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Record producer

  (Redirected from Record Production)


Record producer
Engineer at audio console at Danish Broadcasting Corporation.png
A recording session in Denmark
Names Record producer, music producer
Activity sectors
Music Industry
Competencies Instrumental skills, keyboard knowledge, songwriting, arranging, vocal coaching
Fields of
Recording Studios
Related jobs
Recording engineer, executive producer, film producer, A&R

A producer may also:

The producer typically supervises the entire process from preproduction, through to the sound recording and mixing stages, and, in some cases, all the way to the audio mastering stage. The producer may perform these roles himself, or help select the engineer, and provide suggestions to the engineer. The producer may also pay session musicians and engineers and ensure that the entire project is completed within the record companies' budget.





Noted producer Phil Ek described his role as "the person who creatively guides or directs the process of making a record", like a director would a movie. Indeed, in Bollywood music, the designation is actually music director. The music producer's job is to create, shape, and mold a piece of music. The scope of responsibility may be one or two songs or an artist's entire album – in which case the producer will typically develop an overall vision for the album and how the various songs may interrelate.


At the beginning of record industry, the producer role was technically limited to record, in one shot, artists performing live.[4]

The role of producers changed progressively over the 1950s and 1960s due to technological developments. The development of multitrack recording caused a major change in the recording process. Before multitracking, all the elements of a song (lead vocals, backup vocals, rhythm section instrument accompaniment, solos and orchestral parts) had to be performed simultaneously. All of these singers and musicians had to be assembled in a large studio and the performance had to be recorded. With multitrack recording, the "bed tracks" (rhythm section accompaniment parts such as the bassline, drums, and rhythm guitar could be recorded first, and then the vocals and solos could be added later, using as many "takes" (or attempts) as it took. As well, for a song that used 20 instruments, it was no longer necessary to get all the players in the studio at the same time. A pop band could record their backing tracks one week, and then a horn section could be brought in a week later to add horn shots and punches, and then a string section could be brought in a week after that.

While this facilitated the recording process and allow multiple takes, the multitrack recording had another profound effect on music production [5][6] it enabled producers and audio engineers to create new sounds that would be impossible to do in a live performance style ordering. Examples include the psychedelic rock sound effects of the 1960s, e.g. playing back the sound of recorded instruments backward changing the tape to produce unique sound effects. During the same period, the instruments of popular music began to shift from the acoustic instruments of traditional music (piano, upright bass bass, acoustic guitar) to electric piano, electronic organ, synthesizer, electric bass and electric guitar. These new instruments were electric or electronic, and thus they used instrument amplifiers and speaker enclosures (speaker cabinets) to create sound.

Electric and electronic instruments and amplifiers enabled performers and producers to change the tone and sound of instruments to produce unique electric sounds that would be impossible to achieve with acoustic instruments and live performers, such as having a singer do her own backup vocals or having a guitarist play 15 layers of backing parts to her own solo.[7]

New technologies like multitracking changed the goal of recording: A producer could blend together multiple takes and edit together different sections to create the desired sound. For example, in jazz fusion Bandleader-composer Miles Davis' album Bitches Brew, the producer cut and edited sections together from extensive improvisation sessions.

Producers like Phil Spector and George Martin were soon creating recordings that were, in practical terms, almost impossible to realize in live performance. Producers became creative figures in the studio. Other examples of such engineers includes Joe Meek, Teo Macero, Brian Wilson, and Biddu.[8]

Another related phenomenon in the 1960s was the emergence of the performer-producer. As pop acts like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys and The Kinks gained expertise in studio recording techniques, many of these groups eventually took over as (frequently uncredited) producers of their own work. Many recordings by acts such as The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and The Who are officially credited to their various producers at the time, but a number of these performers have since asserted that many of their recordings in this period were, either wholly self-produced (e.g. The Rolling Stones' Decca recordings) or collaborations between the group and their recording engineer (e.g. The Small Faces' Immediate recordings, which were made with Olympic Studios engineer Glyn Johns).[nb 1]

The Beach Boys are probably the best example of the trend of artists becoming producers – within two years of the band's commercial breakthrough, group leader Brian Wilson had taken over from his father Murry, and he was the sole producer of all their recordings between 1963 and 1967. Alongside The Beatles and Martin, Wilson also pioneered many production innovations – by 1964 he had developed Spector's techniques to a new level of sophistication, using multiple studios and multiple "takes" of instrumental and vocal components to capture the best possible combinations of sound and performance, and then using tape editing extensively to assemble a perfect composite performance from these elements.

At the end of the 20th century, digital recording and producing tools, then widespread availability of relatively affordable computers with music software made music producing more accessible.

Equipment and technologyEdit

Mixing console.

There are numerous technologies utilized by record producers. In modern-day recordings, recording and mixing tasks are commonly centralized within computers using digital audio workstations such as Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Ableton, Cubase, and FL Studio, which all are often used with third party virtual studio technology plugins.[9] Logic Pro and Pro Tools are considered the industry standard DAWs.[10][11] However, there is also the main mixer, outboard effects gear, MIDI controllers, and the recording device itself.

While most music production is done using sophisticated software, some musicians and producers prefer the minutiae of older analog technology. Professor Albin Zak claims that the increased automation of both newer processes and newer instruments reduces the level of control and manipulation available to musicians and producers.[12]

Studio applicationEdit

Production has changed drastically over the years with advancing technology. Where the producer's role has changed, they have always been seen as a jack of all trades, as their duties require a broad knowledge of the recording process.[13]


Tracking is the act of recording audio to a DAW (digital audio workstation) or in some cases to tape. Even though digital technologies have widely supplanted the use of tape in studios, the older term "track" is still used in the 2010s. Tracking audio is primarily the role of the audio engineer. Producers work side by side with the artists while they play or sing their part and coach them on how to perform it and how to get the best technical accuracy (e.g., intonation). In some cases, the producer will even sing a backup vocal or play an instrument.


See alsoEdit


  1. ^ Similarly, although The Beatles' productions were credited to George Martin throughout their recording career, many sources now attest that Lennon and McCartney in particular had an increasing influence on the production process as the group's career progressed, and especially after the band retired from touring in 1966. In an extreme example of this, Martin actually went on a two-week vacation as The Beatles were recording The White Album; production of several completed tracks on the album were credited to The Beatles on internal paperwork at Abbey Road Studios, although the released LP gave sole production credit to Martin.


  1. ^ "What does a music producer do, anyway ? – Production Advice". Retrieved 2017-01-09. 
  2. ^ "What Does a Music Producer Do?". Recording Connection Audio Institute. 2013-05-20. Retrieved 2017-01-09. 
  3. ^ Weissman, Richard: Understanding the Music Business "[1]." (2016) Retrieved 9 June. 2017.
  4. ^ Yuval Gerstein The role of the music producer - A short historical overview
  5. ^ "Music Production Degree". berklee mag. 
  6. ^ "Music production should be offered to students of all disciplines". statepress. 
  7. ^ "Game Changer Beats Trap Beats and Type Beats Home Page - Game Changer Beats". Game Changer Beats. Retrieved 2017-07-11. 
  8. ^ Kot, Greg (2016-03-10). "What does a record producer do?". BBC. Retrieved 2016-01-09. 
  13. ^ Pras, Amandine, Caroline Cance, and Catherine Guastavino. "Record Producers' Best Practices For Artistic Direction—From Light Coaching To Deeper Collaboration With Musicians." Journal of New Music Research 42.4 (2013): 381-95. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Sept. 2015.

Further readingEdit