I’ve long noticed that contemporary K-pop songs often have a long list of songwriters, and amongst them, Swedish names. So, I decided to go to Stockholm to talk to some K-pop songwriters. I learned about how one composer became a K-pop producer, why there is such a large concentration of Swedes among K-pop composers, and also how songs are solicited from songwriters via publishers by entertainment companies. From a complex process, the goal is to make a pop song that seems simple, and that is a hard task.
One composer I met on this trip was Nils Rulewski Stenberg. Nils has composed songs for Twice, Kickflip, The Boyz, NiziU, Rescene, Saymyname and many J-Pop groups. He has worked full-time as a composer since 2020 and describes himself as “a music producer/songwriter who is half French and half Swedish who mostly works for the Asian markets.” Currently, about 60 percent of his effort goes toward J-pop and 40 percent toward K-pop, although he spends some other time on independent or non-Asian products. He started playing the piano at age 5, bass at 9, guitar at 13, and went to the conservatory and played classical music.
While he grew up in France, one of his parents is Swedish (and the other French). He first arrived in Sweden after high school to study Swedish. However, his love of music and the fact that his older sister was already in the music business made him realize that music as a profession was possible.
He first hoped to enroll in the Royal Academy of Sweden. Serendipity stepped in and instead he ended up attending Musikmakarna — an institution in Sweden that has trained many music professionals. It was there that he received formal training in songwriting and music production and was exposed to K-pop and other genres.
Before he established himself in this business, he worked in retail as well as in manual labor in warehouses. Still, his dedication to music was clear — he rented music studio space, which cost twice as much as his apartment’s rent.
During COVID-19, his non-music work dried up. A sound engineer got COVID-19, and he was able to step in. He had a knack for this work, which led to other jobs and eventually he landed at the music production company Hitfire as a songwriter and producer.
This made me wonder about the Swedish connection to K-pop. During my visit, I noticed K-Beauty products everywhere and some restaurants featuring some K-food flavors. Still, I heard no K-pop, and Swedish charts have not been flooded with K-pop. Despite that, K-pop is on the minds of Swedish songwriters and producers.
Nils pointed to the large number of Swedish musicians and producers and, in particular, to the importance of iconic producer Max Martin. According to Wikipedia, Martin has produced or co-written 29 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles as of March 2024. He trails only Paul McCartney in terms of No. 1 songs on the US Billboard Hot 100 Chart. These include songs like “I Kissed a Girl” by Katy Perry (2008), Maroon 5’s “One More Night” (2012), The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” (2019), and Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off” (2014) and “The Fate of Ophelia (2025).
Nils explained that Martin showed Swedish producers and songwriters that success outside Sweden was possible. Going further, “Sweden has become a hub for songwriting. We have a very musical culture. Choir culture is very strong here. Also, in Sweden, you can learn how to do music production or songwriting even in high school.”
Still, what made it possible are the networks of producers and songwriters who initially had success in K-pop. Sweden’s population is just over 10 million people — the size of central Seoul.
So, how are songs generated in K-pop? People might imagine a song starts as singer/songwriters sitting in their living room, but there are many people involved. Publishing companies (which represent songwriters) receive a “lead” or “brief.” This is essentially a call from an entertainment company looking for a song for a particular artist.
A brief might state, “we are looking for a song that is a refreshing summer song with guitars and synthesizers for a group with three rappers,” for example. They often provide references to other songs. The request can be broad or very specific, and composers have to decide how closely to follow the lead for their submission. Producers may be given a few days to a month to submit a completed song with the tracks and vocals included.
To me, this sounded like a “Call for Submissions” for grants or articles in academia, except the time horizon is much shorter. Other K-pop producers told me that a well-known group can receive hundreds if not thousands of submissions.
I’ve always told my students that a good paper is like a good Tom Petty song. Hooks and punchlines are clear and need to be repeated. Aspects that are superfluous are distracting. Nils reiterated the point when describing his own work — simplicity is desirable but extremely difficult to achieve. Keep that in mind the next time you hear a catchy song!
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Grace Kao
Grace Kao is an IBM professor of sociology and professor of ethnicity, race and migration at Yale University. The views expressed here are the writer’s own. — Ed.
khnews@heraldcorp.com
