From Dreams To Dollars: How To Produce Music... That Sells
Serving up hits and collecting the big bucks is a matter of people skills, networking and knowing how to produce music - that sells!
It’s well-known and well-documented that the music industry is a fiercely competitive environment. Purchasing equipment, maintaining studios, and music production training all cost money. Coupled with the fact that the latest music production technology has made music practically free, making money as a music producer can seem extremely difficult and unlikely.
That isn’t to say that it’s impossible to make a decent living as a music producer. Your brightest future will start with knowing how to produce music that sells.
Identify Your Genre
Before you even start making music, you have to have a clear understanding of what type of music you want to make. Whether you want to produce Hip Hop and R&B, electronic music, or even a fusion of different genres, you’ll want to become familiar with the artists that are popular in the genre, along with what new sounds other producers are experimenting with. This will help you have a better understanding of what’s expected of you as a producer, and it’ll prevent you from getting left behind as music trends change.
Know Your Audience
In sales, it is essential that you know your audience. You need to know how old they are, what they like and dislike, and where they hang out, among other things. Having a clear understanding of who is listening will help you refine how to produce music that better fits their tastes.
The best way to do this is to release a few tracks for free on popular streaming sites. Listeners will comment or like your music, and you’ll be able to track how your music is being received.
Collaborate With Other Music Producers
Huge Pierre Leclercq, more popularly known as Madeon, was only a teenager when he gained international recognition for his remix of Deadmau5’s “Raise Your Weapon.” Deadmau5 not only approved the remix, but helped Madeon in the process.
Your music can only be as good as your imagination, and it would certainly benefit you to work with other music producers and artists to develop better music. To this day, Madeon credits Deadmau5 with guiding him to a successful career.
Refine Your Skills
If you’re an aspiring music producer, you certainly understand that the job is more technical than most people think. You may have even reached a moderate level of success with one or two tracks, but even the most successful music producers are constantly refining their skills to produce better music. You should constantly be on the lookout for new sounds, and experiment as much as possible.
Work with Unknown Artists
Part of knowing how to produce music is also knowing how to discover new and upcoming talent.
Justin Bieber was only a 13-year-old kid when a talent manager accidentally clicked on his YouTube video. Soon after, Bieber was recording songs for Usher, and the rest is history. Discovering new talent is an integral part of the music making process.
Singers, musicians, and artists have a wide range of skills that you won’t necessarily have, but new talent generally won’t yet have the fame, and they’ll be looking to people like you for opportunities.
Leave a Reply