What does a Music Producer do?
Being a music producer has become a very wide term within the music industry and its meaning can vary.
Traditionally, the music producer was the person ‘in charge’ of the whole production process. The music producer used to lead the band during the different production stages, be in touch with the record label, giving instructions to the engineers etc. They usually had the last word when the good takes or decisions had to be taken.
The music producer was supposed to understand the musical concept the artist was trying to achieve and have an overall vision of how everything should be. In conclusion, the person in charge of the album’s outcome as some kind of project manager.
Nowadays, when we talk about a ‘music producer’ we have to take into consideration multiple factors such as the music genre or the context. This is the only way we can understand what type of music producer we are talking about.
Tasks of the Music Producer
Here you will find some of the duties normally attended by music producers. This doesn’t mean this is the case in every production. However, it can give us an overall idea of how important the music producer role is.
Overseeing and managing the whole process
The music producer acts as the glue which assembles all the elements that take place in music production. Making a good album can be authentic chaos and they are in charge of putting the thing in order.
Coaching and getting the best from musicians
They need to manage to earn respect from the musicians so they can be heard. Many times the own musicians hire the producer because he is somebody they already admire for his previous work. The music producer must encourage and understand the psychology inside a recording studio in order to bring out the best from the artists.
Coordinating all the teams involved
When we are talking of big production there are several teams or departments involved in making a new record. The artists, the engineers or technicians, the record label, the marketing department etc. Part of the job of a music producer is to be in touch with each one of these sides of the production. All of them must work together in a productive way so they can come up with a big success.
Sorting the album and the song’s orders
Sometimes the artists aren’t the best judges for their own music. A new fresh point of view can help when it is time to decide possible discards. Songs’ order and selecting the singles are also important decisions where the producer has a great deal to say.
Selecting the good takes during the recording
Some artists or engineers can become obsessed with the perfect take. Time inside a studio is always gold and the producer normally takes the lead managing the timing.
Giving guidelines to the engineers
They should have a general idea or vision about the sonic approach the album must have. Sometimes they choose who should be the mixing or mastering engineer. Others, they are responsible for transmitting instructions to the technical department.
Types of Music Producer
The Engineer
When most people think about a music producer, they see a person in front of a huge mixing console managing faders, smashing buttons and turning knobs. The engineer music producer normally has professional technical knowledge about recording and mixing and manage with ease the gear inside the studio. Actually, most of them are recording studio owners. They normally base their decision on technical aspects and are very concerned about a very specific sonic vision for the project. They take care in detail about each process within the mix and spend long hours in the studio trying to achieve a sonic masterpiece.
The musician
Makes perfect sense that successful musicians become music producers at some stage of their careers. They have proved they know how to succeed in the music industry and are backed up by their recognition and musical skills. This type of producer is normally more focused on the artistic side of the production and provides the artist with advice and guidance about lyrics, harmonies, musical arrangement etc.
The Beat Maker
In the Hip-Hop or Trap genres, when we talk about the ‘producer’ we are usually referring to the beat maker. They are those who make the instrumental or the beats for the main artist. However, the beatmaker doesn’t necessarily have to have control over the final result. Sometimes they just ‘lease’ or sell the instrumental to the artist under a determined license agreement. Depending on the project, the beatmaker and the producer could be the same person or not.
A great beatmaker(maybe a hitmaker would be a more accurate term) who is also a music producer would be Timbaland. He is one of the top Hip-hop producers in history. He has worked with many top artists from Flo Rida, Ludacris to Mariah Carey or Demi Lovato. During the late 90s, he was so successful that the ‘Timbaland sound’ become really popular. If you want to learn more about Timbaland click here.
The Guru or The Mentor
Some Music Producers aren’t highly skilled in a very specific area. They seem to have some kind of aura surrounding them since they seem to know how to make a record to succeed. Most of them are big audiophiles or music enthusiast who ended being involved within the music industry. They are some kind of respected authorities and musicians trust and listen to them when it’s time to make important decisions. They are a coach for the musicians but also decide who should be the engineers and give them guidelines about the album’s sonic concept.
The most famous example of this type of Guru Producer is Rick Rubin. He has worked with an endless list of big names within the industry; AC/DC, Adele, Aerosmith, At The Drive-In, Audioslave, Black Sabbath, Coheed And Cambria, Damien Rice, Danzig, Dixie Chicks, Ed Sheeran, Eminem, Frank Ocean, Gogol Bordello, Jakob Dylan, Jay Z, and an incredibly long etc.
Click here if you want to know more about Rick Rubin
The Bedroom Producer
This type of producer has become extremely popular within the EDM or electronic music genres. They are normally talented young people who make music from home with the basics. I believe there have been two main factors in the rising of the bedroom producers.
In the first place, music technology has become more accessible and more affordable. Practically anyone can afford to set up a basic home studio. Nowadays most of the tools we need to start making music are a nice computer and a pair of speakers. There is no excuse anymore, making music is for everybody.
Secondly, all the information and tutorials around the web. Many years ago, before the eruption of Youtube, if you wanted to learn something you had to join a course or find somebody willing to teach you. Those days are over and no matter which DAW we use, we can find hundreds of tutorial and post online about how to make any music genre.
These type of producer usually don’t have the best sound quality since most of them don’t own top-notch equipment and are self-taught. Once, they stand out within the genre they have access to better resources and sometimes end up being big stars.
If you want to learn about Music Production, Mixing and Mastering visit our Blog clicking here
A good example of successful Bedroom Producer is Flume. He is a 27-year-old Australian Future Bass producer who starting as a kid making music in his room. Now he has become a big name within the industry with important awards under his belt. If you want to learn more about Flume click here.
The All in One Producer
I call this type of Music Producer the ‘All in One’ because they seem to be able to do everything and auto-sufficient. They are not just the the main artist. All in One producers are in charge of the whole production process leading all the decisions. They play, record, mix, master, promote, design and are in control of everything related to their music.
This is quite coming among amateurs or upcoming artist. Mainly because they don’t count with a budget for hiring or getting more people involved. It is difficult to find this kind of solo approach within the top level production, where typically there are several roles involved. However, we can find some cases where big artists decide to do almost everything on their own.
This is the case of Prince with his famous “Produced, arranged, composed and performed by Prince”. He was a real On In Producer playing several instruments, composing, producing, acting and I could go on. Check all the info about Prince in his Wikipedia page.
