“I find it crazy when people on the internet make a song in an hour – I’m like, ‘Clearly it won’t be that good!’”: Dan Nigro on the pros of cons of taking longer on songwritingProducer Dan Nigro believes you can make a good song in a short amount of time, but to create a truly great song, you’ll need to slow right down.
Known for his work with Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan, Nigro won Producer Of The Year (Non-Classical) at the 2025 Grammy Awards. His production career shot to new heights with the success of Rodrigo’s debut Sour album, which saw tracks like Driver’s License and Good 4 U top charts across the globe.

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In a new video with Universal Audio on its YouTube channel, Nigro reveals that for him, slow and steady wins the race when it comes to building a truly great piece of music that will stand the test of time: “I always find it crazy when people are on the internet like, ‘make a song in an hour!’ Clearly it won’t be that good, you know?” he says.
“You could write a good song in an hour for sure, and because writing songs is so expressive, sometimes the shorter period of time it takes to write it actually does mean it’s better, but in terms of making a great song, I feel [that] takes a long time to figure out.
“When you look back at records, all the best records that we all love, you’re talking about 10 songs or 12 songs that were made over two or three years. You’re talking about a ratio of like three good songs a year for a band. If I can make four really good songs in a year, that’s all you need, really. I know that sounds crazy but that’s what it really takes to make, I think, music that’s going to last forever. You want your songs to be played 20, 30 years from now, and that takes time.”

Also in the video, Nigro looks back on the success of Rodrigo’s smash hit, Driver’s License. He found that the success propelled him to another level, where he ended up working with huge artists with super-packed schedules.
“It took us 17 days before we made Driver’s License in the studio… but [now] we only have like five hours and then one of us has a dinner. How are we going to make a song this good?” he says of navigating the experience.
“Just because you think an artist is great doesn’t mean that you should work with them. I was told that early on but I didn’t really believe it until I experienced going through it and working with people that I thought were amazing artists, but then not having great results.”
You can watch the full video below:

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