Julian Bunetta
“My Music Row Story” weekly column features prominent members of the Nashville music industry as selected by the MusicRow editorial team. These people play a critical role in helping drive the industry’s progress and success. This column spotlights the precious people who keep the wheels turning and the music playing.
Producer, songwriter, and music publishing executive Julian Bunetta’s remarkable body of work has exceeded 30 billion streams and spans multiple genres. He has worked with One Direction (he co-wrote/produced over 40 songs for the group, including “Story of My Life” and “Drag Me Down”), Niall Horan (No. .1) and have produced unforgettable hit songs for many artists. “Slow Hands”), Thomas Rhett (Country Radio No. 1 “Look What God Gave Her”), Rudimental (Ivor Novello Award-winning hit “These Days”) and more. This year, Bunetta reached new heights, co-writing and producing two Top 40 radio No. 1 hits: Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” and Teddy Swims’ “Loose Control.”
With more work on the horizon, including a recent production credit on Carpenter’s Taste and executive producing Rhett’s latest album, About a Woman, Bunetta has always been about music and the studio. . His father, Peter Bunetta, was a drummer who produced records by Smokey Robinson and Kenny G, as well as Matthew Wilder’s 1983 Top 5 hit “Break My Stride.” His uncle Al Bunetta was John Prine’s longtime manager and co-founder of Prine’s groundbreaking Oh Boy Records. And just as music began as a family affair for Julian Bunetta, so too did he continue his musical career with his younger brother Damon at the publishing house after discovering a young writer named John Ryan, who became an important collaborator. continues.
MusicRow: Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Calabasas, California, which is now a pretty famous city. When I was young, this little community called Montenido had a gas station just outside the exit. It might be the same as living in Leiper’s Fork in the 80’s.
Photo: Provided by Bunetta
Your father, Peter Bunetta, is in the business, as is your uncle, Al Bunetta. Did you always like music?
I picked him up from school and then drove him to the studio with my dad. I grew up around John Prine because my uncle ran it for 30 years. That was just my aquarium.
I don’t remember learning how to play the drums. I remember when I was three or four years old, I already knew how to play the drums. My father tells a story about when he saw me tapping along to music when I was two years old. I always knew this was something I would do for the rest of my life because I loved playing the drums.
I was obsessed with reading the album credits. As I got older, my love for music changed. At first I liked playing the drums, but then I became interested in jazz and classical music and started learning about those genres. Then I installed Logic on my computer and started making beats. After making beats for a while, I came to Nashville for the first time and started writing lyrics. That’s what really got me hooked, the puzzle of songwriting. The final stage so far has been songwriting, with production progressing in parallel.
Do you have any memorable memories of watching your father in the studio?
I really liked the studio environment. It was like a secret club and everyone there was laughing, hanging out, talking music and eating food. I loved watching my dad arrange his room. That was really appealing to me.
I remember watching him play with some really great, top-notch musicians when I was 10 or 12 years old. They started tracking the song and went through the first few takes, but something about the groove wasn’t quite right. It was just my dad and I in the control room, so I said, “Dad, what would happen if we played this groove like this?” So he went to the board and asked the drummer to do it, and it was the right part. He gave me a little high five. That way I felt like I knew what I was listening to.
Photo: Provided by Bunetta
What were your goals before coming to Nashville?
I wanted to be Dr. Dre or Timbaland. I wanted to produce hip-hop, which I love musically. I just wanted to make the coolest beats. Then I came to Nashville on a writing trip and witnessed the magic of changing phrases and reversing the meaning of words. I was shocked. From the ages of 18 to 20, I learned how to write lyrics from songwriters in Nashville while writing pop stuff. I got a publishing deal when I was 19, so I was writing in my parents’ bedroom in Los Angeles and flying to Nashville to write with some great country writers.
The first cut with Wayne Kirkpatrick came from some of those early writings. It was a song called “Live With Lonesome” by Little Big Town. Now I’m friends with the band, so it’s a really wild full-circle moment. My first cut was a country cut and I was from LA and wanted to be a rap producer.
Your career began when you started working with the massive international boy band One Direction. Please tell us about that chapter.
It was just a rocket ship. You can’t plan your career. You can want something or walk towards something, but you don’t know how it will happen or who the characters will be. It was unlocked through chemistry with my songwriting and producing partner John Ryan, and we signed when he graduated from college. Our chemistry in the room let everything go. He and I were writing songs with a guy named Jamie Scott, we were writing songs with Ed Drewitt and Wayne Hector, and it just kind of took off. Everyone does it with a partner or two, except for Stevie Wonder and a few others. Like Elton John and Bertie Taupin or John Lennon and Paul McCartney, the chemistry between these people creates something greater than anything they could have created on their own. After meeting my partner, everything became greater than the sum of its parts. It was just a fun and wonderful time.
It’s really surreal[to hear songs sung in stadiums]especially in different countries where English is the second language. It’s overwhelming and emotional. It’s everyone’s dream to have millions of people singing your song.
Photo: Provided by Bunetta
Do you have a favorite among those songs?
“Story of My Life”. Everything fell into place. It was one of those magical blobs that fell from the sky when we happened to have our phones on. We just started playing and the whole verse and pre-chorus melody happened naturally. That was the song that opened the door and became my calling card. I was really proud.
At that point, I’m sure people were knocking on your door and writing.
If I did, I couldn’t do that because I would have to make another One Direction album. I did it 3 times in 3 years. After that, I ended up working on Niall Horan’s solo project. I made a song on a Harry Styles record. The aftermath was that people wanted me to do the same. Many other bands approached us. The funny thing is, after being recognized for something, we get stuck in a fixed mindset. That’s what everyone wants. That is, to be recognized for something. But all my mentors told me that once you have a hit, you can’t make another hit. You are as good as what you did yesterday. People are writing great songs all the time. That’s when I started moving back to Nashville and working with Thomas Rhett.
Please tell me about it.
I started dating my now wife, Virginia Bunetta, and she was managing young Thomas Rhett. We started dating before he got his big break with “Death to be a Happy Man.” We wrote songs together for the album Life Changes.
I was a little nervous writing with TR. My fiance was managing him at the time and I didn’t want to mess it up. He felt the same way I did because he listened to a lot of One Direction songs, so we finally got to meet up together. The first hit we made together was “Craving You,” the first single from Life Changes.
I ended up co-producing half of the record with TR, Dan Huff, and Joe London. It was a fun record that combined EDM and country. We did all these fun experiments. I produced “Star of the Show” and wrote and produced “Look What God Got Her.” Then we did “Beer Can’t Fix,” so we had four good songs right away. He asked me if I wanted to do more and produce the latest record with Dan, which was a lot of fun.
Photo: Provided by Bunetta
When did Nashville become home?
I officially moved here in 2018. It was very good. I love the pace and the people. Everyone seems to be placing more emphasis on work-life balance. Thank you for your community and friendship.
You moved to Nashville and continue to work in the country space, but that doesn’t stop you from finding huge success as a pop singer. Sabrina Carpenter’s album had a lot of songs that everyone was talking about.
I think I wrote my first song in 2021. Me, my girlfriend, and Steph Jones only spent two days together. We used to hang out together and write ballads, but mostly we just laughed a lot and were really silly. I felt an immediate chemistry in our banter. We came on the second day and expanded on that joke and wrote “Nonsense.” The songs, the production, everything just came out that day. Then Sabrina invited me to a writing camp in New York and we wrote some other songs[for that album]. I remember telling my brother and my manager, and John Ryan, a colleague who worked with her in Los Angeles, that I would cancel anything she wanted to work with. I thought she was very talented.
When “Nonsense” started becoming a hit, Sabrina had the bright idea to play the outro on tour and give the city a shout-out. I wrote one, then two, then many more. I made a Christmas version. It’s a testament to her work ethic. How many people stop to listen to 10, 15, or 20 unique outros?
On the latest album, John and I got to work together. We did “Good Graces,” “Don’t Smile,” and “Taste.” He made “Bed Chem” and I made “Espresso” separately. she is phenomenal.
Photo: Provided by Bunetta
Who has been a mentor to you throughout your career?
Dad definitely comes first. We’ve always talked about music and theory, and we’ve had conversations about how you treat people when you’re successful, how you act as a person that people look to to lead the room. My uncle was also a mentor. He taught me how to stand by my principles and continue to work with people I believe in. You can win that way too, but he stuck with John Prine and Steve Goodman his entire career. He taught me how to work with my guys, build it, and win with my friends.
There have been many people who have helped me along the way. Steve Kepner and Andrew Frampton were great songwriters and producers, and also great record company executives. Steve Kepner had a No. 1 song for 50 years. It was inspiring to see him show up to the studio every day like a kid ready to learn in the sandbox. I have been writing for many years with Savin Kateka, whose mentor was Max Martin, so I was able to hear Max Martin’s guidance indirectly through him. Dan Huff has become a leader in this town. I loved seeing how he brought out the best in people.
What advice would you give to someone reading this looking to do the same thing as you?
All you can do is be yourself, that’s the best thing. Having goals is always good as it helps focus your energy, but the world should be filtered by your preferences. Your unique tastes make you unique. Embrace your preferences and work on your craft. The best songs you can ever write are always dangling in front of you.
LB Cantrell is the editor and director of operations for MusicRow magazine, where he oversees, manages and runs all operations for the company. LB oversees all MusicRow-related content, including the publication’s six annual print issues and online news. She is a native of Georgia and a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University’s Recording Industry Management program.
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