We’re all big and mighty when someone compliments our song but far too often we don’t give credit where it’s due. Yes, you may own the song but if you’re not the one who produced it then some credit is definitely due to a producer.
If you’re not an adept producer, chances are you are going to need one, whether they come in the shape of your audio engineer or yourself. The bigger the project the more you need another set of professional air to make things run smoothly.
Let’s dive in a little bit deeper and find out what there is to know about the relationship and if you actually need a producer.
What a Producer Does
A producer will help and guide you in bringing your projects to life. I didn’t say vision but it is hard to have a ‘sonic’ vision of your song no matter how much time you’ve spent composing and writing the lyrics. Especially considering you’ve never mixed or mastered anything before.
A producer will sit down with you, at least a good one, and talk you through the whole process and how they feel about the songs you’ve brought to them or what they are expecting of you.
It’s also very important to talk about how lucrative your song is going to be according to them and explain what strategies will be used to promote your song. The reason you need to have this conversation is that they’ve seen what works and you need to tell them that you can take criticism because a successful song is better than getting beat up over something that is not going to work.
It’s important for the producer to be a good communicator because it’s their job to lead you through the whole process, if you are going to be relying on one, make sure you hire someone with whom you trust and can openly talk about any critiques and questions you might have during any stage.
What I Expect of You
Producing music is a different beast altogether. A beast that can be tamed. I highly encourage people to get better at music production because it pays for itself when you are talking to a real one.
No matter what you do a producer can and always will help you realize a goal. If the goal is to sell rather than to sound ‘original’ and you have no idea about music production then you are at the mercy of the producer.
However, being able to communicate with him through your own demos and trying to explain things like what kind of sound you were going for and how you got here is going to speak volumes. If you do not have demos then you can tell your producer what bands you listen to and that you would like to sound like them. It’s not cheating, it’s called taking a ‘reference’, a common practice in mixing and mastering.
Now is not the time to be starry-eyed and start dreaming of the money that is going to be falling in your lap and how many brand deals you’re going to get, it’s just begun. Now’s the time to understand the game.
How a Producer Can Help
If you have the experience I am talking about and you know what to sound like then a producer will amplify that and he can focus on other things for you and the band.
I am speaking so much about having prior experience before working with a producer partly because of budgeting as well, if the sound is already established the producer can start focusing on other things which are going to make your money worth your while.
In the long term, a producer is going to have better contacts and well-established ones too. Having a good relationship is never going to hurt you even if you don’t plan to. If the producer is on par with you in terms of experience and you see that they’re willing to grow and just as good as you are, there is no telling what you guys might be able to achieve together. That’s how important working with a producer can be.
Why They’re Important for Big Projects
I try to use my words as precisely and carefully as possible. I said they’re important but not necessary. Because they’re not necessary. If you were a producer yourself you’d not be in need of one.
So, when you’re taking on big projects, like an album, and are in need of musicians that you may not have handy by yourself or your own contacts a producer can really come in and show off their usefulness here.
So, you should aim, again it’s highly contextual and if you’re in need of someone to guide you and have the funds sorted out then you should expect things and one of them is the producer taking care of the majority of things for you.
There are times I have heard the same drum sound throughout the whole album. Which is all good, if the sound works then it works. But, bigger projects require oversight to make it sound sonically cohesive, as an album or whatever the need of the project is.
Downsides of Working with Someone
This is going to be a little biased but this is biased with reasoning.
There are a lot of bands out there that are doing in-house production. In other words, they record themselves and work on the sound themselves and are decently successful.
I can’t and probably never will put that much effort into hiring someone to tell me how I ought to sound. I’d rather trust my gut and go ahead with that. I personally have a long way to go to become a better mixer but the seeds were sown a long time ago and I can see the baby shoots coming off the ground.
My point is, that you don’t have to rely on someone, but if you do, please make sure they’re really good and that you’re getting your money’s worth.
One last thing, the music industry is a tough business and if you’re putting your money into this please make sure that you have your finances in order. Don’t go broke over it.
I have full faith that you’ll do what’s best and one day achieve great success!
Learn to Sing!
I have made a completely separate page on how and which courses I would recommend. You can find it here.
But before you go, I would like you to read another article about why I think it is important for you to have a little faith in online courses. You can read it here.