Being a successful music producer is not as far-fetched of a dream as many people imagine. There is a lot of demand for music producers, and even if you don’t get to write for the world’s biggest acts, you can still make some money working on other types of production. You could make music for commercials, for instance, or score for movies. And these are only two of the alternatives that you could try. Let’s take a look at what you’ll need to do if you want to become a successful music producer.
Get the Right Gear
The first thing you have to do is get a proper initial setup. Don’t be scared here since you only need a few elements to get started. You should get high-quality speakers and headphones so you can hear how your productions sound coming out of these two mediums. You will also need a DAW or a digital audio workstation. The best one for beginners is Fruity Loops, but you can also look at options like Ableton Live and Cubase.
The cornerstone of your setup, however, will be your computer. The computer needs to have a good sound card, processor, and enough RAM to handle music production programs. It also needs a decent graphic card, but it doesn’t need to be a dedicated one. If you want to check out some options of integrated graphics cards that would be perfect for music production, you should check out Intel’s line of Iris and Arc processors at lenovo.com.
Start Learning
The next step is to start learning. You can go the formal route and attend a production school at distance or in person but know that there are plenty of informal sources that will give you just as good of an education.
YouTube is a great place to start, but there are tons of great production courses from some of the world’s greatest producers on places like Masterclass. If you want to go with a real education, however, places like the Berkeley School of Music offer online programs that can be followed from anywhere in the world.
Work on Your First Productions and Publish them
The next thing you’ll have to do is create a few music productions and start publishing them. YouTube is a great place to start, but places like SoundCloud and also an Instagram account are other places where you can post them.
This is what will ultimately help you build a portfolio that you will be able to sell to agents, organizations, and artists looking for music production.
Continue Working and Network
The more you produce, the more chances you’ll have to get discovered. You will also get a better chance at getting work if you’re present at industry events. So, try to get involved in whatever scene you’re trying to target and get close to the decision-makers there. This could be concerts, formal networking events where artists and agents will be present, or simply the places where these people tend to congregate.
This is all you’ll need to do if you want to make it as a music producer. If you have actual talent, are ready to do the work, and are willing to leave your options open, you might be surprised at how fast you could start getting production work.