The Next Five Things You Need To Ask Yourself When Choosing A Producer
barb morrison
when i was writing the previous article - “the top five things you need to know when choosing a producer” it was clear that the five things i originally listed barely even made a mark in the true quest for the right music doula.
looking back on my twenty years in the studio as a producer, i started to think not only about what the most important things are TO ME that make a session go swimmingly but what MY ARTISTS think make a successful producer / musician relationship. so here i am back with part two of this possible ongoing series. the next five points are things i have heard my artists tell me over and over again. and ultimately it is the producers job to serve the artist and make them better than they already are so here is what ive gathered :
1. how do they handle conflict ?
the producer / artist relationship can be more intimate than most of your other relationships. you’ve chosen someone who knows deeply what your songs are about and there are bound to be moments of raw vulnerability and insecurity as well as egos flying. you’ve managed to hire someone with strong ideas and direction but is that person able to handle when THEY are wrong ? one of the best things i can hear in a session is “wow that is TOTALLY NOT the direction i wanna go in” because then i have a very clear idea of how to draw on ideas that might be the opposite of what i was thinking. the studio is a place for riffing, for hashing out A LOT of creativity. sometimes you kiss a lotta frogs before THE great idea comes. is the producer you chose a grown up ? are they fair about giving the idea platform to everyone in the room ? are they good at listening to everyones idea ? do they have enough humility to admit they were wrong ? what if you have a disagreement about a certain take being good or bad ? do they have the grace to problem solve IN THE MOMENT ? are THEY willing to try something outside THEIR box ? these situations are INEVITABLE in the studio. watch how your producer handles them. do they bark orders at you ? do they speak before they think ? above all music is about VIBE. if your producer is killing the vibe, move on to another producer.
2. is this someone you WANT to spend ten hours with ?
so lets talk about this vibe. if i start off my sessions showing up late, complaining about traffic being insane and acting like im doing everyone a favor im probably not gonna get my artist to be their best self that day. does your producer bring their own drama into the session ? remember these are YOUR songs. this is YOUR session. you don’t need some self centered idiot puking their problems all over your studio session. i mean that figuratively but i did hear a story once about someone literally puking all over the sound board in the 90s. thats for another article. is your producer fun ? are they grumpy ? are they a narcissist ? are they a good storyteller ? are they open minded and relatable ? have they been through things YOUVE been through ? have they actually LIVED ? another thing that i believe is important is that theyre not still hustling to be a rockstar themselves. you don’t need a producer who is so self centered they can’t serve YOU.
heres a big one : are they generous enough to celebrate when YOU have done something genius ? i personally don’t wanna work with an artist i can’t support and cheer on. when something absolutely beautiful has happened and we’ve caught it, its my job to BEAM and let the artist know theyve NAILED it. have you ever seen a producer CRY cuz something sounds so good ? if you haven’t then its time you start looking for that producer.
3. are they good with time management ?
i just spoke about your producer being a good story teller and being fun but do they waste TOO MUCH time story telling ? theres nothing worse than the clock ticking and someone is yammering on and on about their trip to thailand while youre hemorrhaging money out the window. lets get busy and make some music. a great producer will have a flow so that work is being done WHILE great conversations are being had. the great conversations will be enhancing the vibe not taking from it. do they spend too much time on an idea that doesnt work ? a great producer will know that if youre giving them a chance to build a gospel choir in a section of your song that could or could not work, then its gotta be showcased to you FAST so you don’t lose an entire hour on an idea that didn’t work. if it does work then GREAT you can work out the kinks after every one is on board. do they spend too much time on minutia ? you don’t need a stoner getting into snare sounds for an hour. in buddhism its called bellybutton gazing. a great producer can pull their head outta their ass and move on with the flow of creativity. i talked about that third cup of coffee in my last article but does your producer know to say “lets break for dinner now” ? yes its the producers job to check in about this. have we forgotten to eat ? everyone knows hunger makes you grumpy and insecure. your producer should be stopping to make sure everyone (the artist, the engineer and themselves) is nourished and their head is on straight. is the session structured so well that you could take a nap if you needed to ? do they understand inspiration and are they present enough to know when to catch that ?
here’s an example of stopping what you’re working on to catch the inspiration when it hits.
last but not least do they know when to call it quits ? my manager lets my artists know before they hire me that a session runs between 8-10 hours DEPENDING ON OUR EARS. coming in the next day and hearing some absolute rubbish that was made between hour 8 and hour 10 because everyone was fried is a waste of all our efforts. when its time to end the session make sure your producer knows how to exercise boundaries around that.
4. is this a producer with a wide range of musical knowledge ?
i really don’t care if youre doing classic drum n bass from 1998 or youre doing organic americana rootsy ballads. a great producer should have an EXTENSIVE pallet of vibes to pull from. they should also be able to turn YOU onto cool interesting stuff you didn’t know about that will inspire more greatness. when i was a teenager i was listening to everything from black flag to grandmaster flash to bad company, stravinsky, sade, pinetop perkins and throbbing gristle. i was a complete SPONGE for musical knowledge. even today i stay on top of anything new in music and technology. don’t you want your producer to throw into some curve balls you wouldn’t have thought of ? don’t you want them to stretch you beyond your own genre ? are they a multi instrumentalist ? i won’t even waste time here about why they should be. are they proficient in vocal arrangements ? can THEY sing harmonies ? harmonies are one of the biggest time killers in the studio. your producer should not only know how to compose and arrange them but how to make them easier for you to achieve.
5. can they confidently translate your ideas in a technically efficient way ?
one of the main jobs of a producer is to TRANSLATE YOUR feelings into music. a great producer will be able to listen to you speak in layman's terms and get you exactly the sounds youre looking for, the sounds that EXPLAIN to the rest of the world what youre trying to say. not only do they need clear listening and understanding of you but they also need to be able to convey that vividly and specifically to their engineer. do they have an excellent rapport with their engineer ? watch the communication between the two of them. the relationship between producer and engineer is a close dance. one has to move in the direction the other is anticipating. the engineers on my staff sometimes know what i want before i even open my mouth. i can sing ridiculous drum beats to them and they GET IT. i want my artists to feel comfortable having an idea thats really out there and know that i’ll be able to transform that into a tangible soundscape. a lot of artists don’t know technical scientific terms regarding music so its important that the producer can convey FEEL. sometimes all the artist has is a bunch of words that describe emotion. a great producer will know exactly what to do with those emotions. and while we’re talking about technical things please make sure you ask yourself this ultimately : does this producer understand everything from making beats to orchestration ? if your producer is someone who just knows how to mic a room and record bands theyre probably not the person who could make a modern radio song. make sure you find this info out BEFORE you walk into your first session with this person.
these last thoughts aren’t questions. theyre wishes for all of you - have fun, find your truth, make music with integrity, reach the most ears possible and don’t settle for anything less than greatness. this music is your legacy.
Photo by Clayre Saxon.
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.
