Are you interested in music as a career? You do not need to be a musician in order to enter the industry. You can consider becoming a music producer. While we understand the roles of a film producer - who puts together a crew and guides the vision of a film, we may be confused with the role of a music producer. What does a music producer do?
Who is a music producer?
Music producers can be defined based on the role they play in the production of music. But essentially, a music producer oversees all the aspects of the creation of a song or a music album. They can include the choice of a song, musicians, instruments, vocalists to how the notes are sung and played.
Just like a film director or producer, the music producer makes split-second decisions and conveys their vision of the final song to all those involved in the production. The crew included in the music production includes the audio engineer, musicians, and singer. The music producer aims to get the best performance in real-time as the track is recorded. Music producers also book and plan studio recording time with the session players as well as backup singers if background vocals are required.
A music producer needs to be savvy and organised, s/he also requires great communication skills and a good understanding of logistics and budgeting.
The role of a music producer
There are different types of music producers. If you are a music producer working in a studio, your role includes creating music for films, albums, advertisements and other media channels.
A music producer can also work in live events such as concerts, festivals or live shows. S/he will coordinate with technical staff, performers and other stakeholders to ensure the event is run smoothly. No matter what type of music production you work in, as a music producer, you need to bring people together to fulfil all the parts needed to produce the final product - whether it be an album or a concert.
As music producers need to coordinate with sound engineers, they also need to have strong knowledge in the technical aspects of sound production. Additionally, music producers need to have artistic, creative and visionary abilities.
Types of music producer
The audio engineer can also be the music producer. This type of producer works diligently hunched over the soundboard, adjusting compression settings, equalisation and reverb tails to perfection. An engineer type of music producer has solid technical knowledge and they may have been sound audio engineers before moving up to become music producers.
You may be more familiar with music producers who play the role of mentors to the recording artists. This type of music producer is very in tune and familiar with the artists and their needs because they might have been recording artists themselves before. They often offer coaching, motivation and encouragement to recording artists to produce the best music they are capable of.
Perhaps one of the most well-known and notorious music producers is Phil Spector. He is known as the Golden Ticket type of producer who has that magic touch, who can almost guarantee the success of artists working with them. Spector was best known for his innovative recording practices. He developed the Wall of Sound, described as the Wagnerian sound for rock and roll.
We hope we gave you an idea of what a music producer does. But if you are instead keen on a future as a musician, check out our music programmes at Ritmo Music Studio.