The 3 Types of Music Producers
The professional title of producer is one of the most commonly misused titles in the music industry. This article will cover the three different types of music producers as well as the roles they play within the music industry and inside the recording studio.
What A Producer Isn’t
A producer isn’t a musician that makes his or her own music. The proper title for this position would be a musician, plain and simple. Producers also tend to work with a team of recording professionals, industry executives and reliable musicians to complete a recording project. Because the skills involved in managing a recording project take time to learn and are very demanding, someone who works on their own to create music isn’t typically considered a producer. The title of producer is often wrongfully associated with the roles of songwriters and general musicians.
Executive Producer
An executive producer is generally the person that funds the recording project. Executive producers also ultimately determine the direction of the recording project and carefully maintain the relationship between the artists or bands involved in the project and the record label that oversees the completion of the project. Executive producers essentially maintain the bridge between the record label and the recording artists as well as make sure that the project makes sense financially from a business perspective and a creative perspective.
Music Producer
A music producer typically spends a majority of their time creating or arranging music for the recording project. Music producers usually have a strong background in music theory and occasionally have degrees in music theory or music composition from established universities and colleges. Another job of the music producer is to make sure that the music within the recording project is of the highest possible quality and that the musicians involved in the project are making the best music they possibly can. Sometimes music producers are also given the task of maintaining communication between the artists and the record label executives, which is often a task that is more difficult than a lot of people within the music industry realize.
Engineering Producer
The engineering producer understands the technical aspects of the recording studio more than the other two types of producers. Engineering producers know how to work the recording console, setup the microphones for recording, use the recording software efficiently and effectively, and keep the recording project organized. A lot of engineering producers start out as either mixing engineers or assistant engineers to record label producers. They also tend to understand the technical aspects of recording and what it takes to make the music sound great from an engineer’s perspective.