MIX CITY MUSIC RECORDING STUDIOS
MATT PAKUCKO
Why hire a producer for your music?
That has been addressed by many, many before me. I will let some of them say it here. REMEMBER: Producers were invented for a reason. The music and the technology have vastly transformed, but the reasons for having one have not.
“Making great music requires perspective. With few exceptions, great records are made with a team of collaborators.
If you think about your favorite artists and their best work, there’s a good chance that there was an engineer, a producer, a mixer, a mastering engineer, some musicians, and maybe even some additional songwriters. The point being that almost no one makes a great record entirely alone.
Music is collaborative by nature. Even solo artists rely on the synergistic relationship with the audience to inspire their creativity and performances. And even though they may write their music in solitude, at some point they have to come out of hiding to present it to their audience. Before they can release their records, they often need and rely on someone else’s input to further develop the ideas and bring them to fruition.”
"For most indie musicians the idea of hiring a producer might seem high-falutin’, or at least expensive. But the truth is hiring someone to produce your demo or album might be smarter, more practical and cheaper than your think. A good producer makes songs, sounds and arrangements better, and can identify an artist’s or band’s strengths and weakness, then develop a strategy for embracing the former and triumphing over the latter. Smart producers also understand how to make an album strategically, selecting and crafting songs and arrangements to best reach a demographic, ideally without artistic compromise."
Take a look at Billboard's Hot 100: How many of the hits are produced by the artist? Very few. And the few times the artist is credited as producer, there are other producers as well.
Take away: If you want to compete with the big boys, then you need to work the way the big boys do.
"Very seldom will you see
any successful records made on any major
record labels, or even a strong
independent, without the help of a qualified producer."
"Also, beyond
the skills required to produce a record
effectively, a producer is also there to
be objective, which is incredibly hard to do
alone."
From The Hub / Musicians Friend:
"With the exception of the Dave Grohls of the world, most people really do need some help. In fact, it is crucial to have an objective viewpoint from someone that is not emotionally invested in the material. A writer’s attachment to the music is often what kills the potential for success."