Gretchen Peters Spills Songwriting Secrets & More with the ‘SMI’ Podcast

In this episode of Surviving the Music Industry, Gretchen Peters feels that 2020 is looking like a reprieve and that we should have seen it coming from 2019. The acclaimed songwriter (Martina McBride’s “Independence Day,” Faith Hill’s “The Secret of Life,” Trisha Yearwood’s “On A Bus To St. Cloud” and numerous cuts with Bryan Adams, film & TV, and others) sheds some insight from a MADMAN-like childhood and secrets about the mysterious craft of songwriting. Peters’ latest album, The Night You Wrote That Song: The Songs of Mickey Newbury is also out now.

More specifically, as the daughter of a screenwriter, Civil-Rights writer and housewife Gretchen Peters fully admits to having a childhood reminiscent of the AMC hit MADMEN. This automatically set the pace to living an internal artist life like songwriting. A sudden life shift brought Gretchen to Boulder, Colorado, and thus began a love of country, jam bands and the freaks and misfits alike. In conversation, Gretchen shares the truth behind Martina McBride’s, “Independence Day,” and the inspirations behind the major characters from her biggest songs. She also explains the threads that make a Peters song, and what got her songs cut during a pivotal moment for women in country music. 

Surviving the Music Industry podcast (SMI) aims to be entertaining through a vulnerable conversation with guests about their lives, careers and projects. Some compare the show to “WTF for music” or Bobbycast. In this weekly conversation-style format, creators share personal stories from their life, and professionals offer insight into their chosen profession. No topic is off-limits. Guests and fans recognize a kindred spirit with host Brandon Harrington. The result? The show provides inspiration and solidarity by diving deeper into the lives of guests and their projects.

Dig what you hear? Gretchen Peters was also on Pitch List, another insightful podcast on the American Songwriter Podcast Network. Find out more about Pitch List here and listen to their episode with Peters below.