How to Start a Career as a Music Producer
Do you aspire to make your own songs? Want to collaborate with popular artists? Need to put your name on the music map? If so, becoming a music producer might be the perfect choice for you.
While music producers often work behind the scenes, they are critical to bringing an artist’s vision to life. Without a producer, most artists are lost in their creative direction. A producer takes the artist’s raw notes and refines them into something palatable for the wider audience.
Like any profession, there are some tried and true steps you can take to ensure a successful career path. This handy guide gives you an overview of the process.
Make Sure to Get the Proper Education and Training
A music producer’s time is mostly spent in the studio. But that doesn’t mean that the career is all fun and games. They have to work extremely hard to learn the nuances of musical arrangements, the enhancements made with collaboration, and the breakthroughs achieved through creative discussion.
To pull off all of these feats without feeling overwhelmed, you need to have a proper degree in music production. Apart from education, these programs usually contain internships and hands-on studio work, which saves you from learning the ropes on the job itself.
When you can’t go through a full degree, make sure to start with gaining sufficient experience by working in a studio or for a producer instead. This helps you gain the knowledge you need in order to advance in your career. It is also a good way to supplement your specialized degree.
The Music Producer Contract: A necessity.
Before you start finding new artists to collaborate with, make sure that you know about the behind-the-scenes processes involved with such a partnership. This often entering into a written and legal producer contract for your services with the artist hiring you.
While these requirements seem tedious, they are exceptionally important due to their implications on your compensation, copyrights, and representation. Having written conditions in place helps you steer clear of unnecessary implications and legal battles.
You can learn about these agreements and related paperwork by reaching out to an entertainment lawyer. Some of these attorneys even have a specialization in representing musicians, which is why they can provide you with highly astute advice and guidance without any issues.
Expand Your Network By Reaching Out to Artists
There was a time when music producers worked on their own in order to reach out to prospective artists for potential collabs. You can still manage these tasks by yourself. But that’s not the only option for you anymore.
With the emergence of producer managers, you can seek out music producer contract opportunities through designated professionals. Similar to an artist manager, producer managers also help you find gigs, strike deals for higher compensation, and handle any ongoing challenges.
Some artist managers also provide these services, which allows you to benefit from them without looking too far. But once again, if you rather prefer working alone and reaching out to artists on your own, you can still do so.
Once you have found an artist who is the right fit for you, you can show them your pre-created portfolio or collaborate on something new from the start. This allows you to slowly make your name in the industry. If you get a breakout hit or two, it’s relatively smooth sailing from there.
Following this guide helps you get a general outline of what to expect as a music producer. But if you want further information that’s precisely crafted for you, don’t hesitate to reach out to other professionals in the music scene. This ensures that you have the safety net of personalized advice, which lets you make informed decisions every step of the way.
