary The Secrets of Songwriting and interviewing Nile Rodgers live on stage at the Meltdown Festival at the Southbank Centre鈥檚 Queen Elizabeth Hall.
鈥淚 never dreamed I would sit at Sting鈥檚 kitchen table while he played Roxanne to me on his guitar. I never dreamed I would sit face to face looking into Paul McCartney鈥檚 eyes. It鈥檚 just insane. We made this thing, we kept making it and we were consistent with it because it鈥檚 so easy to give up鈥�.
Aside from chance to meet such awe-inspiring artists, the podcast has provided the Sodajerker team with many rewarding experiences, including being awarded coverage in press outlets such as in NME, Esquire, Slate, The Guardian, and Q Magazine. Their archive of interviews has also been added to the British Library鈥檚 Sound and Moving Image catalogue so the general public can access audio files from their interviews.
鈥淔rom the word 鈥榞o鈥� we started getting really good people on the podcast and as a result it kind of snowballed from there. Now we can鈥檛 stop because people seem to like it and we鈥檙e still enjoying it after 10 years鈥�.
How has Simon鈥檚 career in academia helped with the podcast?
As a Senior Research Fellow, Simon鈥檚 career revolves around researching and writing, and the Sodajerker On Songwriting podcast is another extension of how he conducts research. Using the podcast as a vehicle to speak to top professionals about the topic he is interested in (songwriting), the podcast has become a research tool for Simon to gain detailed insights into how the top professionals in his field do their work. By understanding the topic better, he can pile this back into his research and share his findings with other people.
Also, being a podcaster who gets to speak to high-profile songwriters is useful for Simon in academia because he gets to explain who these major figures are that he interviews. Consequently, that increases his reputation as someone who is seen with authority in the field and someone who is well-connected.
What鈥檚 next?
Having just hit their 200-episode milestone, Sodajerker On Songwriting鈥檚 10th anniversary is coming up in November this year. With a few tentative plans for how to celebrate such an achievement, the team plans to continue growing and to see what other legendary songwriters they can speak to, such as Dolly Parton, Carole King and Barry Gibb.
To mark their 200th episode, Simon and Brian interview Jon Batiste for his 5th studio album. The episode is available to listen on or via the .
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