What are the (academic and professional) qualifications and/or experience required to enter the profession?
Studies have shown that few producers will have an academic degree. George Ezra is a known success story from BIMM University (Bristol), where he studied on their songwriting course. Less than one year after he became a student, he was picked up by Columbia Records and signed his first contract. Ezra now co-produces all of his work and is now a staple of modern British Indie-Pop, many producers share a similar story. For example, Quincy Jones – well renowned producer, arranger, composer – attended Seattle University, then Berklee College of Music, after just one year he dropped out to join Lionel Hampton’s big band. He went on to produce globally renowned songs with artists such as Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson. Very few of the top most-listened-to producers of modern music have an academic qualification, which proves that in order to become a successful popular music producer – you need to build a portfolio of work and industry connections.
What knowledge, skills and personal qualities/attributes are needed for success within the profession?
A producer needs to be trained to work in at-least one DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) like Logic Pro, or Ableton. They must be skilled with these tools to record and mix tracks. In order to do this, a producer must have knowledge in basic audio engineering principles such as compression, panning and EQ. Sources say a producer should have a decent knowledge of music theory, knowing how to arrange a track, and understanding its texture. A popular music producer should have creative flair and confidence in order to experiment with new sounds, and contribute to the artists vision. As well as confidence in the hands-on engineering work, a producer needs to be able to collaborate and communicate clearly and effectively. In order to be successful in this field, a producer needs to stay up to date on the current trends, learning to adapt to what is popular at the time of employment. Streaming platforms and social media follow an algorithm that boosts music that is current. To stay in the loop of what is current it is suggested to find a local producer community, whether it be online or in your city.
Because producers are mostly free-lance workers, it’s encouraged to have a good understanding of project management, as it’s common to have multiple projects to balance at any given time. This will allow you to benefit financially whilst being organised and structured, with clear goals and deadlines. Financial awareness is essential in this field of work. An understanding of the going rates for services like recording and mixing, managing budgets and making informed business decisions is essential for making the most out of your work. Being a free-lance producer is running your own business, you would need to promote yourself in the same way. Creating a strong personal brand would require skills in marketing, and a networking ability. Networking requires the ability to hold a good conversation and it helps if you have a talkative, extroverted personality. It involves making connections with people in the music industry to build a wide network of possible future business partners. Examples of networking can occur in social settings like live gigs/events, or even online through communities on reddit or any social media.
What are the duties and responsibilities of the profession – what does a typical day’s work involve?
Many sources from professional producers state that a day in the life of a music producer is never the same. But this is what draws people to the profession – It involves meeting new people every day carrying completely different emotional weights, it’s the job of the producer to listen to these people and understand how to translate that feeling into musical form through audio engineering and mixing. This can be a challenging position for someone who is rarely involved in the songwriting process, getting to know the feelings behind the song and expressing this through audio engineering is the duty of the producer, through my experience in studying and pursuing songwriting – I have much respect for this role as it completes the imagery portrayed in instruments and lyrics. I chose to research production because I am starting to develop the ability to self-produce my own music.
I found a blog from 2017 that runs through this producers average routine in chronological order: To start the day, the author recommends an ‘ear workout’ consisting of listening to a wide range of genres in order to take inspiration wherever you see fit. Next is to start preparation and research for the days work ahead, finding what DAW to use and what instruments and sounds would fit the song/s in question. This part of the authors routine also includes researching what is trending in the music world accompanied by a list of websites and online magazines that the author deems useful. Then we record the music, or “collecting the sounds needed to start”, before producing. Many people confuse producing with mixing, but technically there is a big difference, Mixing is tweaking the track and adding effects changing the spacings in the sound – whereas producing, is about arranging the recordings and capturing the vision for the song. It is recommended that multiple breaks are had in this time in order to approach the track with ‘fresh ears’ with a clearer perspective of the vision. Finally is the mixing stage, which is time consuming and can involve trial and error. This is where the track will come together and the vision will be fulfilled. The author mentions that they normally work from 9am to 5pm with a 1-2 hour lunch break, this is normal working hours for any job outside the industry.
It’s recommended by producers in the r/WeAreTheMusicMakers subreddit to work as much as possible everyday, whether that be one hour – or nine. From my experience working in paid studios with professional producers, they have also stated a similar philosophy saying that working as a freelance producer involves working whenever and however much is possible. The great thing about being in charge of your own work, is choosing your own hours. I have worked with producers who work well into the early hours of the morning, but I also know of many professionals who start as early as 6am.
What are the main financial and legal issues that impact on this profession?
A producer’s main source of income comes from artists, bands and songwriters booking their studio to record their music. As a professional musician myself, I have been left in the dark about payment dates from promoters and venues – unfortunately this will continue to be the case, even for bigger artists. Due to this uncertainty, producers sometimes receive irregular customer payments. This is the cause of the main financial issue for most producers. The manufacturers alliance website states that “If you don’t have a handle on your cash flow, you’ll find yourself in a constant state of firefighting. You might struggle to make payroll, pay taxes on time, or invest in new equipment when you need to. This can slow down business growth, damage relationships with suppliers, and even threaten your businesses survival.” unfortunately this is still the case for larger and more profitable production businesses. The solution for this could be to chart up where your money goes, with income and outcome dates including banking locations.
Many legal issues occur in production when contracts are introduced. Producers need the agreement in writing for a clear claim to royalties and rights. Unfortunately, unless this information is written in a legal format the artist might claim complete ownership of the recording. If a producer isn’t clued-up on the legality of rights and royalties with recording and engineering, they might end up losing money.
Overall the financial and legal issues of being a producer can be easily prevented with preparation and a good understanding of binding legal contracts. once this preparation is in place, its a lot easier to reap the benefits of the profession. Keeping the business in a financially stable position.
What would the potential marketing and promotional aspects of this profession look like?
Promoting yourself as a producer is very similar to how an artist or band might market itself on social media. By participating in trends and collaborating with a large social platform will inevitably boost visibility. The difference between the media from a band/artist to a producer is the target audience. Bands and artists need to address as many people as possible to find their audience and gain a fanbase, producers need to target their media towards possible customers – this implies using specific content that will appear on a musicians feed, keeping content related to production might attract the attention of other producers, but by using examples of previous recording sessions, and even using the recordings you have worked on in your content, could direct your media onto the feed of musicians looking for a producer. The use of hashtags is also very important. Tagging key words related to production would attract people interested in production, but the slight change of wording from production to recording will attract the attention of those wanting and/or interested in recording.
Social media is a great way to attract younger musicians, but there are infatuate ways to market a business. A few producers have used billboards to promote their work in order to attract the people passing by on the street. through my research for this essay thus far, I have found many blogs written by producers, I’ve seen the attention these blogs get and is a more ‘professional’ way to promote yourself online. Many producers also have YouTube channels, sharing vlogs and tutorial videos to teach others about learning production. This will establish yourself as a skilful producer.
Once a song is released online, its credits can be found on the desired streaming service. I have scouted a few producers this way myself, and find it an effective way to get your business to more people, sharing the audience of the composer.
What are the intellectual and personal challenges presented by the profession and how might these be dealt with?
An intellectual challenge that comes with the production profession is financial instability. It takes a long time to build a reputation, and with that will come a steady stream of customers. The time it takes reach this point in career can vary anywhere from three to ten years, and even after this period of business development its unlikely for a business to supply a stable annual income. This is why most established producers own studios, and sometimes have part time income on the side. The way to deal with this challenge is to furthermore expand on the financial income of the business. Many producers create beats and sample packs to sell to artists, some rent their studios to artists when not in use, or provide specialised services like ghost production and helping artists with arrangements.
Personal organisation and discipline can be difficult to learn, especially for creatives seeking freelance careers. This is a common personal challenge in production business, particularly when starting out. People learn discipline in different ways but the most common solution to this challenge I’ve read has been to keep to a strict daily structure, and make sure to equally balance work/social life. Running any business is difficult, but having the role of social media and marketing manager, alongside keeping up to date with production trends, retaining knowledge of music theory whilst also being your own personal accountant and receptionist, would challenge anyone to get everything done. Balancing all of this responsibility and knowing that its not certain to provide a stable financial situation is mentally challenging, keeping disciplined with your time and sticking to deadlines is vital for your wellbeing and the business success.
What career-progression/development opportunities are available within the profession?
As I mentioned in the previous question, many producers will eventually develop onto their business in many different ways. Once a brand is established and the business is steady enough, many producers will invest in opening their own studio, this is very useful for financial gain as when the studio isn’t in use it may be rented to artists for rehearsals or live videos. Other smaller producers may want to utilise this space, this gives the opportunity to rent rooms or time to smaller business owners who would contribute financially to the payment for the space. It is also possible to teach production and hold workshops in this space, essentially sharing your knowledge to smaller companies and people wanting to learn or start their own production business.
Support your findings with a selection of appropriate sources of information and reference materials.
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/music-producer
https://www.ram.ac.uk/people/jacob-collier
https://www.accesscreative.ac.uk/blog/10-skills-music-producers-needs-to-master
https://producelikeapro.com/blog/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-producer
https://www.visible.edu/blog/the-top-9-pros-and-cons-of-being-a-music-producer
