Top Five Things You Need To Ask Yourself When Choosing A Producer
barb morrison
one of the biggest mistakes i’m seeing people make in the current music industry is either trying to produce their music on their own or choosing a producer who is not capable of fulfilling their duties.
unless you’re among the handful of artists who have successfully self produced, you will want a guiding voice to give you a reality check when its needed the most. i know its easy to fool yourself into believing you can produce your own record but lets be honest : we can probably count the number of self produced records that truly DONT SUCK on about two hands. (ok we might stick a few toes in there).
here are the five most important things to ask yourself with a whole lotta sub questions too. don’t worry- there are more but thats for another article :
1. do they GET me ?
before we even get started, you need to ask yourself - does this producer understand where i’m coming from ? do they know my influences ? do they LIKE my influences ?
THE most IMPORTANT thing when choosing ANYONE to work with ( and i mean not JUST producers but everyone on the team : lawyers, agents, managers, engineers, tour managers even bus drivers and merch people) is that they GET you. this one factor will take you further than anything else you engage in for your entire career. i’ve seen veterans in the industry make poor choices with management, producers etc and it has taken them years to bounce back from this needless mistake.
ok so you’ve established that this producer likes the same stuff as you do. and they also like YOUR music and are excited to work on it. now lets go deeper. your lyrics. i cannot tell you how many artists come to me and tell me sob stories about producers they’ve worked with who had no idea what the artist was even singing about. a great producer will explore this with you in PRE pre production. a great producer will WANT to know the story about the love song or the heart ache you’re singing about. a great producer will already know this info before you embark in pre production. how else will they know which aural pallets to choose from to color your sound and your emotion ? when i was in bands, the best producers i worked with knew everything about my life, my emotions, my relationships. that bond needs to be there so you can tell the world your story together. the pain, the passion, the message. if they get you and they care about that, then we’re off to the races.
2. will they push me ? will i LET them push me ?
now we’ve connected with someone cool. we've trusted them with our vision and they get it. a great producer will push you to get to your REAL truth. they'll ask you “is that really what you wanted to say ? cuz when you told me about this it sounded way more important than ‘yeah yeah baby baby’. i think you can go deeper”. the other part of this is : will i LET them push me ? do you trust this producer enough to let them guide you ? you’ve told them your feelings. you’ve trusted them with your vulnerabilities so now will you let them help you tell this story ? a great producer will be blunt but kind. they won’t sugar coat things but they will also bring out the best in you in a caring way. i’ve actually heard stories about producers that have made the artist CRY. dump THAT producer. a great producer will know how to take you outside your comfort zone without creating an awful memory. just remember - the creative process is a collaborative effort. if you don’t allow a give and take with ideas, then you might as well just hire an engineer and call yourself the producer. the outcome of that equation is usually a record that your friends will listen to once and give you a pat on the back. that record is most likely to be mediocre at best.
3. have they provided a safe creative environment for me ?
this is one of my biggest pet peeves - the bro studio that looks like a cross between a dorm room, a man cave and an operating room. is the room the right temperature for you ? is the lighting good ? does their space feel creative ? do you wanna be vulnerable there ? do you feel like you can be the real you in their studio ? is it an easy going vibe ? do they listen too loud ? are they considerate of ear fatigue ? i know i know i said i had FIVE questions. these are SUB questions. and theyre VERY important. i’ve worked in places where theres a $100,00.00 rack of gear but the monitors are on cinder blocks and theres no place comfortable for anyone to sit. the geek who runs that studio isn’t thinking about how they can pull a real song out of an artist. theyre interested in showing off their gear (insert ‘nice rack’ joke here. yup i’ve heard it more times than i care to admit).
not only does a great producer make sure you’re safe, warm, and comfortable but they will also make sure you don’t have that third cup of coffee which will cause a complete meltdown (or at least a bad headache) in hour 7 of the session. remember studio sessions are long. theyre long so no one feels rushed and so the ideas can be planted and grow throughout the day. a great producer will understand not only how to navigate the SPACE but the TIME and all the other stimuli that is imperative to creative flow.
4. are they more than just a technician ?
another one of the biggest mistakes i see bands / artists make is that they hire someone who claims to be a producer when that person is really an engineer. a proper recording session is usually between 8-10 hours if not longer. are you looking at the back of this persons head the entire time ? if you are, they’re an engineer. i see artists get talked into engineers trying to produce them because maybe they have access to a major studio. location and gear will NOT make an engineer a producer. i’m certainly not dissing engineers here. i have always said a producer is only as good as their engineer. i highly value the engineers on my staff. i hand pick them for what they can uniquely bring to each of my projects. but in my opinion, even though i CAN engineer, my artists would not even get close to the depth of what can be achieved with the right producer / engineer combo. make sure the producer you choose knows how to be a great psychologist, cheerleader, comedian, coach, storyteller, mentor, friend and in the case of some bands - a great referee.
5. how is their reputation ?
after you’ve asked yourself all of the above and you’ve checked all the boxes its time to inquire about your producer’s “character”. ask their other artists what it was like to work with them. i encourage new artists who are considering hiring me to talk to my other artists. in my almost three decade career i have only had TWO problems with artists. one was because of a drug problem and the other was because they didn’t honor their agreements. when i asked around about both of these people, i was met with validation that it was common for them to behave this way. word of mouth is probably an artists biggest strength or weakness in the music industry. when you hear things such as the famous hunter s thompson quote : "the music business is a cruel and shallow money trench. a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs. theres also a negative side” it can truly make you wanna quit. this is why it is so important that you find trustworthy people to create with. i really do believe the way you do anything is the way you do everything. don’t make excuses for dishonest behavior, bullying or laziness. the other artists a producer has worked with will tell you EVERYTHING you need to know. and i stress this : don’t just ask ONE of the artists. ask more than five. ask as many as you can. you will gather some very important information about this person and about their integrity. you will find out about their real skill set, their loyalty, their compassion, their enthusiasm, their devotion, their interest and their passion.
the other artists will tell you the truth about that producers REAL ENERGY AND SPIRIT.
isn’t that what the best music is all about ?
photo credit: allison michael orenstein
barb morrison is a gold and platinum record producer and composer who has worked with Blondie, Rufus Wainwright, LP and Asia Kate Dillon. they’re also a published author whose work has been featured in The New York Times and The Good Men Project.
barb offers one on one music mentorship (via zoom and Skype) for songwriters who want to perfect their craft. they live in frenchtown NJ with their partner Jaime and two cats.
