How to Become a Music Producer (Esben and the Witch Band ) | Skillhub
Becoming a Music Producer - Esben and the Witch Band
If you love music and have what it takes to become an industry professional, a career in music production might be perfect for you. However, becoming a great music producer is not easy. It takes a lot of time and training to learn the ropes, and the road to success is usually long.
But if you’re really keen on becoming a music producer like for Esben and the Witch Band, this shouldn’t stop you. Keep reading this article, and you’ll find out how to become a true professional and earn money doing what you love.
In the next paragraphs, we’ll cover the following topics:
Who are music producers and what they do;
How to become a music producer, step by step;
How to find and promote new talents;
How much money music producers make.
Let’s begin!
Who Is a Music Producer?
Typically, a music producer deals with creating, performing, and recording a musical product. Sometimes, music producers are also involved in business aspects: talent search, project budgeting, etc.
Generally, a music producer’s responsibilities include:
writing and arranging music;
talent search and signature sound formation;
supervising artists during studio sessions;
recording and mixing music (or supervising the process).
Depending on your personal talents and inclinations, you can choose to focus more on the music or the business aspect. You can also combine both like the producer of an English rock band Esben and the Witch did (more on that later).
What Is the Job of a Music Producer?
Music producers’ job is versatile. Primarily, they should keep track of the progress of their current projects and interact with the people involved. Hence, they spend most of their time in studios and rehearsal rooms.
Other aspects of the job include composing and arranging music, watching the industry trends, and hunting for new talents. All this needs to be done on a day-to-day basis.
What Is the Role of a Music Producer?
The role of a music producer in a career of an artist or a band is hard to overestimate. In most cases, it’s the producer who’s mainly responsible for discovering and promoting talent, developing the artists’ image and signature sound, and therefore, their overall success and popularity.
What Does a Music Producer Do? (Esben and the Witch Example)
To understand how to become a music producer, it’s essential to understand what exactly a music producer does.
Here are the main functions of a typical music producer:
Creating music.
Particularly, composing and arranging musical pieces.
Understanding music production.
Music producers know how music is created, from scratch to a finished product.
Working in the music industry.
Experience is a must. The more – the better!
For example, Esben and the Witch producer went all the way through these 3 stages. Let’s look at them more closely.
Creating Music
Creating music starts from listening to it as having enough experience as a listener always comes in handy in a creative process.
There are many ways to create music. Some of them don’t even involve playing any musical instruments. However, basic knowledge of music theory is a must. A music producer should understand how notes and chords work together in a musical piece and have an ear and musical taste to create something really outstanding. It’s also essential to understand musical form.
Understanding Music Production
Music production is a complex multistage process that starts with creating music and ends when the finished record is ready for distribution.
The in-between stages include:
arranging and rehearsing the material;
recording;
mixing and mastering.
It may seem too much, but understanding the whole process is vital. If you find yourself wondering how to become a better music producer, you might need to expand your knowledge in this area. It’s also crucial to embrace innovations and be a quick learner.
Working in the Music Industry
So, is it hard to become a music producer? It depends. It’s rather easy to become an amateur freelancer working for a small audience if you have some talent. But making it in the big industry is very hard.
Most aspiring producers spend years securing connections, doing internships, and working as assistants before they are given a chance to do something on their own. The bright side is, by that time they are skilled enough to create something worthwhile.
Main Steps to Take to Become a Music Producer
If you want to follow in the footsteps of the mastermind behind Esben and the Witch and become a producer while using music producer resume examples, here are the steps to take:
Get used to listening to all kinds of music.
Interesting ideas can be found anywhere!
Become a musician.
Because it’s essential to understand how things work.
Start creating music.
So that you would have something to offer.
Find internship.
It’s a perfect way to gain experience and build connections.
Let’s zoom in now.
Get Used to Listening to All Kinds of Music
Even the most talented artists need sources of inspiration and reference points, and listening to music that already exists can provide both.
So, everyone wondering how to become a producer for music should start by finding out what kind of music they prefer. It’s vital to expose oneself to many different styles and genres before you find what’s “yours” and focus on it.
Even then, don’t shy away from other styles: awesome sound usually comes from a blend of style components. For instance, Esben and the Witch sound as a blend of rock, gothic, darkwave, and some other styles.
Become a Musician for the Witch
Professional music producers play at least one musical instrument, usually more. There’s no need to become a virtuoso performer if you don’t want to, but it’s vital to be able to express your musical ideas clearly. But of course, it’s not all about how to become a good music producer. Now, you should start creating music using your new skills.
Start Creating Music
So, you can write a song using your voice and a guitar or a piano, and record it on your smartphone. But to produce a professional soundtrack, you’ll need more.
Everyone wondering how to become a record producer should be aware that quality really matters. Still, it’s not necessary to go into debt to build a hi-end studio to create great music. A digital audio workstation (DAW) and some basic equipment would do for a start.
Once you learn how to create tracks using whatever equipment available, you’ll be able to apply for an internship at a professional studio.
Find Internship
Securing an internship is indispensable if you want to become an industry professional like the producer of Esben and the Witch. At a big studio, you’ll work with professional equipment and learn from seasoned producers by assisting them and watching them do their job.
“But how hard is it to become a music producer?”, you might still ask. An internship is the best way to figure it out as it will give you a chance to try yourself out in real professional settings.
You can find internships via job search websites or networking.
Aim at big studios like:
WarnerMedia
UMG
Sony Music.
Find New Talents and Promote Them
For those wondering how to become a famous producer, it’s important to understand that they need a talented artist or a band to produce. You can promote yourself or your own band if you’re a good musician. Another way is to find talents and promote them instead.
Such collaboration will be beneficial for both parties. Artists become popular and famous, and this helps their producers gain recognition, too. They get mentioned in the media, and may also get awards nominations.
Esben and the Witch: How They Were Promoted
Examples like that of the British indie rock band Esben and Witch prove that it’s possible to become a successful music producer if you’re hard-working and have a strategy.
The band started out as a duo, then found a singer. Their self-released first EP got them a deal with the Matador label. The first single followed, and then the LP was produced by founding band member Daniel Copeman. The album received favorable reviews from leading industry media. The rest is history.
Becoming a Music Producer: Music Producer Salary
It’s also important to understand how much music producers earn.
Novices often work free to gain experience. After they pass this stage, the average salary for music production jobs makes up slightly over $50,000/year in 2021, but top earners can make over $100,000/year, and stars earn millions. You can also work as a freelancer and charge per song.
All in all, this career is challenging but rewarding. Still, it’s all about vocation, so answer the fundamental “what does a music producer do?” question before pursuing it.