Max Martin is a Swedish songwriter, record producer, and singer who appeared notably in the late 1990s. In 1993, he was hired by BMG affiliate, Cheiron Studios in Stockholm, Sweden and quickly became a popular artist collaborator, recognizable through pop sensations of the time including Britney Spears’s “Baby One More Time”, The Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way”, and Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life.”
Throughout his career, Martin has also worked with Westlife, Céline Dion, Kelly Clarkson, Marion Raven, The Veronicas, Pink, Usher, Avril Lavigne, Jessie J, Katy Perry, Christina Aguilera, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and The Weeknd. He has written or co-written 22 Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits, most of which he also produced or co-produced. Martin is the songwriter with the third-most number-one singles on the chart, behind only Paul McCartney (at 32) and John Lennon (with 26). He has had the second most Hot 100 number-one singles as a producer(20) behind notable Beatles’ producer George Martin, who had achieved 23.
In early 2013, his single sales were tallied by The Hollywood Reporter to be at over 135 million.1
Martin has won the ASCAP Songwriter of the Year award a record eleven times2 and when accepting the Polar Music Prize, Martin highlighted ABBA, Kiss, Prince, Ace of Base, and Lasse Holm as inspirations.3