The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #65511 Message #1080248
Posted By: GUEST,Frank
26-Dec-03 - 10:38 AM
Thread Name: What does a producer do?
Subject: RE: What does a producer do?
Reggie,
A producer finances a performer or has money to do so. What
they do is 1. Make sure that the performance has a market.
2. Control the session but the best bring out the performance
by listening to what the artist intends. 3. Arranges the orchestrations if there are any, hires the studio, the engineer,
and oversees the session. He's the captain of the ship. 4. Has contacts with industry people who can buy his wares. 5. Negotiate a contract with the artist so that a percentage of the royalties
are accrued to the producer as well as the artist. 6. Can negotiate a good royalty rate with a record company. 7. Is in on the mastering of a record session to make sure it's quality is
salable. 8. In exchange, the producer may want the publishing rights to the song. Be careful here. If he is a top-flight producer, the trade-off might work but not usually.
Be sure that the producer:
1. Has a track record. Find out what he's produced and how successful it is.
2. Can fund the session properly.
3. Knows people that can help you.
4. If he wants publishing rights, is he a successful song
publisher? Some producers are.
5. How many years does he want to tie you up for? (Some producers have a contract that stipulates that if they don't sell your
product in a certain amount of time, all rights revert to you and all bets are off. This is desirable in the contract.
These are some things. But here's something very important.
Before you sign any contract with a music industry person,
get a music lawyer to go over it with you.
Frank Hamilton