For aspiring artists, there are many obscure nuances in the music industry. For instance, who are the music producers, and whether they are needed at all for best sound mixing and mastering before a track is released? Profession and career path features, as well as the main tasks of a music producer, are already waiting for the reader in the article!
What is a Music Producer?
The stereotype is that a music producer is a person who will provide the artist with popularity and relevance through various efforts (from investing money to organizing concerts). However, this is a wrong opinion, because, in fact, a music producer definition means a specialist who is responsible for what kind of product the audience will eventually hear.
Sometimes the music producer has to do everything during the creation of the track (write a song, make an arrangement, record vocals, mix a track, create a concept for a video sequence), sometimes MP can delegate some of these functions to label staff/artists. However, the decision about what the audience will have in the final is made exclusively by the producer, and not by the artist.
What Does a Music Producer Do?
Yes, some artists do without producers, independently deciding the course of the project’s development, the style of music design, and other important points for promotion. However, the overwhelming majority of musicians try to abstract themselves from all tasks, except for the primary one — creating excellent material, processing & “polishing” which will already be dealt with by the producer music expert.
In general, the main goals of a music producer include:
- creation of the artist’s concept (find a highlight that will attract the audience — for example, the voice, appearance, behavior of the musician);
- following trends and looking for bright ways to implement the final musical product;
- promoting the artist’s public image;
- selection and management of the artist’s team;
- organization of performances and concerts;
- selection of lyrics, music, arrangement, and other details of the artist’s creative work.
In short, the producer is necessary to influence the artist during the promotion process. Performers are several times less successful without MP-specialists` help due to the fact that artists can be fully talented, but they also need to understand the marketing basics in the music field. So usually, when the artists are involved in creating the original content lyrics & music, the producer helps to properly process and promote it.
How Do You Become a Music Producer?
Oddly enough, a higher musical degree is not at all necessary for building such a career, but marketing promotion skills will be very useful for getting a music producer contract. However, there are some requirements for becoming a successful MP specialist:
- knowledge of musical theory and the ability to play at least one of the instruments;
- having a perfect hearing to feel the rhythm of the sound of music and improve its perception;
- mastering the maximum number of sound processing programs (however, you can start with something simple, such as Cubes, FL Studio or Ableton Live, Cakewalk Sonar);
- be able to use a resonant deck;
- understand the basics of mixing;
- understand the basics of mastering;
- understand the interaction of different musical genres.
In addition, you can’t become a music producer without a portfolio — while you are learning the basics of material processing, try to create your own beats. You can experiment with different genres to find the one that works best, then focus on it and put the best effort into developing your skills.
Also, professionals advise such a technique for improving MP skills as reworking old content. You can take any famous song and practice it with downloaded sound processing programs to achieve a completely new sound. Be sure to do several treatments in order to compare the results later. And, of course, you can find music production courses to gain broader knowledge and experience.
Conclusion
As we discussed, the music producer is a key role in making an artist famous. This specialist is literally the second person after the musician/band in the team who is engaged in arranging tracks, choosing content and effects, searching for ways of project development.
And although it is not necessary to have the highest musical degree to become a producer, everyone wishing to get such a profession will have to master a lot of material and learn how to use various programs and software for processing tracks. Obtaining additional skills in professional courses for music processing and label promotion will allow you to gain additional knowledge and replenish your portfolio for greater competitiveness.
