When Cutting Factory work towards a video production, music is always on our minds. The perfect soundtrack to the video is very important to us because it sets the tone for the viewer. Creating the soundtrack in house is the best way to control the quality of the audio soundtrack, and to get the best results, you need a music producer with a good ear for music overseeing the whole production. The job of a music producer is a bit of a mystery to some people, so we thought we would clarify what they do.
Music Producer, a Sound Engineer or an Artist?
These jobs are very different ones in the studio, although many people currently work as one music producer in front of a computer. These roles are generally combined together when there is only one person making music in their home studio.
The best way to think about these roles is to think about how people work in a studio:
- Sound Engineer, the person who sits by the mixing desk. The person who moves the dials and faders, sometimes sets up microphones (although this can be done by an assistant engineer).
- Artists, the people who play the instruments, sing and play the drums. These are the people you will eventually hear when a recording is done and finally mastered.
- Music producer, the person who tells the artists and Sound Engineer what to do in a recording session. You will generally find them standing behind the engineer telling them what to do.
The music producer is probably the person who you expect to hear the least on a recording, but they actually have a very significant role in the process, especially when it comes to creating a soundtrack for a video. Their role can be compared to a director for a film, they provide the direction, style and guidance for production. A music producer sometimes comes from a record label if they are producing music, or if it is music for a film/video, they will more than likely come from the production company funding the project.
What does it take to become a Music Producer?
There is no defined pathway to becoming a music producer, but one thing that many producers have in common is that they have many years of experience. It’s not an entry level job and will require some hard work in the field, after building connections with artists and showing a proven track record of making great music As most producers come from a label or production company they more than likely have worked within the company for many years, and understanding how a recording session works before they were taking their ideas to a session for recording.
Profile – Sir George Henry Martin
George Martin’s career in music spans almost six decades. Following graduation from university, he worked for the BBC’s classical music department and then joined EMI to become the head of their Parlophone Records. Martin also produced comedy and novelty records. His first hit for EMI’s Parlophone was a “Mock Mozart” single by Peter Ustinov with Antony Hopkins. At the beginning of the 50’s, Martin supplemented his producer income by publishing his music and having artist record it. It was in 1962, as Martin was working at the famous Abbey Road studios where he met the Beatles in an audition for them to work with him.
References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Martin