Every Project Needs a Producer
2013-10-15 | tags:

How a good consultant is similar to a music producer.

(In a previous post, I commented on a Daily Beast interview (since moved to Newsweek) with legendary music producer Rick Rubin. I touched on Rubin's work in particular, and this time I'll take a look at producers in general.)

Music producers are a strange lot: they rarely write or perform the music you hear, yet they play a vital role in any studio effort. Aside from die-hard music afficionados and members of industry, people would be hard-pressed to name more than a handful, much less explain what they do.

What do they do, then? Producers shepherd an album. They help the band to understand who they are, understand what this album is supposed to be, and make sure that sense of being is properly reflected in the final recordings. It's a curious mix of experience and guidance that's brought in to steer a project.

A producer, then, is not unlike a good consultant:

Consider this list, then consider your company's upcoming projects. Who will you choose as your producer? Which fan of your work will serve as that source of guidance, and help your project to reach its full potential?

* * *

  1. Remember liner notes? Anyone? ↩︎