If you’re an artist, band or songwriter; do you want to hire a record producer? It is very important that you understand what a producer can do to your projects as well as their expertise. If you know their job description very well, then it’s much easier to find a qualified producer for your music.
What does a record producer do?
The ultimate goal of music production is either to complete an album or a single. An album is a collection of recordings of around 12 to 15 tracks. A single is a track that will be promoted for radio airplay and other marketing purposes. You might also hear about “EP” which is a collection of songs greater than 2 but less than 5. A record producer is being hired by the recording label or an independent artist to complete an album, EP or a single.
If you are new to music business, it would be useful to read this post on how the music business industry works. Once the record producer officially accepts the recording project by signing the contract (between the label or the artist); the producer will be provided with the list of songs to be recorded for the project. This is not a final list and the producer itself can suggest some songs to be added to the project. Even the artist can suggest what songs they feel would fit the project for their own artistic vision. The final decision will be approved by the recording label. If you are not signed to any label, then you will be the one to approve.
The first step of the producers’ job is the “pre-production phase”. In this stage the objective is to:
a.) Get to know the artist songs to be recorded in details. This can be done by listening to the available band demos of the songs or listening to their live performance.
b.) Know the weakness of the music to be recorded and find ways to further improve the song commercially.
c.) Understand the artist strengths and weaknesses when it comes to performance.
d.) Formulate tracking plan. These are the details of the actual recording session.
e.) The recording producer will then assess what type of recording studio will suit best to the project based on the complexity of the tracks to be recorded upon assessing everything (the artist and the songs). For a starting punk rock band in an indie label, a home recording studio might fit the bill. But if an artist is a pop or country that needs elaborate and complex arrangements, then a bigger recording studio should be needed.
f.) Finalize the recording engineers, mixing engineers and other studio crews for the job.
In summary the pre-production phase will let the producer know the artist and songs in detail and formulate detailed steps on how to further improve their song during the tracking and mixing stage.
Once the tracking plan has been completed; the next job is to start recording the tracks. Every song to be recorded has its plan in the studio. A single has even more complex plan because it will be given with more focus than other songs. A tracking plan looks like this:
tracking plan
The record producer will pay the studio (by renting it) using the recording label(or artist) budget. Actually the one that will finance the album (from recording, mixing to mastering) is the recording label (or artist if it’s self-produced). The recording session will then start, the artist and all the session players will be reporting to the studio based on the tracking plan. The recording producer will ensure that all tracks are recorded perfectly according to the plan. If there are mistakes or a certain part of the song are not performed very well; the recording producer will ask the artist to re-record the performance until everything sounds perfect.
After all the tracks are recorded, it will be saved either in the hard drives or other medium. The recording engineer is the one that will ensure that the tracks are properly recorded according to the producer standard. The producer will approve all recordings. The mixing engineer will then be hired to mix the project.
Separate schedule might be formulated for the mixing engineers depending on the producer. The record producer will provide an input to the audio mixing engineer as to the expected sound of the mix. The record producer might be providing commercial reference CD for the mixing engineer. The song will be mixed based on these preferences. Some producers are also engineers, so they can record, mix or master your project.
Once all the tracks have been mixed properly, and the mixdown of each song are completed, the record producer will call its client to approve the mix. If the mix is OK; the record producer will then hire a mastering engineer.
The mastering engineer job is to transform the raw mixdown to actual broadcast quality recordings suitable for any application (radio, TV, any hi-fi audio equipment, CD players, iPods, etc.). Strong emphasis will be given on mastering the radio singles because they strongly affect the success of the album. The recording producer will then review the master recordings and also need its client approval.
The recording producer will finally submit the CD master or digital masters (24-bit WAV, MP3 or other formats) to the client and the job is done. You will be paying the producer services based on the terms agreed before the recording.
So do you really need record producer?
Below are the conditions when you “really” need to have a record producer:
1.) If you desperately need a broadcast quality recordings of your song. Only a record producer can “professionally” transform your completely written song into professional recordings. This recording may be used for promotional purposes such as demo submission or to radio, etc.
2.) If you drastically need to release an independent recording album which will compete with major or other indie label artist; then you surely need to hire a recording producer to supervise the recording sessions, create artistic sonic vision of the album and to produce a complete master CD.
3.) Creating a demo version of your song does not need a producer; you can do this by yourself. However, if you really need the demo to sound as professional as possible (with all elements enhanced such as the arrangement, recording, etc.); then you need a producer.
OK I need a producer, now what?
Hiring a record producer is not an easy task because you need a “perfect” man to do the job which should pass in all these qualifications:
1.) Attitude – this is the most important. You need someone who is: supportive, honest, creative, strong and someone that has the potential to love and believe in your musical abilities. Get to know the producer attitude you are hiring.
2.) Experience and mastery in your selected genre – this is the second most important; you need to ask the producer about his or her previous experience and completed recording projects. Try to listen to it and make sure that it was your selected genre. Ask for samples of the previously released works.
3.) Professional fee – the third most important. Of course, you should be hiring a record producer based on your budget. For example, there are superstar producers with tons of hit songs under their name, so they are very expensive compared to most producers.
4.) Proximity to your location – of course, it would be nice that both of you are living in the same location and close to its other. This will reduce the cost of recording the project.
Content last updated on July 14, 2012