A weekly newsletter for music producers and artists who want to make better records, all 3-minute reads. Covering songwriting, audio engineering, recording studios, and more.
Three minute reads for artists and producers
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"Lady Luck" - Kade Hoffman
Produced by Pat Lyons. Engineered by Thomas Dulin.
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"Wake Me Up" - Jake Smith
Produced and mixed by Keith Harris. Engineered by Thomas Dulin.
When, in the planning phase of making a record, you choose not to hire a producer, you are the producer.
And oftentimes, the people who make that decision happen to be incredible artists but not necessarily incredible music producers.
I’ve been noticing more and more artists make that decision recently, and I’ve been thinking about that trend over the last week.
Producing yourself is definitely less costly (financially).
The low prices of entry-level microphones and interfaces today are mind-blowing to me. It’s never been easier to afford recording gear.
And talented producers are not cheap (though most of us probably need to raise our rates… that’s an email for another time).
This is no doubt the main reason most would choose to DIY. Why spend thousands of dollars hiring someone to do something you can probably just do yourself?
I relate with this sentiment a lot…
Several years ago, we had a bathtub faucet that needed to be replaced.
I figured it was a simple repair and something I should be able to figure out how to do by watching a few Youtube videos. Ignoring the fact that at the time I was on tour 4 days a week and tracking an artist on the days I was home, going weeks without a day off.
One day, my wife pleaded with me to call a plumber for probably the 10th time.
“No, babe, this is a simple fix - I can do it myself,” I said. And she said something that kind of changed my world:
“You’re not a plumber. And that is okay.”
She was 100% right. I called a plumber, and it was fixed the next day.
Could I have saved money by doing it myself? Probably! I also could have made it worse. But that’s okay, because I’m not a plumber. I’m a music producer.
By saying "that is okay," she recognized that I felt this strange need to do everything myself, and wisely gave me permission to specialize in something else.
I have no desire to go to a trade school and become a master plumber, and that is okay.
Does someone need to tell you the same thing? If so this is for you:
You are not a music producer. And that is okay.
You have other strengths. Focus on those and collaborate with someone who can help fill in the gaps.
I realize this might sound like a barber telling you that you need a haircut, but hear me out.
I have found that many artists underestimate the benefits of hiring someone else to produce their project.
Here are 10 things off the top of my head that a producer might be able to do:
Is it more expensive than doing it yourself? Absolutely. But the right producer can save you a lot of time and inspire you to do your best work.
Maybe you are a music producer, and you have perfected your self-producing workflow. That’s great! Either way, I think we all need to be collaborating in some form or fashion.
I have several clients right now who are self-producing, but are sending me their projects to add drums, or edit vocals, or mix, or some combination of those things.
This is kind of a hybrid model where I am only doing a few “producer” tasks.
It’s really smart because these artists recognize their strengths and they’re reaching out for help on things they’re less confident about. And it definitely saves money.
If you’re a producer, you need to be offering services like this to your clients.
I'd love to hear from you on this. Are you a self-producing artist? How's that going? Hit reply and let me know!
Until next week, happy music making, Reader.
P.S. I'd love to see you at my first ever live class next week. More info + sign up here!
by Thomas Dulin
A weekly newsletter for music producers and artists who want to make better records, all 3-minute reads. Covering songwriting, audio engineering, recording studios, and more.
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