I’m back for my promised monthly blog post (with one day to spare!) – holding my word in 2024 ! This entry is less of an update and more of a musing on a topic that I think about a lot. I’ll make the next one more “newsy”.
I want to preface this ramble by saying that my opinions and understanding of what a producer does are constantly evolving. This will be me thinking aloud and expanding on ideas and nuggets of truth that I’ve stumbled upon while working in music as a producer and artist.
Do artists need producers?
It might be easiest to answer this by asking some further questions. Is the artist finishing work (making a product)? Is this product of the quality that they’d like it to be? Are they getting the results that they’d like to be getting? If the answer to any of these is no, then maybe a producer could be of benefit.
What does a producer do?
When I started out playing in bands in high school, my understanding of what a producer was is very different to what it is now. I thought the producer set up the microphones and recorded everything nicely and upon playback your band would sound “professional”. This understanding may be more akin to what an engineer does.
While the producer probably does carry a lot of the engineering role as well, the full scope of their job is far more vast than that, and will change a lot from project to project. A producer’s job is managing all the moving parts (budget, expectations (artists, label, manager) , personalities, abilities etc) while ensuring a product is delivered. In an ideal world a producer will help an artist make something that they are truly proud of. Factor in how complex humans are with different views and opinions, hang ups and insecurities and the task of the producer can be really tricky. In addition to having a great musical taste and knowledge, I now think great producer needs to have a high level of empathy and emotional intelligence to manage this whole process. It could be argued that these qualities are more important than actual musical ability.
Of course there are many times when musical knowledge and skill can solve problems, however, few key words come to mind when I think about what I’ve mostly contributed to projects that I’ve worked on; taste, accountability and perspective, and all of these feed into each other.
Taste
A producer will have taste or a take on the world that is unique to them. When added to the proverbial “broth” of creativity of everyone involved the project there will be a shift in the creative output that’ll hopefully be favourable.
Accountability
A lot of the time, the main thing an artist needs is some accountability. They’ve got amazing ideas but when it comes to grind to realise them, they get stuck. A producer can help them stay on track. Sometimes all the artist needs to keep momentum is a cheerleader to check in on them and pump energy into the project.
Perspective
As humans we seem to be either beautifully unaware of afraid of the things that make us unique, and ultimately the things that others find endearing in us. We also tend to get hung up on mistakes and focus in on little things that don’t actually matter in the bigger picture. A producer can offer outside perspective. I’ve found it useful to actively try and guard my perspective and offer it at important moments during the process.
More thoughts
For me it always starts with a conversation with the artists to learn about their goals and expectations. Playing some music for each other and learning about our tastes. From there the path forward can be different every time depending on all of the factors discussed so far. What are their strengths and weaknesses and how do we play to that and create the right environment to produce something that they love, whilst working within all the parameters?
This may all read as vague, but I do believe in a holistic approach rather than taking the same approach every time. Making art is mysterious and non-linear and I like it that way.