My Music Row Story: Julian Bunetta

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Julian Bunetta

The “My Music Row Story” weekly column features notable members of the Nashville music industry selected by the MusicRow editorial team. These individuals serve in key roles that help advance and promote the success of our industry. This column spotlights the invaluable people that keep the wheels rolling 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 created unforgettable hits for numerous artists, including One Direction (he co-wrote/produced over 40 songs for the group, including “Story of My Life” and “Drag Me Down”), Niall Horan (top 40 radio No. 1 “Slow Hands”), Thomas Rhett (country radio No. 1 “Look What God Gave Her”), Rudimental (Ivor Novello-winning hit “These Days”) and more. This year, Bunetta has reached new heights, co-writing/producing two top 40 radio No. 1 hits, Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” and Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control.”

With more on the way, including his most recent production credits for Carpenter’s “Taste” and executive producing Rhett’s most recent album About A Woman, it has really always been music and the studio for Bunetta. His father, Peter Bunetta, was a drummer who produced records by Smokey Robinson and Kenny G, as well as Matthew Wilder’s 1983 top-five 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 now, just as music began as a family affair for Julian Bunetta, so it remains working alongside his brother Damon at their publishing company after discovering a young writer named John Ryan, who became a crucial collaborator.

MusicRow: Where did you grow up?

I grew up in what is now a pretty famous city, Calabasas, California. When I was young, there was just a gas station off the exit there in this little community called Monte Nido. It might as well have been living in Leiper’s Fork in the ’80s.

Photo: Courtesy of Bunetta

Your father, Peter Bunetta, is in the business, as was your uncle, Al Bunetta. Were you into music from the beginning?

I’d get picked up from school and then get dropped off at the studio with my dad. My uncle managed John Prine for 30 years, so I kind of grew up in and around it. It was just my fish tank.

I don’t remember learning to play drums. In my earliest memories, like age three and four, I already knew how to play the drums. My dad tells a story of just seeing me tap along to music at two years old. I always knew that this was something that I would do for the rest of my life, because I just loved to play drums.

I was just obsessed with reading credits on albums. As I got older, my love for music changed. It started as just a love for playing drums, but I got into jazz and classical and started learning about those genres. Then I got Logic on my computer and began making beats. After making beats for a while, I came to Nashville for the first time and started writing lyrics. That’s what really hooked me, the puzzle of songwriting. The final stop so far has been songwriting, and production goes hand in hand.

Is there a memory that sticks out from watching your dad in the studio?

I loved the studio environment. It felt like a secret club, all the people in there laughing, hanging out, talking music and eating food. I loved watching my dad orchestrate the room. That was really fascinating to me.

I remember one time when I was 10 or 12, I was watching him work with some really amazing, A-plus musicians. They started tracking this song and were going through the first couple takes, and something wasn’t working right with the groove. It was just my dad and I in the control room, so I said, “Hey dad, what if he 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 slid me a little high five. That made me feel like I knew what I was hearing.

Photo: Courtesy of Bunetta

Before you came to Nashville, what was your goal?

I wanted to be Dr. Dre or Timbaland. I wanted to produce hip-hop, which was one of my loves musically. I just wanted to make the coolest beats. Then I came to Nashville on a writing trip and watched the magic of turning a phrase and flipping the meaning of words. It blew my mind. From ages 18–20, I learned how to write lyrics from Nashville songwriters, while penning stuff pop stuff. I got my publishing deal when I was 19, so I was writing in my bedroom at my parents’ house in L.A. and flying out to Nashville and writing with amazing country writers.

I got my first cut with Wayne Kirkpatrick from some of those early writes. It was a Little Big Town song called “Live With Lonesome.” It’s such a wild full-circle moment because I’m now friends with the band. My first cut was a country cut, coming from L.A. and wanting to be a rap producer.

Your career took off when you started working with the massive international boy band One Direction. Tell me about that chapter.

It was just a rocket ship. You can’t plan your career—you can wish for something or walk towards something, but you never know how it’s going to happen or who the character’s gonna be. It was unlocked by the chemistry with my songwriter/producer partner, John Ryan, who we had signed when he was fest out of college. Our chemistry in the room together unlocked everything. He and I would write with a guy named Jamie Scott, or we’d go write with Ed Drewitt and Wayne Hector, and then it just took off. With the exceptions of Stevie Wonder and a few others, everybody does it with a partner or two. The chemistry of those people make something greater than they could produce by themselves like Elton John and Bernie Taupin or John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Once I met my counterpart, then everything became bigger than the sum of the parts. It was just a fun, amazing time.

It’s really surreal [to hear the songs sung in stadiums], especially in different countries where English is a second language. It’s overwhelming and emotional. It’s what everybody dreams of—millions of people singing your song.

Photo: Courtesy of Bunetta

Do you have a favorite of those songs?

“Story of My Life.” Everything just fell into place. It was one of those magic nuggets that fell out of the sky when we happened to have our phones on. We just started plucking along and then like the whole verse and pre-chorus melody just happened. That was the song that opened the door and became my calling card. I was really proud of it.

I’m sure people were beating down your door to write at that point.

If they were, I couldn’t do it because I had another One Direction album to make. We did three over three years. After that, there was Niall Horan‘s solo project to work on. I did a song on Harry Styles‘ record. The fallout that followed was that people wanted me to do that same thing. There was a lot of other bands that called. It’s funny because you get recognized for something and then you get pigeonholed. That’s what everybody wants—to be recognized for something. But all my mentors had told me that once you have a hit, you don’t have it made after that. You’re only as good as what you did yesterday. People are writing great songs all the time. That’s when I started coming back to Nashville again and started working with Thomas Rhett.

Tell me about that.

I had started dating my now wife, Virginia Bunetta, and she was managing a young Thomas Rhett. We started dating before he had had his breakout with “Die A Happy Man.” We wrote together for the Life Changes album.

I was kind of nervous to write with TR because my fiance at the time was managing him, I didn’t want to mess it up. He felt the same way about me because he had listened to a lot of the One Direction songs, so we finally got together. Our first hit together was “Craving You,” the first single off of Life Changes.

I got to co-produce half of the record with TR, Dann Huff and Joe London. It was a fun record because we combined EDM and country. We did all these fun experiments. I produced “Star of the Show” and wrote and produced “Look What God Gave Her.” Then we did “Beer Can’t Fix,” so we had a good run of four right off the bat. He asked me if I wanted to do more and produce the most recent record with Dann, which was so fun.

Photo: Courtesy of Bunetta

At what point did Nashville become home?

I officially moved here in 2018. It’s been great. I love the pace and the people. Everyone seems to have more of a work-life balance. I appreciate the community and the camaraderie with everybody.

Even though you moved to Nashville, and have continued to work in the country space, it hasn’t stopped you from having massive pop success. You just had a bunch of songs on the Sabrina Carpenter album that everyone’s talking about.

I believe we wrote our first song  in 2021. We just had two days together—me, her and Steph Jones. We hung out and were kind of writing a ballad, but mostly just laughing a lot and being really silly. I immediately felt chemistry in our banter. We came in the second day, expanded that banter and wrote “Nonsense.” The whole song, production and everything spilled out that day. Then Sabrina invited me to a writing camp in New York and we wrote a couple other songs [for that album]. I remember telling my brother and manager, as well as my co-partner John Ryan who was working with her in L.A., that I would cancel anything when she wants to work. I just thought she was so talented.

When “Nonsense” started to pop off, Sabrina had the brilliant idea to do the outros on tour and shout out the city. We wrote one and we wrote two, and then then we wrote so many more. We did a Christmas version. It’s a testament to her work ethic. How many people would just stop after 10, 15 or 20 different unique outros?

For the most recent album, John and I got to work together. We got to do “Good Graces, “Don’t Smile” and “Taste.” He did “Bed Chem” and I did “Espresso” separately. She’s phenomenal.

Photo: Courtesy of Bunetta

Who have been your mentors throughout your career?

Definitely my dad first. My whole life we’ve talked music and theory, and had these conversations about how you treat people when you’re having success and how to conduct yourself as a person that people look at to guide the room. My uncle was a mentor as well. He taught me how to stick by your principles and stick with the people that you believe in, and not just jump from this to that. You can win that way too, but he stuck with John Prine and Steve Goodman for his whole career. He showed me how to stick with your people, build it and win with your friends.

There have been a lot of people along the way that have helped me. Steve Keppner and Andrew Frampton were great songwriters and producers, and they were also great record executives. Steve Keppner had a No. 1 song in five decades. The way that he showed up every day in the studio, like a kid in the sandbox ready to learn was inspiring. I spent many years writing with Savin Katecha, whose mentor was Max Martin, so I got to hear secondhand Max Martin mentorship through him. Dann Huff has become a mentor in this town. I’ved loved watching the way he brings out the best in people.

What advice would you give someone reading this that wants to do what you do?

You can only be yourself, that’s number one. It’s always good to have a goal, because it helps you focus your energy, but you’ve got to filter the world through your taste. Your specific taste makes you unique. Embrace your tastes and work towards the craft. The greatest song that you can possibly ever write is always still dangling in front of you.

LB Cantrell
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