Ep. 247: Billy Corgan | How He Built Smashing Pumpkins Into a 30-Million Album Empire

Today's guest is the architect of alternative rock who sold 30 million albums and defined the sound of an entire generation — but whose real story begins after the hits stopped mattering to him.From the suburbs of Chicago to the apex of 90s mainstream success, Billy Corgan built an empire. Then he spent the last 20 years quietly dismantling the idea that commercial success is the same thing as real value. He carries three things simultaneously that most artists never figure out how to hold at once: the ambition of someone who was never going to settle for the midwest, the technical genius of a classically-trained musician who produces every layer of his own work, and the philosophical rigor of someone willing to completely reimagine what success actually means.This is one of the more unflinching conversations about what staying relevant actually costs — not the version that gets posted on socials, the version that gets lived in the real decisions you make about art, money, independence, and how you want to spend your time. When the gatekeepers are gone and nobody's controlling the narrative anymore, who do you become?And The Writer Is... Billy Corgan!In this episode of And The Writer Is, we go deep on:• The trap of being defined by your greatest hits — and why he refuses it• His father's failed music career, and the moment his dad finally understood• Chicago's inward-facing indie scene and the cost of communities that don't believe in themselves• How the value of artists gets assessed in rooms — and why that's broken• What "influence" actually means vs. commercial success• The gatekeepers are gone — what that really means for independent artists• Owning 100% of your publishing and why that changes everything• Building a new world where direct artist support is how things actually work• Why legacy thinking is changing, and what comes nextAnd much more...Hit subscribe and turn on notifications. Every week, we go deep with the most interesting creatives in music.Follow us on socials: @andthewriterisA special thank you to our sponsors for making these conversations possible.Our lead sponsor, NMPA — the National Music Publishing Association. Your support means the world to us.And @splice — the best sample library on the market. Period.Chapter timestamps:0:00 Intro2:30 Why Billy doesn't prefer to talk about his hits, and how his legacy has adjusted5:00 Dad's bitterness: you got lucky6:30 Dad's realization "You're one of the best songwriters in the world"8:00 Independent music, 'selling out', and Chicago's music scene10:30 The touring economics of the 90's13:15 Rigged charts and the beginning of Pop music16:00 Representation of Rock music in the charts / award shows19:30 Ross on the future of music in a digital world20:30 Numbers mean nothing if no one gives a sh*t.21:00 Pop vs Rock: The future of music28:30 Women archetypes in music38:21 Billy's advice: What you need to survive in the music industry40:00 World building and songwriting advice43:31 How to define your value as an artist in a commercial world44:40 Billy's Batman story49:00 Breaking 'Landmine' because of Courtney Love51:50 How he meets Courtney Love54:08 How he learned to play guitar57:00 His guitar hero inspiration…1:01:10 Meeting the band1:03:20 Finding a world class drummer hiding in plain sight1:07:05 Fighting for his band when no one believed in them1:15:29 Keeping your mouth shut when it's not your session1:16:02 Fight for your copyright. The band struggling with his sole writing credit1:18:00 AI in music… and Billy's take on itCredits:Hosted by Ross GolanProduced by Joe London & Jad SaadEdited by Jad SaadPost-Production VFX by Pratik Karki Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.