On a new episode of Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin chats with the ever-witty Conan O’Brien for a podcast that balances genuine conversation with interview-style snappy retorts. Their chemistry on the podcast is summed up perfectly by O’Brian himself, after a failed handshake, declaring he “immediately fell in love with [Chris] once our hands touched.”
LISTEN NOW: Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend: Chris Martin
O’Brien and Martin focused on music industry topics, ranging from Coldplay band dynamics, their guiding influences, and the skills behind concert performance.
Reminiscing on Coldplay’s past performances on Conan’s talk show, the two discuss the lasting career and impact of Coldplay, where Martin reveals that Coldplay actively kept the band’s longevity in mind. Countless bands have broken up, fallen victim to dynamic issues like creative say, pay, and internal hierarchy, so Chris and his band avoided those pitfalls.
Listen to music handpicked by Chris Martin on Audacy’s Coldplay Infinity Station
In addition to having a collaborative songwriting process, Martin said, “we [Coldplay] always split our publishing royalties, whatever the song is, because it allows people to choose what’s best for the song, because they’re gonna get paid either way. So they might say, ‘This doesn’t need any drums on [the song], but I’ll still get paid for drumming, so I don’t need to put drums on it.’”
Conan quipped back, “I’m down with it except for the payment thing. I do my best to screw the people around me.” He expanded on the musician’s thought, adding “There are bands, U2 comes to mind, that have endured for a very long time because there’s a communal sense in the band and I think that helps a band last longer.”
“Them [U2] and R.E.M. were the two we looked to in terms of how you keep the band together,” Chris revealed, “by sharing credits and money, and that’s really proved to be true.”
Clearly Chris is onto something, as Coldplay was formed in 1996 with all original members still performing. Today, Coldplay boasts 7 GRAMMY wins and 34 nominations, all while developing their upcoming album titled Moon Music.
Listen to the full episode of Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, above, as he finally gets the chance to chat with past talk show guests like Chris in search of real friendship.
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