Going Independent: Part Two

There are various roles during a recording process. One of them is The Producer, whose role is to collaborate with the artiste and engineer to produce a marketable final product. With duties in both the business side and creative side, a producer manages recording schedules and resources and importantly budgets, but is also involved in musical and artistic arrangements, and helping the artiste deliver their best performance.

A producer is usually selected for their knowledge in the music business, their understanding of the target audience, their creative insight, their understanding of the musical performance and their mastery of the recording process. The best way to shop for a producer is to find out who produced your favourite album. You could also engage producers through word of mouth or by recommendation. Once you've tracked them down, make sure you check out their list of credits to see if what they do is in line with what you are after.

Alternatively as an independent artiste, you can be your own producer by having a clear idea of how the final product is going to sound, the mood and feel, and so on. For example, a pop-punk band would produce a CD differently from an electronica act, unless of course, there is the intention otherwise. When you produce your own music, you need to detach yourself from the musician in you so that you can judge the recording objectively. The bottom line is to have a clear direction and vision of what you want to achieve.