Working as a music producer 

What does a music producer do? 

The term music producer often gets thrown around, and it seems as though nowadays many people use it to encompass a large variety of different things a producer may do. It can be people who work on tracks alone in their bedrooms, writing all the parts themselves, mixing and mastering the track while also taking care of all the legal obligations that come when releasing a project. It could also be someone who oversees the creation of a project working with a variety of different artists, musicians, engineers, composers and music lawyers. Some people would also argue that a beatmaker is a producer. All these definitions seem to make it quite hard to encapsulate exactly what a producer does, but in this essay, I will try to summarise what I believe to be the key responsibilities of a music producer. This could be, the knowledge/qualifications they must have, the various challenges and issues they must overcome, whether that be legal, financial or promotional, and the opportunities for development and progression in the profession. 

Supported by https://online.berklee.edu/takenote/music-production-what-does-a-music-producer-do/ under heading “What does a music producer do” 

• What are the (academic and professional) qualifications and/or experience required to enter the profession? 

• What knowledge, skills and personal qualities/attributes are needed for success within the profession? 

Beginning work as a producer requires one to have extensive knowledge of production as well as experience in the industry; ensuring you will be able oversee the completion of a project from start to finish. It is good to have experience: 

• Providing artists with guidance, giving them new ideas while making sure they still have a good amount of creative freedom, challenging and supporting them while you work to ensure they deliver their best performance. This requires good interpersonal and leadership skills 

• Being proficient at using a DAW (digital audio workstation). The industry standard is Pro Tools but if you are more proficient in other DAWs that is also fine, the best DAW for you is the one you feel most comfortable using. 

• Understanding how to set up a recording session. Knowing which mics, pedals, etc are used for what and how to set them up to give you the best/desired. Being able to route them all into the desired channels ensuring that all levels are balanced and not clipping 

• Knowing what goes into mixing and mastering a track. This includes understanding what different plugins do, how to use them optimally, how to balance levels, how to pan tracks for a professional mix, and how to EQ each track to achieve the desired sound 

• Working in production will mean that one is dealing with people on a regular basis, whether that be speaking with clients about what they want the finished product to sound like, or dealing with musicians, engineers and other staff that may be present at a session. Having good personal qualities/attributes such as strong interpersonal skills, good creative vision and resilience will make this sort of correspondence much easier and lead to better success working in the industry. 

This experience can be acquired through teaching yourself the required skills and getting on the job experience through things like internships and work experience or just putting yourself out there and learning on the job once you have learnt enough. You can also get this experience from doing a course in production such as the one offered at Leeds Conservatoire https://www.leedsconservatoire.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate-courses/ba-hons-music-production/. Courses like these give valuable experience and knowledge in production. The qualification you receive at the end of them can also be valuable to employers and potential clients. 

Supported by: https://www.ukmusic.org/job-profiles/music-producer/ under “How do i become a music producer?” and https://www.accesscreative.ac.uk/blog/10-skills-music-producers-needs-to-master/ Under “What 10 skills are needed for a music producer” 

• What are the duties and responsibilities of the profession – what does a typical day’s work involve? 

There is no simple answer to what a typical day working as a music producer will look like. Each day will hold different things depending on who you’re working with, who you’re working for and how creative you are feeling on that given day. It can also vary greatly depending on how you work as a producer, different people have different workflows and different specialties, and it is unlikely that two producers will work in exactly the same way however, some of your responsibilities may include: 

• Setting up and running sessions 

• Working independently on tracks, such as mixing or developing ideas 

• Researching specific styles or sounds to match a desired direction 

• Managing client outreach and social media presence 

If you are working as an in-house producer for a studio or record label, workdays may be a bit more structured. You will likely be expected to go to the office or studio on set days with set hours and may have a busy schedule working with a variety of different artists. However, if you are working independently, you will have much more flexibility over how and when you work. This will mean you will also have to take care of getting clients yourself and building a schedule that works for you. You may need to spend a portion of your day working on outreach, correspondence and building a brand for yourself as well as working on tracks with clients. 

Supported by: https://www.oiart.org/news/the-day-in-the-life-of-a-music-producer  

• What are the main financial and legal issues that impact on this profession? 

When working as a producer, there are many financial and legal issues that one may encounter on the job. These can vary from things like who has the rights to and ownership of a song or the different types of music contracts. As a producer it is important to understand the different copyright types and who usually owns them, which copyright rights are granted to different people, the duration of copyright, who owns the master recording and the difference between signed and independent artists. A music producer must also be weary of potential financial issues they may encounter in the profession. Music producers will often have to manage multiple streams of incomes from royalties to charging for sessions. Due to this, it is important to ensure that you stay on top of all your taxes or seek financial advice from an accountant to manage your income for you, as you otherwise risk missing filing deadlines or overpaying taxes. If you are not seeking help from an accountant, its important you track all your sources of income, ensure you file tax returns on time and claim allowed business expenses such as travel and equipment.  

Another problem one may encounter when working as an independent music producer is the lack of consistent income especially when starting out. This can be quite daunting for people just getting started in the industry as it may be difficult to get enough work to stay on top of living expenses right off the bat. To combat this, it is necessary for some people getting started to work other jobs to provide a steady source of income while they also work on building themselves up and getting enough clients to get by off just the money made from working as a music producer. 

Supported by: https://www.lawditmusic.co.uk/a-quick-guide-to-the-legal-issues-you-may-face/ and https://jungletax.co.uk/tax-tips-for-independent-music-producers-uk-a-complete-guide/ 

• What would the potential marketing and promotional aspects of this profession look like? 

Promoting and marketing yourself is off upmost importance when working as a producer. In order to make sure you are getting clients and work it is essential to make sure you keep on top of this. One of the best ways to promote has and always will be in real life. Engaging in the musical community around you, going to events and signing up to things that will give you connections with the right people, will for a while yet still be one of the best ways to promote yourself and get your work out there. Another great way to promote yourself, nowadays especially, is social media in order to be successful as any sort of artist, especially if your independent and just getting started, it is very important to have a strong social media presence. Posting content regularly and working to understand what sort of content the algorithm likes can massively help promote a producer, leading to them getting more clients and opportunities. It is also just as important to ensure that your work is being properly distributed. Having music that you’ve produced out on streaming platforms so they can be discovered by new listeners and artists is a great way to generate promotion and revenue at the same time. By doing this you are allowing potential clients to hear music you’ve produced and understand what your capable off.  

Supported by: https://www.loopcloud.com/cloud/blog/4402-How-to-Promote-Yourself-as-a-Music-Producer 

• What are the intellectual and personal challenges presented by the profession and how might these be dealt with? 

Creative block is an issue that all sorts of artists deal with on a regular basis. In the case of a music producer, it would be sitting down to produce some music and finding that you can’t seem to come up with anything. No new ideas, no inspiration and no creativity. This is one of the many challenges that music producers may face in their work life, but how might we deal with these? In the case of creative block, some ways include using a song you love as a reference track to give you some inspiration and direction for your track. trying something entirely new, you could try producing in a whole new genre or starting with a different instrument to what you would usually use. Setting time limits, give yourself a set amount of time and just make something during it, you may not like the sound and it may not be your best work but at least you have made something, you now have something to build on and change if you are inspired to. If nothing else works, take a break, forcing new ideas to flow often gets you nowhere and sometimes the best thing to do is to take a break and look for inspiration elsewhere, this is also a good way to prevent burnout.  

Another intellectual challenge that many producers face is a lack of music theory knowledge. It seems to be quite a common occurrence nowadays for music producers (especially when starting out) to lack music theory knowledge. Many producers are extremely proficient at using a DAWs and know how to mix very well but seem to lack the music theory to create and compose a more intricate track from scratch. It is good and often vital, if you want to be a successful producer, to at least understand the basics of music theory, you don’t need to have degree level knowledge but at least knowing the basics can go a long way and you can continue to build of this knowledge as you improve and develop as a producer. 

Supported by: https://www.pointblankmusicschool.com/blog/why-every-music-producer-faces-challenges-and-how-to-beat-them/ 

• What career-progression/development opportunities are available within the profession? 

Working as a producer can lead to a variety of different oportunities for progression and development by diving deeper into more specialised areas of music production such as sound engineering or live events production. Most of the development required to dive into new careers in production will be gained on the job, however some employers will offer in house training schemes to help people develop their skills. Other than that, many producers develop their careers by getting better at their craft and ensuring they stay on top of their marketing and promotion. As they get better and start to gain more recognition, they will come across more opportunities that are better paid with bigger artists and musicians which will allow them to continue to develop their career and be more successful in the industry. 

Supported by: http://prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/music-producer Under “Professional development” and “Career prospects”