How To Find & Attract The Best Music Producer - The Music Producers Guild’s Guide for Artists & Band
7 October 2016 By Jonathan Bond - Music Gateway
When looking to find & work with a music producer there are a number of key factors you must consider before contacting these masters of track production. But what are they and what should you prepare beforehand?
Well our partners at The Music Producer’s Guild know exactly what you need to know.
The MPG acts as a voice for producers and engineers who are passionate about creating and recording music. Providing a community for collective minds to share experiences and collaborate with other people, the organisation continuously encourages and supports the community through events, sub-groups, their participation in UK Music and so much more. So who would be better than asking them?
We’ll dive into 5 things all producers need to know before being interested in a project.
So the first thing a producer will need to know is…
#1 The style/genre of music you are performing
It’s important to provide some demo recordings to give the producer an idea of the style/genre they’ll be dealing with. The recording quality doesn’t need to be slick. A
recording on an iPhone can be sufficient as long as it’s a clear indication of the nature of the songs.
#2 If you plan on releasing it, supply details of your ‘business plan’, production budget and promotional strategy
This is intended to provide the producer firstly with a sense of whether or not you as the artist have a firm idea of the business aspect of their project, and secondly, to obtain some idea of how far you’ve developed it. It’s also related to the general question of resources. It’s acknowledged that, these days, a lot of artists are self-funding, which generally means a low-budget. The producer will want to get some idea early on as to how low that budget really is, what the project prospects are and consequently how much they can expect to pitch for in the way of fees, etc.
Whilst they can be accommodating to your financial position you also have to remain realistic in providing sufficient payment for the work you’re asking of them.
#3 What is the intended schedule for the recording?
Many producers have booked up schedules and need to know when you need the recordings finished by so they can plan your project into their time. This ultimately will help the producer make a schedule complete your body of work to the standard it deserves without having a few unnecessary hiccups in the way because it was never clarified you wanted to do 7 songs instead of 3. By providing a realistic time frame early on you can also assure that if anything overruns you’re not left waiting longer than you’d intended. This way you can ensure everything is ready for your intended single, E.P or album release date.
#4 Details of musicians/vocalists, instruments, and if any extra hired musicians will be needed to complete the project
How many musicians and vocalists, as well as instruments, will be needed? Do you need to hire extra musicians for your project? And whether or not you have available equipment; musical instruments, amplifiers, etc. and recording equipment/software is also an important factor. Everything must be ready for the day of recording to ensure no time & money is wasted as a result of bad preparation.
#5 Who represents you?
If you have any professional representation, for example, management, a record company, publishing deals, an agent for live performances this is worth mentioning to the producer you’ve chosen to seriously work with. Knowing this just gives an idea of who they’re dealing with and whether there are other individuals they must liaise with other than yourself. Also providing information on whether you have a website, Facebook page and more is helpful, as mentioning the new person you’ve worked with on your social platforms may boost your fan base.
Finally here’s a bonus one, what is your location?
Nothing worse than setting out to work with someone to then find out they’re not as near as you thought they were. Knowing each other's location helps identify the
overall foundation of the project, whether it’ll be remote or local, where the producerwill be working and much more.
In short, it’s important to supply as much information as you can about your project!
Want to know more about The MPG?
You can check out what they do here, and if your a producer yourself, as a Music Gateway member you can gain a special discount off their associate & full membership by going to your Music Gateway members pack. If you're not a member already and want the discount, simply sign up for free to Music Gateway.
Need a producer to work with?
If you’re not already connected to a producer to work with you can start a project to find a professional producer on Music Gateway.