Producer Tips (Basics): What Is a Music Producer?

What is a music producer? It's a fairly new career, but one that has become quite popular among young people in Vietnam, alongside DJing. Music production has taken off as the country's music industry has grown over the past five years or so. Join MUSE INC. for a quick introduction to the music producer in this article.

What is a music producer?

Put simply, a music producer is the person responsible for creating their own music.

Music producers have existed for a very long time, yet few people really know about the job, and society still doesn't fully recognise producing as a proper profession. And not many people realise that behind every hit by a famous artist stands the hard work of a whole team – the singer, the musicians and a music producer.

What does a music producer do?

Once production starts, a producer takes on a huge range of tasks: working with the singer, finding ideas and a concept, sound design, mixing and mastering, and polishing everything until the final product is finished.

A few things you need to know about producers

About a decade ago, becoming a music producer took a lot, and the hardest part was the equipment. To do the job well, a producer needed plenty of gear – microphones, amplifiers, outboard gear, computers, speakers… Most of it was quite expensive, and not everyone could afford it.

Over the past five years, however, making music has become much easier. Quality tracks can now be made on your laptop, without any expensive equipment.

This is what gave rise to the bedroom producer – quite literally, someone who produces music in their bedroom.

What a bedroom producer does

In general, they do everything a regular music producer does – the difference is that they do it all on their own.

The obstacles a producer faces

Almost every producer has to deal with overwork. They often juggle several jobs and projects at once with very tight deadlines, which can mean working for two or three days straight without sleep. On top of that, they're under heavy pressure from all sides – partners, singers, the public – for long stretches of time.

What it takes to become a music producer

Because of the special nature of the job, being a music producer is quite demanding, both physically and mentally.

• First and foremost, PASSION: You really need a deep love of music so you don't give up halfway. Music production takes a lot of patience to see a track through to the very end, plus a long process of polishing your skills that costs plenty of time, money and effort.
• The ability to work under pressure: As mentioned above, producers are under a lot of pressure, so to make a career of it you need to handle pressure well.
• Good health: This applies to every profession, and to music producers in particular. If your health can't keep up with the demands of the job, you won't be able to keep doing it.
• Last but not least, you need talent: “Genius is 1% natural talent and 99% hard work.” That doesn't mean talent is unnecessary – sometimes that 1% of natural gift is enough to make all the difference.

How much does a producer earn?

Becoming a music producer takes a lot of skill, passion, hard work and patience, and you'll run into plenty of difficulties along the way. But the rewards waiting at the end of that rocky road are always worth the challenges.

Generally speaking, there's no ceiling on what a producer can earn.

Income grows with reputation: the more famous you are, the more money you make. Sometimes a single hit in the charts is enough to bring in a flood of contracts from singers, studios and commercial companies.

What's more, a producer can take on many kinds of work. They can go into showbiz, make art, tour, release albums and sell their music. Or they can work in audio engineering as a sound engineer, helping to produce recordings or balancing and adjusting the sound at music events. Producers can also do commercial work, such as music for advertising, music for games and sound design.

That's why producers have many sources of income.

Job opportunities for music producers

As mentioned above, the Vietnamese music market has been growing non-stop in recent years, and with the arrival of electronic dance music, or EDM, the public and audiences have become much more demanding about quality.

More and more young people in Vietnam are embracing and loving EDM, which has made Vietnam an ideal market for foreign investors in music. For the same reason, many international artists have been paying attention to the Vietnamese music scene, and many have already toured here.

On top of that, with the technology boom, online streaming services and music platforms such as Spotify, SoundCloud, iTunes and YouTube have arrived in Vietnam and become popular with the public, especially young people, making music far easier to access.

For all these reasons, job opportunities for producers keep growing to meet the demands and needs of the market.

How do you become a music producer?

We've covered what a producer is, the work they do, the qualities they need, and the difficulties and rewards that await them.

Do you feel you have a talent and passion for music? Do you think music production is right for you? Here are some useful tips for anyone who wants to become a professional producer.

Learn to play an instrument.

Playing an instrument isn't essential, but it gives you a big head start over aspiring producers who can't play one.

Here are the instruments that are most useful for a producer.

• Piano/keyboard: The piano is the most versatile instrument for a professional producer – an indispensable tool in your music career.
• Guitar: It makes playing chords easy and suits rock and pop.
• Bass: The bass guitar helps you master the rhythm section and gives your tracks a solid foundation.
• Practise remixing well-known songs.
• This is one of the most important steps: it helps you understand your abilities, strengths and production style, while learning from high-quality tracks.

Use and master the technology

As a producer, music-making software is essential for creating and playing music. So you need to learn how to use programs such as FL Studio and Ableton.

That's just some of the basics about music producers and how to become one. We hope what we've shared helps you get a clearer picture of the job and some direction for your future career.

MUSE INC. has officially launched a music production course for anyone who wants to become a professional producer. Visit the Muse DJ Academy fanpage for more details.

Source: Playground Studio