Careers

Music Producer

A music producer supports musicians and recording artists in a variety of ways in the recording and realisation of their music.

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Also known as:

Record Producer

Skill Level:

Experienced

What does a Music Producer do?

A music producer supports musicians and recording artists in a variety of ways in the recording and realisation of their music. The nature and application of this support will be different for every project and this results in some exciting challenges. A music producer can come from a musical background, as a musician, or from a technical background, as a recording engineer, or both. The role is principally a creative one but they must be able to balance the administration requirements with the creative ones to enable an appropriate environment for the artists to perform.

Watch and read (links to videos /cases studies):

What’s a Music Producer good at?

The role calls on many other skills such as:

  • Project management
  • Budget management
  • People management
  • Team building
  • Negotiating skills

Tools of the trade:

There are many “tools of the trade” – some technical and some creative.

  • Digital audio workstations such as Avid Pro Tools, Apple Logic, Steinberg Cubase or Ableton Live
  • Microphones
  • Audio processing devices

Who does a Music Producer work with?

A music producer works with musicians, record labels, artist managers, publishers, songwriters and composers.

How do I become a Music Producer?

You will need to acquire experience by collaborating with other creative people to develop the skills required, however:

At school or college:

Learning an instrument will always be useful and you should not just rely on your school to make this available.

There are many further education courses at colleges offering Level 3 qualifications.

Also many colleges offer HNC or HND qualifications at Levels 4 and 5 that can count towards a degree.

Build a portfolio:
Work with local musicians and artists who you find exciting, as this will enable you to gain experience, develop you skills and build a reputation.

Look for an apprenticeship:
There are no apprenticeships in this area currently.

Get a degree:
There are many degrees that focus upon different aspects of music production. Some are biased towards the music and creativity and others are more technological. There is an industry accreditation process that defines some of the best courses – go to www.jamesonline.org.uk for more details.

Search for jobs:
There are a number of “jobs” that might be defined as music producer that involve creating content for online projects

You might also be interested in:
Audio Engineer / Recording Engineer / Mixing Engineer / Live Sound Engineer.

Is the role a skills shortage?

No

For further information about being a music producer please go to https://mpg.org.uk/

 

For more inspiring ideas on careers in the Creative Industries check out: https://discovercreative.careers/#/