The Recording Producer's Role In The Recording Industry

Introduction:

The role of a record producer has developed significantly over the last fifty years. Commonalities between producers do exist but trying to find producers with identical skills is almost impossible. Music production is the creation and technological understanding of composition and recording. “Sound is mediated sound, it is sound mediated through a technology that requires its user to adapt their musical practices and habits in a variety of ways.”- (Katz, 2004, p.2). I am analysing the growth in the technologies within music production and how they differ to modern technologies, and the change of roles within the recording studio in the last 50 years. Exploring artists such as Timbaland, George Martin and Pharrell Williams.

The

The recording engineer’s role is to work alongside the producer helping to bring ideas and motive them, they generally operate the soundboard and equipment during a recording session. This role differs from the producers as the producer is the creative font of the recording session, and oversees the mixing and arranging of the music.

The History of Music Production:

The start of the music industry began with the invention of the phonograph and the gramophone disc, these inventions are what kick started the music production industry. After this there became a gap in the market for records and it became extremely popular, it then developed to the creation of ‘specialist equipment’ which was used to make these records. The creation of recording studios came shortly after. In the early years of recording studios they were just used as a way to capture live performances of music. In the early 20th Century musicians would play in the direction of a recording horn which was connected to a diaphragm and stylus which would turn the vibrations into indentations on the disc, this was the extent of recording at this time. A rapid period of development for the recording industry in the late 1970’s and 1980’s, with the introduction

His first encounter with production came when he moved to New York to produce in a basement for Missy Elliot’s band ‘Fayze’ in 1992. Ginuwine described Timbaland’s early career process as, “It was under our power and control. We were just in there creating. Timbaland would hum a melody and I would put some lyrics to that melody. Or he would beatbox the rhythm. That’s how we would come up with most of the songs on The Bachelor.”(Brydon, 2015) By the 1990’s Timbaland was one of the most sought after hip-hop and rhythm and blues artists in the music business. Unlike some producers Timbaland was one of few who created his own beats rather than using samples, creating complex and syncopated rhythms usually complemented by obscure sounds and rapping. In an interview on January 2004 Timbaland described his producing style as “My producing style is this: ‘I am the music.’ The artist is the front man for the producer.” (Timbaland, 2004). Timbaland is an extremely talented in the music industry as a producer, singer, songwriter and DJ at the age of 15 creating mixtapes as DJ Timmy Tim. Timbaland was heavily involved in the production of many hits in the 2000’s such as Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me a River”, he produced single for Jay-Z, LL Cool, Fatman Scoop and a handful of songs on Brandy’s fourth album “Afrodisiac”. Timbaland produced the