Producers-What Do They Do??

[BobbyDazzler]

I'm a bit short of content for a lecture I'm preparing on Music Producing. I'm across some of the quality control and song development stuff that a Producer should bring to the table, but do they also control stuff like the recording budget and studio selection? Or is that the realm of the band management and the record label?
Any other useful links or info would be much appreciated.

Cheers

[jmitchell1532]

Usually, a producer controls anything that will become the "final product," ie: mix decisions, arrangements, etc.

[peppertree]

It all depends, this isn't a highly structured business like major motion pictures. A producer in music could just be a cheerleader for the band more or less, or could do basically everything and just have the artist sing a few of the lines. In general, an artist wanting a producer (which in many genres is fairly rare as the bands "self-produce") will hire the producer first (perhaps paid by a label) and the producer will make all further arrangements to complete the product.

"Quality control" is sort of an odd thing to call what they do but I guess yes they approve and reject stuff as worthy or not. A mastering engineer is your more typical "QA" role.

[Sergeman]

A producer has to do with the budget because a producer is part of it. A record label manager who handles the band will make sure that the producer gets the money he wants and will deal with the studio as well.

A producer could charge on a per song or per album (for example, 10 grand per song or 150 grand per album, always considering the name of the person) and might get you into their own studio and book an indefinite amount of time for the artist to get comfortable and maybe actually try a bunch of ideas IN the studio as opposed to coming in with everything already prepared.

The producer will take on the role that he or she thinks is necessary for the record company to get their product in on time. Since an album recording can take anywhere from a week to a year (or more... or less!), budgets tend to be really high for recordings, and that is why most, if not all, producers who have been lucky enough to make the money to build a studio, do. Or they might become partners of a studio. That way budgets can become a bit more streamlined for the record company, who know that they can hire this or that producer and the amount charged will be the same no matter if they're in there every day of the week, 18 hours a day, or just 3 or four a week. All these things vary, depending on who the movers and shakers in play are.

Good luck!

[mixmama]

Simply put: A Producer is responsible for all things musical (and creating the budget and keeping to it!) An Engineer is responsible for all things technical.

[DrFord]

One of my favorite quotes is
"A self produced artist, is an un-produced artist."

Also, I like to think of myself in the studio like the quarterback on a football field. I may not always be the guy running the ball (or playing the instrument) but I call the plays (and usually win MVP!)

And my profit comes when I manage the budget precisely for my client.

There's so MUCH MORE to it than that but my final thought is that the genre of the music sometimes has the most to do with the role of the producer.

In Hip Hop, the producer is the guy that made the track. In rock, the producer is like a professional masseuse (in my experience.)

In Jazz and classical, the producer is the guy that captures the performance (and I don't mean the pushing of buttons.)