By
trupro
Mon Aug 02, 2004 8:26 pm
I graduated from a respected music conservatory, and by the time I was out, already had 4 realeases and countless features and licenced verses under my belt, as an artist. My teachers were world renouned composers, masters of pop music, and some very connected and respectable people.
I had assurances of references, places to intern, and multiple friends working at Sony, getting signed, and many other contacts.
In my final year I had interned for about six months for a well known studio. It was a privately owned company, but thier repoir with many artists coupled with thier personal touch got them tons of high paying clients.
During the time I interned, I was behind the boards once. Once in six months. And I will tell you, that it's amazing that I was even in the room, much less compressing the artists vocals to tape. This dude gave me a shot cus I was young, hungry, and I knew my shlt. Also, it was a no-name artist, and there was room for error. Then reality set in: I am not these guys favorite, because I am not here as often as everyone else, and I don't know if I wanna be. Do I really wanna engineer for a living? Does setting up mics for guitar palyers excite me? Will I ever produce for them? The answers I came up with for all of those were "Most likely, NO."
But everyone is different. Alot of engineers become producers, because the roles are sometimes so overlapped that you couldn't tell one from the other. Engineering and producing, repectively or put together, can be jobs that pay fairly, maybe even lucrativly for the top level. but it's like anything: to succeed you have to be very talented, very confident and have sincere and long-lasting relationships for anyone to even give a f%$#. Then, when they need something, they'll higher you.
Also, the digital revolution has convinced alot of people that they can attempt the same audio fidellity with a $3000 rig at home that they could get in a multimillion dollar facility. For a fact, they are incorrect, but the jury is out, and people are broke. Hence, they go to cheaper places. This is hitting the studio owner very hard right now, especially with no artist development going on from inside the major label machine. And in that respect, many studio managers are not looking for new employees.
That being said, when you go to a major studio, you start at the bottom, unless you are the owners blood relative or something like that. It's like any other feild in america: highly competetive, and highly saturated. Take into consideration that the majority of people who want to be an engineer for a living must usually work at least 6 months for free, if not longer. There are so many cats scrambling to do this, that it can get very politcal and cut throat in a large studio, but that's a hazard at any job I suppose.
With producing, it's the same thing. If you really want to make dough being an engineer, you should be ALL ABOUT BEING AN ENGINEER. NEVER HUSTLE YOUR TRACKS TO AN ARTIST IN FRONT OF A PRODUCER OR YOUR BOSS. If their producer or a&r express interest in finding beats, then you proceed. Use discression tho, because you need to submit these things thru your lawyer or manager most times with legitamate ish. Also, be the engineer for real. If I book a session as a producer, and you are an engineer in there trying to tell me what to do with the keyboard part, I just may let my ego get the better of me even if you are right. However, it is good to be inventive, and offer suggestions with everything technical, and present your ideas at appropriate times, and in a way that makes the producer or whoever look really good if it works. The lines have been blured. The studios don't have money to have a separate on-hand guitar tech, midi tech, protools operator, editor, tape tech, computer geek, etc. etc. So you gotta be good at all of it to even be considered. Even though the industry has changed, engineering can be a stepping stone to producing for money. The better you are at music theory, running the boards, and maintianing relationships, the better off you will be with both of those positions.
Alot of major artists have thier own engineers that they will usually use in the studio. Then, the job of the head engineer in a facility would be just to assist their guy. Try to link with up and commers who you believe are worthy of being a career artist, and you feel have as much drive and loyalty as you have. Wheter thier your friend's friend or your homie who just got his first deal, it wouldn't hurt letting them know you'd be excited to to a coulpe of mixes at a reasonable cost. If you do a great job for very little money, they will be forthcoming when their budget comes in. If you didn't believe in them , then you should charge an hourly rate. there's nothing wrong with keeping things all business either, cus no one will pay you if you do everything for free.
I'm sure many will agree, but if you are going up against me for choice of producer, I'm gonna want you to lose, so that I can get paid. No hate; it's all business. And that being said, contrary to popular belief, cut throat ish is NOT repspected. At the end of the day, the music really will speak for itself. So, with so many producers in the game, I'm sure you know why this is such a tough business. To safeguard against being cut out of the loop, just help as many people as you possible can, while protecting your stake with copywrites and limited distribution of master mixes and 'sessions'.
It's all about your sound, and how you carry yourself. Do not act like you reinvented the wheel when you are behind the board with experienced people around, because mixing IS an exact science. There are exact frequencies that do certian things to the ear, and it's been figured out already. The same with micing instruments and vocals. Learn those techniques, study the cats you repect, and apply the science. Then you add your little distortion and your jadakiss phasing vocal sound or whatever you like. Start from the foundation, and build on top. And, since you went to school, you should have a big leg up on those techniques. I know I have typed alot here, but I been where you are at, and alot of people have not asked the very simple and important question you posed in this forum. Also, I drank a sh%tload of coffee just now.
There are a few experienced cats in these forums who actually make all of their bread off of engineering in a major facility, and I hope they chime in with some tips for you.
Good luck in whatever you decide to take on.
