Matraca Berg on the Nashville Hit Machine, streaming economics, and getting busted by bro country.

We often treat commercial success as the final destination of a creative life, but for legendary songwriter Matraca Berg, it was just the first act. She was the first woman to have five different country number-ones in a single year, and her songs have been recorded by everyone from Linda Ronstadt, Trisha Yearwood and Deana Carter, to The Chicks, Chris Stapleton, and Reba McEntire. Matraca’s catalog defines generations of American songwriting. We sit down the the GRAMMY-nominated member of the Songwriting Hall of Fame to explore the realities of achieving massive success while battling paralyzing stage fright, the transition from the multi-platinum physical sales era of the 1990s to modern streaming, and how she keeps her creative tank full as the industry has changed around her. In a culture obsessed with youth and immediate output, Matraca offers a grounded, reassuring perspective on aging within an art form, artistic alignment, and learning to trust.