
When you're an emerging writer, the toughest thing is getting into the room, starts Aaron Buckingham, a lead on Spotify's Songwriter and Publishing Relations team. Maybe you have some friends from college or school that you wrote songs with, and maybe it grows to someone you form a band with. But to get into rooms with more established writers and on to artists' radars-that can take a lot of time.
The process is all too familiar-not just for Aaron, but for burgeoning songwriters looking for an opportunity to shine. Even when a new songwriter possesses undeniable talent, reaching that career breakthrough requires them to navigate an intricate path. And since part of Aaron's role at Spotify is to unlock opportunities for songwriters and publishers on and off our platform, he goes further than simply helping songwriters and producers get into the room. He and his team construct the room.
Spotify Sessions: A first taste of collaborative songwriting Spotify Sessions gives rising hitmakers a first taste of professional collaboration. Occasionally themed, always thoughtful, these sessions give songwriters the opportunity to connect with artists, producers, and engineers who are further along in their careers. With specific opportunities for R&B writers and women and non-binary creators, as well as songwriters in our RADAR Songwriters program, we're using the space to advance marginalized talent.
To date, Spotify has hosted dozens of writing sessions globally that have been attended by an array of the world's top songwriting and production talent, including Rodney Jerkins, Ink, Leland, Ilsey, Wayne Hector, Ricky Reed, Ina Wroldsen, and Kamille. The results are notable. Stream Dua Lipa's ethereal dance track Hallucinate or 21 Savage's Grammy-winning a lot and you're hearing the results of a Spotify Session.
Songwriters are the architects who have built the music industry that we all kind of exist in, Aaron explains to For the Record. I'm incredibly passionate about the process of songwriting, particularly by those who aren't necessarily performers themselves. I personally love how our writing sessions knock down some of the political walls and give people an amazing opportunity to create together, and come with no agenda attached.
Ines Dunn, a songwriter on the rise Click the image to hear from Ines
Once the writers get into the room, Aaron's next job is to understand how Spotify can best amplify their talent, starting by pairing them with fellow writers.
From the beginning, Spotify Sessions has set the stage for a few songwriters' first collaborative writing workshops. For Aaron, Ines Dunn stands out. I'd be listening to a new Mimi Webb song or Maisie Peters and look at the songwriter credits and be like, Ines Dunn? Is that the same student who came to our writing camp?' And it was!
In 2019, Spotify invited Ines and some of her classmates from the East London Academy of Music to a dance and electronic music writing session at our Noteable Songwriting Studios in London. There they tasted their first collaboration between artist, producer, and songwriter. Everyone wanted to work with Ines, remembers Aaron. She was an immediate star.
For Ines the experience was her first time workshopping with seasoned songwriters, and it was life-changing. Now she's a full-time songwriter with credits on Mimi's and Maise's recent albums, as well as on Griff's, METTE's, and Josie Mann's. And while songwriting has become part of Ines's everyday life, the process of coming together with others to write a song in settings like Spotify Sessions continues to be magical.
Songs are always such a landmark of the time and place and the people that you wrote something with, she tells For the Record. I have such strong attachments to the moments when I wrote those songs. As the days go by, you always forget what you did and how much time passed and the funny thing that happened. But I feel like songs really capture the Oh God, and I remember writing that thing in that moment and finding it the funniest thing in the whole world,' which is really nice because it kind of immortalizes those memories.
Supporting songwriters from moment to music After the sessions, there's more to do, including finding ways to showcase the work using the power of our platform.
Spotify is well positioned to really connect collaborators from around the world, Aaron says. Whether it's things like having the names and the credits viewable on platform, or with the introduction of Written By playlists and Songwriter Pages, we're giving anyone who's listening to music that ability to be able to click into the credits and see the complete discography of a songwriter's work straight away. That's great for fans because it gives them more context around the folks who have helped create the music, but also I think it's super beneficial for the writer in actually unlocking future collaborations.
Click the image to hear from Aaron
We've long supported behind-the-scenes moments of music creation through programs like Equalizer. In 2021, we created Noteable as a home for songwriters, producers, and publishers, with resources like Songwriter Pages, Written By playlists, the Songwriters Hub, educational video series, the Created by Women playlist, and much more available. And with five studios, we're also making in-person sessions even more accessible to creators in more locations around the world. Casa Spotify Medallo is the latest offering for Colombia-based songwriters to hone their craft together.
Similar to RADAR, our RADAR Songwriters program helps develop songwriters on the cusp of greatness. With marketing and editorial content, we've helped songwriters in Canada, Mexico, Am
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
07/05/2026
At this year's Broadcast Asia, PlayBox Neo is set to unveil recent innovations across its PlayBox Neo Suite and integrated range of broadcast media solution...
07/05/2026
Strategic three-year partnership marks delivery phase of BFBS' next-generation media vision
Media organisation and military charity BFBS (British Forces Br...
07/05/2026
Amagi, the agentic industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, today announced the availability of its In-Content Ads offering v...
07/05/2026
Lightware Visual Engineering has developed Rack Taurus for rack-based environments such as education and corporate training spaces. It enables clean and simple ...
07/05/2026
Jigsaw24, the UK's leading media equipment supplier and systems integrator, will showcase its expanded end-to-end workflow capabilities at MPTS 2026, signal...
07/05/2026
Ease Live, an Evertz company, today announced that it has been granted a US Patent for its proprietary graphical overlay technology, the foundation for interact...
07/05/2026
Test & measurement innovator Leader Electronics of Europe will present an extensive range of Leader, PHABRIX and LeaderPhabrix test and measurement solutions at...