Record producer

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Record producer

A recording session in Denmark
Occupation
Names	Record producer, music producer
Occupation type	Profession
Activity sectors	Music Industry
Description
Competencies	Instrumental skills, keyboard knowledge, songwriting, arranging, vocal coaching
Fields of employment	Recording Studios
Related jobs	Recording engineer, executive producer, film producer, A&R

A record producer or music producer oversees and manages the sound recording and production of a band or performer's music, which may range from recording one song to recording a lengthy concept album.^[1] A producer has many, varying roles during the recording process.^[2] They may gather musical ideas for the project, collaborate with the artists to select cover tunes or original songs by the artist/group, work with artists and help them to improve their songs, lyrics or arrangements.

A producer may also:

• Select session musicians to play rhythm section accompaniment parts or solos
• Co-write.^[3]
• Propose changes to the song arrangements, and
• Coach the singers and musicians in the studio

The producer typically supervises the entire process from preproduction, through to the sound recording and mixing stages, and, in some cases, all the way to the audio mastering stage. The producer may perform these roles themselves, or help select the engineer, and provide suggestions to the engineer. The producer may also pay session musicians and engineers and ensure that the entire project is completed within the record label's budget.

Function[edit]

A record producer or music producer has a very broad role in overseeing and managing the recording and production of a band or performer's music. A producer has many roles that may include, but are not limited to, gathering ideas for the project, composing the music for the project, selecting songs or session musicians, proposing changes to the song arrangements, coaching the artist and musicians in the studio, controlling the recording sessions, and supervising the entire process through audio mixing (recorded music) and, in some cases, to the audio mastering stage. Producers also often take on a wider entrepreneurial role, with responsibility for the budget, schedules, contracts, and negotiations.

Writer Chris Deville explains it, "Sometimes a producer functions like a creative consultant — someone who helps a band achieve a certain aesthetic, or who comes up with the perfect violin part to complement the vocal melody, or who insists that a chorus should actually be a bridge. Other times a producer will build a complete piece of music from the ground up and present the finished product to a vocalist, like Metro Boomin supplying Future with readymade beats or Jack Antonoff letting Taylor Swift add lyrics and melody to an otherwise-finished “Out Of The Woods.”^[4]

The artist of an album may not be a record producer or music producer for his/her album. While both contribute creatively, the official credit of "record producer" may depend on the record contract. Christina Aguilera, for example, did not receive record producer credits until many albums into her career.^[5]

In the 2010s, the recording industry has three kinds of producers with different roles: executive producer, vocal producer and music producer. Executive producers oversee project finances, Vocal Producers also known as vocal arrangers oversees the vocal production, while music producers oversee the creative process of recording songs or albums.

In most cases the music producer is also a competent arranger, composer, musician or songwriter who can bring fresh ideas to a project. As well as making any songwriting and arrangement adjustments, the producer often selects or gives suggestions to the mixing engineer, who takes the raw recorded tracks and edits and modifies them with hardware and software tools and creates a stereo or surround sound "mix" of all the individual voices sounds and instruments, which is in turn given further adjustment by a mastering engineer. The producer will also liaise with the recording engineer who concentrates on the technical aspects of recording, whereas the executive producer keeps an eye on the overall project's marketability.

Noted producer Phil Ek described his role as "the person who creatively guides or directs the process of making a record", like a director would a movie. Indeed, in Bollywood music, the designation is actually music director. The music producer's job is to create, shape, and mold a piece of music. The scope of responsibility may be one or two songs or an artist's entire album – in which case the producer will typically develop an overall vision for the album and how the various songs may interrelate.

History[edit]

At the beginning of record industry, the producer role was technically limited to record, in one shot, artists performing live.^[6] The immediate predecessors to record producers were the artists and repertoire executives of the late 1920s and 1930s who oversaw the "pop" product and often led session orchestras. That was the case of Ben Selvin at Columbia Records, Nathaniel Shilkret at Victor Records and Bob Haring at Brunswick Records. By the end of the 1930s, the first professional recording studios not owned by the major companies were established, essentially separating the roles of A&R man and producer, although it wouldn't be until the late 1940s when the term "producer" became widely used in the industry.

The role of producers changed progressively over the 1950s and 1960s due to technological developments. The development of multitrack recording caused a major change in the recording process. Before multitracking, all the elements of a song (lead vocals, backup vocals, rhythm section instrument accompaniment, solos and orchestral parts) had to be performed simultaneously. All of these singers and musicians had to be assembled in a large studio and the performance had to be recorded. With multitrack recording, the "bed tracks" (rhythm section accompaniment parts such as the bassline, drums, and rhythm guitar could be recorded first, and then the vocals and solos could be added later, using as many "takes" (or attempts) as it took. As well, for a song that used 20 instruments, it was no longer necessary to get all the players in the studio at the same time. A pop band could record their backing tracks one week, and then a horn section could be brought in a week later to add horn shots and punches, and then a string section could be brought in a week after that.

Multitrack recording had another profound effect on music production: it enabled producers and audio engineers to create new sounds that would be impossible in a live performance style ordering. Examples include the psychedelic rock sound effects of the 1960s, e.g. playing back the sound of recorded instruments backward changing the tape to produce unique sound effects. During the same period, the instruments of popular music began to shift from the acoustic instruments of traditional music (piano, upright bass, acoustic guitar, strings, brass and wind instruments) to electric piano, electronic organ, synthesizer, electric bass and electric guitar. These new instruments were electric or electronic, and thus they used instrument amplifiers and speaker enclosures (speaker cabinets) to create sound.

Electric and electronic instruments and amplifiers enabled performers and producers to change the tone and sound of instruments to produce unique electric sounds that would be impossible to achieve with acoustic instruments and live performers, such as having a singer do her own backup vocals or having a guitarist play 15 layers of backing parts to her own solo.^[7]

New technologies like multitracking changed the goal of recording: A producer could blend together multiple takes and edit together different sections to create the desired sound. For example, in jazz fusion Bandleader-composer Miles Davis' album Bitches Brew, the producer cut and edited sections together from extensive improvisation sessions.

Phil Spector producing Modern Folk Quartet, 1966

Producers like Phil Spector and George Martin were soon creating recordings that were, in practical terms, almost impossible to realize in live performance. Producers became creative figures in the studio. Other examples of such engineers includes Joe Meek, Teo Macero, Brian Wilson, and Biddu.^[8]

Brian Wilson at a mixing board in Brother Studios, 1976

Another related phenomenon in the 1960s was the emergence of the performer-producer. As pop acts like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys and The Kinks gained expertise in studio recording techniques, many of these groups eventually took over as (frequently uncredited) producers of their own work. Many recordings by acts such as The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and The Who are officially credited to their various producers at the time, but a number of these performers have since asserted that many of their recordings in this period were, either wholly self-produced (e.g. The Rolling Stones' Decca recordings) or collaborations between the group and their recording engineer (e.g. The Small Faces' Immediate recordings, which were made with Olympic Studios engineer Glyn Johns).^{[nb 1]}

The Beach Boys are probably the best example of the trend of artists becoming producers – within two years of the band's commercial breakthrough, group leader Brian Wilson had taken over from his father Murry, and he was the sole producer of all their recordings between 1963 and 1967. Alongside The Beatles and Martin, Wilson also pioneered many production innovations – by 1964 he had developed Spector's techniques to a new level of sophistication, using multiple studios and multiple "takes" of instrumental and vocal components to capture the best possible combinations of sound and performance, and then using tape editing extensively to assemble a perfect composite performance from these elements.

At the end of the 20th century, digital recording and producing tools, then widespread availability of relatively affordable computers with music software made music producing more accessible.

Women and Record Producing[edit]

According to a 2018 study by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, "The ratio of male to female producers across 300 popular songs is 49 to 1."

They also discovered only 2 percent of music producers are women.^[9] In 2019, The Recording Academy's Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion announced the "Producer & Engineer Inclusion Initiative." This initiative asks musicians, record labels, studios and others to consider at least two women for each producer or engineer position. Major artists, producers and organizations have signed on including Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Quincy Jones, Pearl Jam, John Legend, Pharrell Williams, Pink, Cardi B, Maroon 5 and over 200 others.^[10]

In 2019, record producer Linda Perry was nominated for a Grammy for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical. She was the first woman in over 15 years to be nominated for the award. Previous nominees include Lauren Christy (2004), Sheryl Crowe, Lauryn Hill and Janet Jackson. None have won the award.^[11]

In the classical music field, Judith Sherman has won Grammy for Producer of the Year, Classical, three times and been nominated twelve times. Wilma Cozart Fine produced hundreds of recordings for Mercury Records.

Producer Wendy Page describes being a record producer, "The difficulties are usually very short-lived. Once people realize that you can do your job, sexism tends to lower its ugly head. I tend to create a happy studio 'family' where everyone is glad to be there, especially the artist. Good communication and diplomacy usually sort any little problems out."^[12]

The path to record producing for many female singer/songwriters is through self-producing their own albums. Major artists who are "record producers" (on their own albums) include Mariah Carey, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Toni Braxton, Lady Gaga, P!nk, Adele, Lauren Hill, and Missy Elliot.

Notable women record producers (who produce other artists)[edit]

• Sylvia Moy (Motown's first female record producer)
• Gail Davies (First female record producer on Nashville's Music Row)
• Ethel Gabriel (First major label record producer; 40 year career with RCA)
• Lillian McMurry (Producer/Label owner who produced historically significant blues records)
• Linda Perry
• Sylvia Massy

Equipment and technology[edit]

Mixing console.

There are numerous technologies utilized by record producers. In modern-day recordings, recording and mixing tasks are commonly centralized within computers using digital audio workstations such as Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Ableton, Cubase, and FL Studio, which all are often used with third party virtual studio technology plugins.^[13] Logic Pro and Pro Tools are considered the industry standard DAWs.^[14][15] However, there is also the main mixer, outboard effects gear, MIDI controllers, and the recording device itself.

While most music production is done using sophisticated software, some musicians and producers prefer the minutiae of older analog technology. Professor Albin Zak claims that the increased automation of both newer processes and newer instruments reduces the level of control and manipulation available to musicians and producers.^[16]

Studio application[edit]

Production has changed drastically over the years with advancing technology. Where the producer's role has changed, they have always been seen as a jack of all trades, as their duties require a broad knowledge of the recording process.^[17]

Tracking is the act of recording audio to a DAW (digital audio workstation) or in some cases to tape. Even though digital technologies have widely supplanted the use of tape in studios, the older term "track" is still used in the 2010s. Tracking audio is primarily the role of the audio engineer. Producers work side by side with the artists while they play or sing their part and coach them on how to perform it and how to get the best technical accuracy (e.g., intonation). In some cases, the producer will even sing a backup vocal or play an instrument.

Many artists are also beginning to produce and write their own music.^[18]

Influential record producers[edit]

NME identifies some of the greatest producers ever.^[19]

See also[edit]

• Audio engineering
• Electronic music
• Hip hop production
• Music executive
• Musician
• Producers and Midi

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• Gibson, David and Maestro Curtis. "The Art of Producing". 1st. Ed. USA. ArtistPro Publishing, 2004. ISBN 1-931140-44-8
• Burgess, Richard James. The Art of Music Production. 4th Ed. UK. Music Sales, 2005. ISBN 1-84449-431-4
• Edmondson, Jacqueline, ed. (2013). Music in American Life: An Encyclopedia of the Songs, Styles, Stars, and Stories that Shaped our Culture. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-39348-8.
• Hewitt, Michael. Music Theory for Computer Musicians. 1st Ed. USA. Cengage Learning, 2008. ISBN 1598635034
• Gronow, Pekka and Ilpo Saunio (1998). An International History of the Recording Industry. Cited in Moorefield (2005).
• Moorefield, Virgil (2005). The Producer as Composer: Shaping the Sounds of Popular Music.
• Olsen, Eric et al. (1999). The Encyclopedia of Record Producers. ISBN 978-0-8230-7607-9
• Zak, Albin. The Poetics of Rock: Cutting Tracks, Making Records. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001.