Unfamous with Justin Tranter

Paul McCartney can love your version of his song and still take 100% of the publishing. So how does any of this actually work?

In this Unfamous recap, co-creators Justin Tranter and Morgan Stuart revisit the biggest lessons from producer Bongo ByTheWay and songwriter/artist Ant Clemons, starting with Ant’s Paul McCartney story and a breakdown of the difference between samples and interpolations, when borrowing something familiar can increase a song’s chances of connecting, and when the publishing cost may no longer be worth it.

Then the conversation gets into the less-visible mechanics behind great creative work: why producing is as much about managing personalities as operating a computer, how Justin uses who / what / where / when / why to map lyrics, the melodic math he used while writing Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” and Justin Bieber’s “Sorry,” and why Bongo and Ant believe artist development still matters, from songwriting and performance to having a creative identity strong enough to survive success.

Chapters

0:00 Paul McCartney, Producer Psychology & the Rules Behind Hits0:42 Why the Behind-the-Scenes Creators Connected

1:52 Paul McCartney Took 100% of the Publishing

3:24 Sample vs. Interpolation: What You’re Actually Paying For

5:32 When Should You Kill an Interpolation?

7:46 The Producer’s Job Is Emotional, Too

11:58 The Song Map: Who, What, Where, When, Why

14:22 Why Structure Creates More Creative Freedom

15:22 The Melodic Math Behind “Good Luck, Babe!” and “Sorry”

19:26 What Music Is Missing: Artist Development

21:22 Singer-Songwriters Need Development Too

23:33 How Do You Prepare an Artist for Success?

Credits

Unfamous is hosted by Justin Tranter

Created by Justin Tranter & Morgan T. Stuart

Produced by Justin Tranter & Morgan T. Stuart

Written & Researched by Morgan T. Stuart

Director: Morgan T. Stuart

Co-Director + Cinematographer: Olivia McCrary

Audio Engineer: Mike Sabri

Camera Assistant: Kolbi Samantha

Special thanks to Mark Beavan, Jimmy Knehans, & Cory Jasin.

Chat with the Unfamous team: https://tr.ee/jwPZ3j
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The best-looking photo can still be the wrong cover. And one bad compromise can turn a bold creative idea beige.

The Hollywood Reporter’s Maer Roshan and Alison Edmond join Justin Tranter to reveal what actually happens behind some of Hollywood’s biggest covers—from Angelina Jolie asking them to redo an entire lighting setup after one shot, to orchestrating The White Lotus cast across two coasts and pulling together a Mikey Madison shoot the morning after her Oscar win.

They break down how a cover goes from an idea to the final image, what happens when talent or publicists push back, why the most beautiful photograph doesn’t always serve the story, and why great creative work can fall apart when too many people get a vote.

It’s a conversation about taste, trust, fighting for an idea, knowing when to defer to someone else’s expertise, and developing enough experience to stop second-guessing your own.

CHAPTERS

0:00 Why the Best Photo Can Still Lose

1:16 Meet The Hollywood Reporter’s Maer Roshan & Alison Edmond

7:31 How a Hollywood Reporter Cover Actually Gets Made

11:08 Why the Most Beautiful Photo Isn’t Always the Right One

13:21 Photographing a Controversial Celebrity Story

17:07 Why Celebrities Care So Much About Their Image

18:03 Angelina Jolie Made Them Change the Entire Lighting Setup

19:44 What Happens When the Talent Has a Bad Idea?

23:15 How Do You Avoid a PR-Controlled Interview?

27:16 The Insane Logistics Behind The White Lotus Cover

30:11 Shooting Mikey Madison the Morning After Her Oscar Win

32:08 How Do You Create an Iconic Image in the iPhone Era?

37:05 The Most Common Way a Great Idea Gets Ruined

38:47 Why Creativity Dies by Committee

40:17 How to Fight for a Great Idea Without Killing the Collaboration

44:39 How Alison Edmond Learned to Stop Doubting Her Taste

49:31 Their First Jobs in the Magazine Business

52:09 How They Spot Talent Before Everyone Else Does

54:16 Why a Print Cover Still Means Something

56:08 “Don’t Be Stupid”: Alison’s Path to British Vogue

59:28 Growing Up With Censored Magazines in Iran

1:00:46 Why “Manifesting” Still Requires an Obscene Amount of Work

1:03:08 The Prince Harry Cover That Got a Letter From the Palace

1:04:38 How The Hollywood Reporter Balances Print, Digital & Social

1:09:01 Gag or Drag: Celebrity Creative Directors, Publicists & Bad Covers

1:14:14 The Career Advice They Wish They’d Learned Earlier

CREDITS:

Unfamous is hosted by Justin Tranter
Created by Justin Tranter & Morgan T. Stuart
Produced by Justin Tranter & Morgan T. Stuart
Written & Researched by Morgan T. Stuart

Director: Morgan T. Stuart
Co-Director + Cinematographer: Olivia McCrary
Audio Engineer: Mike Sabri
Camera Assistant: Kolbi Samantha

Special thanks to Mark Beavan, Jimmy Knehans, Luke Burland + 2BEntertainment.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An Instagram DM became “Rush.” “Bloom” started with Troye Sivan thinking it wasn’t working. And after more than a decade of writing together, Troye and Leland are still trying to surprise themselves.

On Unfamous, they break down their creative partnership, how Troye keeps evolving without repeating himself, the stories behind “Rush” and “Bloom,” imposter syndrome, writing for RuPaul’s Drag Race, and what makes the right collaborator click.

Chapters are below so you can jump straight to your favorite parts.

Chapters
0:00 Troye Sivan Introduces Leland
2:09 How Troye Sivan + Leland Met
6:27 Their First Song Together Ended Up With BTS
10:57 Why Troye Never Wants to Make the Same Album Twice
18:43 Why Songwriting Is Mostly Social Skills
22:10 How an Instagram DM Became “Rush”
26:57 Troye + Leland on Imposter Syndrome
29:46 Cirkut, Mark Ronson + Getting Nervous Around Your Heroes
32:34 How “Bloom” Went From “This Isn’t Working” to an Album Title
37:12 What 11 Years of Writing Together Teaches You
43:08 Writing Pop Hits vs. Writing for RuPaul’s Drag Race
47:33 Britney, Janet + the Pop Music That Changed Them
55:55 Why Great Artists Are Secretly Music Geeks
57:01 How Troye Keeps Evolving Without Forcing It
1:03:33 What Troye + Leland Would Tell Their Younger Selves
1:10:42 Gagged or Dragged: TikTok, Gay Icons + Pop Songwriting
1:16:31 The Best Advice for Creative Collaboration
1:18:52 Troye’s Advice to Songwriters: Not Every Collaboration Works

Credits:

Unfamous is hosted by Justin Tranter
Created by Justin Tranter & Morgan T. Stuart
Produced by Justin Tranter & Morgan T. Stuart
Written & Researched by Morgan T. Stuart

Director: Morgan T. Stuart
Co-Director + Cinematographer: Olivia McCrary
Audio Engineer: Mike Sabri
Camera Assistant: Sherrae Rucker

Special thanks to Mark Beaven and Jimmy Knehans
Shout out to Leslie Tranter and Chloe Pappas on Patreon
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Rescues spent five years writing The Lost Boys for Broadway. They wrote nearly 60 songs, rewrote lyrics again and again, cut a song they loved after watching it stop the show cold in front of an audience, and reached a point where they had to ask whether they could keep working together after it was over.

Justin Tranter reunites with Kyler England, AG and Gabriel Mann to break down what actually went into creating the musical, and what happens when three longtime collaborators with completely different ways of working take on the hardest project they’ve ever made together.

They also trace the unlikely path that got them there, from forming for a $500 wedding gig and landing five Grey’s Anatomy placements to building separate creative careers before The Lost Boys unexpectedly brought them back together.

Plus: why they needed “band therapy,” how they learned which creative battles actually mattered, why a great song still might need to be cut, and what five years of rewrites taught them about trust, ego and letting the audience tell you what isn’t working.

Credits:

Unfamous is hosted by Justin Tranter
Created by Justin Tranter & Morgan T. Stuart
Produced by Justin Tranter & Morgan T. Stuart
Written & Researched by Morgan T. Stuart

Director: Morgan T. Stuart
Co-Director + Cinematographer: Olivia McCrary
Audio Engineer: Mike Sabri
Camera Assistant: Kolbi Samantha

Special thanks to Mark Beavan, Jimmy Knehans, Wayne Wolfe, Hannah Wallace, and Nicolette Carcaldi.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when pushing through stops making you stronger and starts getting in the way of the art?

Justin Tranter sits down with Rainbow Kitten Surprise's lead singer/songwriter Ela Melo and her partner and movement director Cat Cogliandro to unpack how movement, trust and recovery changed the way Ela and the band perform.

They trace “Devil Like Me” from a homemade recording built with cardboard-box stomp claps to its live reinvention, revisit the 2022 Red Rocks performance that forced Ela to confront how far she had pushed herself, and talk honestly about sobriety, creative conflict and knowing when to ask for help.

It’s a conversation about building a better show, but also a more sustainable way to keep making art without buying into the idea that suffering is what makes an artist great.

Credits:

Unfamous is hosted by Justin Tranter
Created by Justin Tranter & Morgan T. Stuart
Produced by Justin Tranter & Morgan T. Stuart
Written & Researched by Morgan T. Stuart

Director: Morgan T. Stuart
Co-Director + Cinematographer: Olivia McCrary
Audio Engineer: Mike Sabri
Camera Assistant: Kolbi Samantha

Special thanks to Mark Beavan, Jimmy Knehans, Bailey Katler and 2BEntertainment.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices