Class on Hitmaker Max Martin’s Work to Be Introduced at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music

The Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, a premier program within New York University's Tisch School of the Arts dedicated to developing the next generation of music industry creators, is launching a unique academic offering this spring. Titled "Max Martin: The Musical Architecture of the Number Ones," the course will dissect the craft of the Swedish songwriter-producer, whose unparalleled three-decade career has fundamentally shaped modern pop.

Over a 14-week semester, Associate Arts Professor Jeff Peretz, who serves as the Music Director and Area Head of Musicianship and Songwriting at the Institute, will guide students through an analysis of Martin’s 28 Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers. The curriculum will deconstruct the harmonic, melodic, rhythmic, and production principles behind hits for artists like Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, The Weeknd, and Ariana Grande. "Max Martin hasn’t just participated in shifts in popular music—he has authored them, repeatedly, across multiple generations," Peretz stated, highlighting the songwriter's sustained impact, which includes five Grammy Awards from 25 nominations.

The course is designed to move beyond mere analysis into practical application. Students, including performers, songwriters, and producers, will identify core patterns in Martin's work—a catalog built largely out of the public eye by the notoriously private figure, born Karl Martin Sandberg—and then create original compositions inspired by those craft principles. This approach mirrors the Institute's Advanced Musicianship curriculum, providing a rigorous framework for understanding commercial songwriting. As Institute Chair Nicholas Sansano noted, "Max Martin has been incredibly successful navigating stylistic change because his work is always built upon strong musical fundamentals, clear structure, melodic sensibility, and intentionality."

Adding depth to the semester will be a roster of special guests from the music industry. Among them is Coldplay guitarist Jonny Buckland, a frequent Martin collaborator. "Max is arguably the most important songwriter of recent times and Jeff Peretz has rightly created a course exploring his biggest songs," Buckland commented. "Jeff knows more about music than anyone I know, making him the perfect guide to understanding Max’s extraordinary catalogue." This insider perspective will offer students a rare glimpse into the collaborative process behind global hits.

Student interest has been overwhelming, with the course filling immediately on the first day of registration. "The response from students has been unmistakable," Peretz observed. "My only remaining question is whether fourteen weeks is enough time to fully explore all twenty-eight number-one songs." When informed of the academic honor, Max Martin himself offered a characteristically brief and witty response via email: "Milking it huh? :)" The course underscores a growing academic recognition of pop craftsmanship, analyzing the work of a figure who, as Peretz suggests, operates not as a trend follower but as a consistent architect of the mainstream sound itself.