What is the point of a music producer these days?
Modern technology allows everyone to record and create music in their bedroom. Less and less artists have any use of an actual studio in the traditional sense. The affordability of virtual instruments, musicians and outboard gear present an irreversible shift in the way music is created. Is it sad? Maybe for the survival of those historic places where musical milestones were put to tape, but that is more nostalgia than realism.
So with the end of the classic way of creating recorded music it seems that some jobs are disappearing. Many musicians engineer their own productions, doing everything from writing to mastering.
So what about the role of the producer? 'What do they actually do anyway?' you might say.
The producer is the person that helps the artist create what they have in their head. He's the one who is behind and sometimes guides, sometimes just makes things happen, sometimes helps the artist realise he's going the wrong direction. It's a complicated role, more akin to psychology than technology and unlike most of the other jobs linked to music recording it is very difficult to 'do it yourself'. Why? because, unless you are an accomplished psychopath it is near impossible to split yourself in two and do both roles at the same time. The actual point of a producer is to have someone else helping you.
I have been producing bands and artists for a few decades now. It is not easy. Most of the time it's all about giving space to the artists and putting them in the best environment possible to be creative. A lot of the time it's about being attentive to capture the natural moments of brilliance that usually appear without the artists realising it. Making sure that take is saved even though they want to carry on trying to better it. You can never impose your ideas but you need to be strong when you feel the project is going down a pointless route.
Producing means working with artists, and artists have oversized egos. And that's good and essential, otherwise they wouldn't be good at what they do. But obviously it can make things difficult for the producer because he will have to challenge that ego when it gets in the way of the project. That makes the producer's job quite tricky and when there's no connection between the artist and the producer it's much better not to work together. Both sides need to respect each other and recognize that their egos are the reason they are good at what they do. It is achievable but it's always a conundrum.
One thing is certain though, a virtual producer will never be as good as the real person.
Good.
David Goffin 27 Jan 2025
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