| ||
| Music producers come in various guises. The traditional music producer is a person hired by the record company to oversee the production of an album. Freelance music producers will take an unsigned artist and develop their songs and then record them for future release. Music producers will do some or all of the following: song analysis and development, song writing and arranging, studio and session musician booking, actual recording of the songs, budget management, artist promotion. Most music producers are also musicians, and have varying degrees of knowledge about music and music theory. However, the main aim of a music producer is not to make the best music – it’s to make the best music that will sell. Music producers like good music, just like everyone else, but they also know that just because something is good doesn’t mean it will make them money, and when music is your primary source of income, it becomes important to make music that will pay your bills. Luckily, it’s possible to make good music that will also sell well, and a good music producer will be able to spot this quality in songs and exploit it. What would I expect to pay a music producer? The traditional music producer will be paid by the record company. He or she will receive an advance of anything from zero to hundreds of thousands of euros. He or she will also demand a percentage of artist’s royalties, usually between 2 and 4 percent. A freelance music producer, who is working outside of a recording contract, will state their own terms. This could be a flat fee with no royalty demands, like a consultation fee for song analysis, or they could charge no fee but demand a higher royalty percentage, or songwriting credit. It really depends on the music producer, and how good they think the artist is. For a great, although admittedly dark, insight into the music industry read “Confessions of a Record Producer” by Moses Avalon. |
||
| will@pressrecord.co.uk |
|
|