Producer?

[x0o_BurnOut_o0x]

I was wondering exactly what a record producers job entails and what classes should you take in college that would help you.:confused:

[R. Shackleferd]

I don't really know for sure myself, but you can't go wrong with business principles, with a lot of recording knowledge. After that you need to get to know the right kind of people (studios and label reps).

I've got my own question though since we're talkin bout it...what's an A&R man? I've heard musicians talk about them, but I don't really know what they do?

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

you looking into going into the music business? lol... me too. I had always wondered what exactly a producer did... whether on movies or record labels, I always wondered what they did.

[Cryptic Excretions]

I think I'll contribute to the questions rather than the answers and ask if anyone knows anything about becoming a studio session musician. So, does anyone know anything about becoming a studio session musician?

[PonyOne]

in music, a producer does the... production!!!

a producer oversees the process of making an album; this can be a wide variety of things. with rock, this generally means overseeing the mixing and recording techniques, managing production costs, etc. so for instance, you'd decide whether to use a certain type of amp or just go straight into the board and edit it via Pro Tools to get a certain sound on one of the songs versus others; encourage the band members to try to sound a certain way to try to get it "just right" for part of the record, etc.

in pop and hip hop, this increasingly means overseeing technicians, i.e., the producer overseess a team, and tells people who know how to mix or set up or etc what they want and lets them do this. part of the reason this is more prevelant in pop or r&b is that record companies give them bigger budgets, so they can hire an entire team to make the album instead of 2 or 3 people. this is part of the reason so much pop sounds "overproduced" (and bands like Linkin Park, etc); because there's some guy getting paid $75k just to make sure that the levels of the sound are okay, another guy getting paid as much to monitor the mics, etc. personal preference of course.

you can get paid pretty well as a producer; if you produce a record that sells platinum you can make close to what the artist made depending on the royalties and whatnot you negotiate. earlier on you tend to just get a flat rate in contract; say $15k plus expenses (room, board, food, transportation, etc) and increrasinly so because the labels are getting cheaper and cheaper, veteran producers are getting paid flat rates as well, just higher amounts.

so say that a beginner will get $10k to produce the record of some "up-and-coming" band; basically they get $10k, no royalties, so, whether the album only sells 100 copies or outsells Thriller, they get 10k (though if the latter happens they will most likely move on to bigger and better things and pay). a veteran may get paid 6 or 7 figures to produce the next pop diva or rap CD, especially if the artist's last CD did really well. so if you can make a name for yourself, you'll make as much if not more than the actual arists producing. if not, well... there are lots of "producers" here in LA that also wait tables or do IT as "side jobs."

AR guys are "artist representation." they are responsible for scouting and recruiting new acts; this was a much bigger deal 20-30 years ago than it is now. hell there are ads in the LA times for A&R people starting at a whopping, mortgage-paying $8.50 an hour.

what an A&R guy used to be was someone who had a sixth sense for who was going to make it, who could scour the clubs and find "the guys" and pull them out to make the next Led Zepplin. now, it's often a clubster who's cool and hip who collects demo tapes and sends them back to someone at a big company for consideration.

i've met a few A&R guys here in LA and they seem to be kiss-asses, by and large, who want to someday be a bigtime hitmaker (because some A&R people still make six plus figures... but... they are the very extreme minority). so every band they meet who has a sound and a following is "AWESOME!!!" and "AMAZING!!!" and "the best, most original band on the scene" both to the individual band he's talking to and the person at the label he's talking to.

if you want a good example of the stereotype, go see the video to "Dope Show" by Marilyn Manson and check out the guy in the polyestser in the limo.

[x0o_BurnOut_o0x]

Do labels have thier own producer? Or is it like a "Call if you would like me to produce your record" kinda deal?

[PonyOne]

Do labels have thier own producer? Or is it like a "Call if you would like me to produce your record" kinda deal?
depends on the label.

most labels do hire some guys/girls for "in house" production; again these are often lower-paying jobs. most of the more famous producers are on the contract basis.

[x0o_BurnOut_o0x]

Whats the difference between a producer and a record engineer then? they sound the same...( sorry for all the question asking, ive wondered for a long time)

[Lordathestrings]

The engineer is responsible for actually recording the tracks, usually under supervision of the producer. It can get really ugly if the producer (who may have stated out as a recording engineer) meddles too much in the recording engineer's work. The producer is responsible for managing and supervising, while the recording engineer and mixing/mastering engineer are the guys with the technical skills needed to realise the producer's 'vision' of what the result should be. It becomes obvious that there is huge potential here for conflict and power-struggles. With some of the egos involved, it's a wonder that anything gets done at all.

[x0o_BurnOut_o0x]

so shouldnt the recording engineer be doing the editing with the pro tools?

[Lordathestrings]

It depends on the working relationship among the individuals, but it's more likely the recording engineer would capture all of the raw tracks, and then the producer would work with another engineer on the mix-down and editing. Then the mastering process would involve yet another engineer working with the producer to create the final product. The producer is supposed to function as a manager who supervises the process from start to finish. Each step is entrusted to the technical skills of someone who specialises in that part of the process.

[x0o_BurnOut_o0x]

Im going to assume the engineers dont get paid as much?

[Meta]

Im glad to see you're looking to go after your dream ;)

[iamthe_eggman]

Wikipedia:

A&R Man (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%26R)

Record Producer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Record_producer)

[aschleman]

Most labels either have their own producers... or they contract the producers for certain terms... There is a record company in Fort Wayne, Indiana that has about 5 bands signed to them... they contracted a producer named Scott Matthews (worked with Clapton, the Stones, BB King, Barry White... so on) to do a record for each one of their bands... I happen to be good friends with one of the bands. They're getting flown out to San Fransisco to get there album done next month. But that's just how a smaller label would do it... now take Geffen or Virgin... or one of the pop labels.. chances are they have a whole slough of their own producers and they would pair you with one that fit your sound/image and style.

As far as what classes you can take.... check out www.mi.edu that's the musicians institute in California... They should have anything you would want to be looking for. I also know that some universities offer programs in recording engineering and technologies through their music programs. Just look around...

As for the session musician question... You better be comfortable with relocating... About every session musician lives in either New York City, Los Angelos, Nashville, or some other big recording city... This is because they need you to be there when a record company needs you. The road to being a session musician is usally just off the beaten path of being a successful and popular mainstream musician. Some times musicians come up and just don't have what's popular at the moment... and they get back-burnered... and end up being studio musicians for other artists. The biggest part is getting your foot in the door. You'll have to start small.. making getting jobs doing jingles or commercials for a radio station or something... then work your way up to tv or something... maybe get a few connections in the biz... get a demo of some of your stuff out there... try to jam with as many musicians as you can and try to make an impression. Getting steady work with a single studio is a good idea becuase that will give you steady work as well as give you time to develop your name... once people start knowing who you are the jobs will get bigger and you'll eventually maybe work your way up to touring guitarist or something like that. I myself am trying to get into guitar teching.... I've always been better at working on guitars than playing them... not saying I'm bad... just that I understand more about how a guitar works than I do about music theory and such.... But just get out there and go with it.

[x0o_BurnOut_o0x]

Thank you everyone!!!! I learned lots, but if anyone else has anything about the music biz that they would like to contribute, I like listening to the mechanics behind the scene and what not :)

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

what other possible careers are there in the music biz (other then a musician obviously)

[aschleman]

Public relations, personal assistance, marketing, managerial positions,... blah.... blah.... blah.... there are tons of them. It depends on what you specifically are interested in doing though. I personally would like to be a guitar tech. Which isn't a position that a lot of people strive to be in... so the market is somewhat open for it. Some other things it's not so open... like public relations. Everyone that has a PR degree wants to be PR for someone famous... music or movie or otherwise. Just look around and do some research. You'll find there are lots of jobs out there in the industry

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

I personally would like to be a guitar tech.
I would love to be a luthier/guitar tech, the only problem that I see with that is that they don't make a very large salary... but it's one of the things that I'm considering.

[x0o_BurnOut_o0x]

Yeah for a while i thought about beign a guitar tech too. Sounds really cool to be able to repair, or modify guitars and stuff for a living.