THR Names Music's 35 Top Hitmakers

This story first appeared in the Feb. 15 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

The London-based producer behind Amy Winehouse’s Back in Black (which has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide) is almost single-handedly responsible for the recent resurgence of female soul singers, including Adele and Duffy. As such, 37-year-old Mark Ronson has become a go-to producer for artists looking to switch-up their sound. Last year, his polished work could be heard all over Bruno Mars’ Unorthodox Jukebox, and its jaunty, indie-rock-lite single, “Locked Out of Heaven.” “Bruno was so adamant about keeping the music progressive,” says Ronson, a former DJ. “That got me back into programming beats again.” You can expect to hear more of those beats on the fourth solo album he’s currently writing. He will not, however, say if Paul McCartney’s new album, which he helped produce, will take on a patina of hip-hop. “I’m hesitant to talk about it,” he says. “But I can say that it’s just a master class in production.” How does Ronson land all these amazing gigs? “Maybe two times out of 100 someone came through management or the label. But really, all the people I’ve worked with, I’ve met by coincidence or through friends,” he says. “That’s pretty much how my entire career has gone up to this point.”