Electronic dance music (EDM) is one of the current hottest music genres, fostered by this exceptional Electronic Music Producers community. They take chunks out of contemporary music, radically change its dynamics, and create new rhythmic structures using specialized equipment. Continue Reading
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Explore Career What are the typical responsibilities of an Electronic Music Producer?
An Electronic Music Producer would typically need to:
Electronic Music Producer work out of a studio, for the most part. Those who are based in the cities and are willing to travel may land better gigs. You may dress appropriately per the event you're playing or in keeping with your fans’ image.
Plan your work and work your plan. Timetable production, education, networking time into your calendar - just stick to it. Most Electronic Music Producers are self-employed and can afford flexible times. Still, it is recommended that you set aside a significant chunk of time to create your music without distraction.
Those who work at gigs and events will need to factor in those hours when setting up a viable routine. Socializing may turn out to be a busman’s holiday when you still have to work because your friends and family expect you to continue entertaining them.
Electronic Music Producers may find work with those who work in the EDM industry. They may also choose to freelance.
Electronic Music Producers are generally employed by:
Professional associations and organizations are a crucial resource for those interested in pursuing professional development or connecting with like-minded professionals in their industry or occupation. Membership in one or more looks excellent on your resume to bolster your credentials and qualifications as an Electronic Music Producer.
Some programs offer you apprenticeship under an Electronic Music Producer, dance music producer, or touring DJ in their office where you gain an in-depth understanding of Electronic Music production while gaining insider access to the Electronic Music scene.
The experience that you will gain from reading the manuals thoroughly for your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), plugins, and the hardware is invaluable in helping you come to grips with their official functions and the best way to use them as per their design. The experience gained from watching high-quality tutorials on using your DAW, plugins, and hardware on YouTube and practicing until you get the hang of it will allow you to make good music without being overwhelmed by the range of features.
Electronic Music Production is a compilation of sounds and rhythms and relies on the same basic musical concepts as its more traditional kin. Once you have covered the basics, you can move onto structure and arrangement. Take a short musical run and expand it into a full-length song. There are courses, including online ones, specifically designed for structure and arrangement in Electronic Music Composition.
The final key area you need to understand is mixing. There are courses to help you master this concept, as well. By learning the basics of digital audio and mixing best practices, you will figure out how to put your ideas together and come out on the other side with something you are excited to present. Some schools offer affordable mentor-based programs.
Having a basic understanding of music theory will help you write catchy songs quickly and easily. A smattering of knowledge about melody and chords can help you write a decent tune. Endless amounts of online tutorials will help you train your ear if the more formal ones are not for you.
If you are a hands-on learner, try putting tracks into your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) and dissecting them to understand how each one has its structure and arrangement.
Certification demonstrates competency in skills, typically through work experience, training, the passage of an examination, or some combination of the three. Certification in EDM production is voluntary and demonstrates a passion and skill-set that will give you an edge in the field as an Electronic Music Producer.
The current music industry allows you a lot more career choices. You can make the music you want to make when you want to make it. You can, more or less, play the shows you want to play and be more creative when it comes to making money. There is a gradual but definite move away from labels in the modern music industry. You do not need them to build a successful career as an Electronic Music Producer.
While it helps to work with different people, you can build a career all by yourself. You can build an audience on the web with little or no monetary investment instead of relying on lavish marketing budgets and traditional forms of advertising.
Starting with a narrow audience allows you to carve out your niche while creating far more opportunities down the line. Another key element of marketing and promotion is the image your audience associates you with; it has to be consistent with your performance, release artwork, bio, and logo. You need to pitch yourself and your abilities to make the event or venue more attractive.
Indie labels can be a better option than major labels for both well-known and upcoming Electronic Music Producers; they will often help with touring and developing your image if they find you to be a valuable asset. You can release the odd single for exposure to a label’s audience or have an exclusive contract with one.
Either way, it is recommended that you wait for a decent label to reach out to you. It is a validation of your potential, and it gives you negotiating power. Tying up with a label offers you promo lists. Building a promo pool on your own is relatively tougher. A label will send your track, EP, or album out to a list of artists and DJs who can choose to support it, and add feedback, thus giving you an edge over other aspiring Electronic Music Producers.
Learning to DJ is the next step on the career ladder; you may begin with a few gigs at youth events and house parties before you graduate to DJing with a club. Every successful artist needs a valid and sustainable reason to continue to do what they began to do. They also need specific goals with deadlines they can actively work towards and achieve. A set of three clearly defined goals with a three-month, six-month, and twelve-month deadline with an exponential increase in difficulty is recommended.
Crowdfunding is an awesome way to build a passionate community of supporters for your music while getting paid for a project before you even put it out there. A membership platform where you might offer unreleased tracks early, project files, and educational material every month in exchange for a small sum of money will prove advantageous in building the thousand true fans club while earning you a steady income.
You could take up teaching and run a workshop in your local city, release a course, run an online masterclass, and collaborate with existing educational companies. You could offer a paid service like in-depth feedback on their music, run a mastering service if you have the skills, knowledge, and appropriate studio, and tutor other artists online.
Whether you decide to pursue the limelight or the ghost producer’s journey, your brand becomes huge in representing who you are and what you do. Once you have mastered the art, you have to try new ideas and run with them.
Individuals with drive, dedication, determination, discipline, and a strong work ethic will make it as successful Electronic Music Producers.
It starts with the music! You need to hone your craft unceasingly. Spend as much time as possible making music; practice active learning: reading books, going to conferences, watching tutorials on YouTube, listening to podcasts, asking other producers for advice, and taking advanced courses from accredited schools.
Taking note of specific sonic characteristics while actively listening to other artists will give you a roadmap with plenty of routes to take for your next song without feeling like you have just copied the song you listened to and liked. This ear training will help build your signature sound.
Revisit any old tracks you created in your early days and tweak or remaster them. What were your weaknesses when you started? From which genres did you want to stray away? What scared you? Address those dilemmas and find a way to make your weaknesses vital to your growth.
Patience and persistence will eventually help you gain the skills to make the music you know you are capable of creating. Ask other Electronic Music Producers who are at a higher level for honest feedback to pinpoint what needs to be improved in your productions.
Keep your cool while comparing your music with those at a higher level of production. Invest your time wisely to organize your samples and plugins en route to becoming a better producer. Software like Auganizer makes organizing your plugins a cinch.
Experiment with new plugins, and add a new one into the mix every time you create a song to break out of your normal routine, think about your sounds differently, get a different sonic result. Download samples that you normally would not expand on an already established genre, and put your unique twist on it. Learn the basic rules of music and break all of them to help yourself grow creatively. Think outside the box and build your own set of rules through experimenting.
Reach out to a trustworthy label. Have a well-designed logo or professional press photo. Your branding should be consistent across social media and Soundcloud. You should ideally have other music they enjoy. You must position yourself as an asset, and you have to be honest and professional in your dealings with them to safeguard your reputation.
If a decent label reaches out to you with a quite impressive deal, ask them questions that will show you are serious about your integrity and career. Their answers will help you determine whether they are the right fit for you and vice versa.
As your skills become respectable and notable, collaborating with other artists to create an eclectic twist on your sound is a great way to build relationships and your brand while learning from them.
You can ignore established genres entirely and make something new and exciting. However, this is very difficult and is best done with prior experience producing other styles. To succeed in today’s competitive music industry, you need to master a few essential skills that can drastically improve your production quality.
DAW’s the Law!
A DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) is the fundamental piece of software used to arrange, sequence, and compose songs, as well as contain and connect all the plugins (instruments/effects) used to create your songs. A plugin is a software instrument or effect you use in conjunction with a DAW to create, edit, and manipulate sound.
Plugins and VSTs
Many plugins / VSTs are not essential but can help you create exciting sounds to give your songs a unique edge. Many DAWs come with their plugins, so you may not need to purchase any of your own. Some minimum requirements required to run DAWs and VSTs are Intel Core i3 processor, RAM 4GB, Graphics Memory 1GB, a minimum 500GB of storage.
A Bit About Monitors
You will need headphones or studio monitors (speakers) to listen to what you are producing. Many people prefer monitors and claim they allow for better clarity and accuracy, but good headphones are generally cheaper than good monitors. Learning to use hardware is generally much more comfortable than software. Things such as connecting up MIDI keyboards and audio interfaces are usually reasonably easy to figure out. Position your studio monitors such that they point directly toward your ears at head height and form an equilateral triangle with your head.
Higher Quality for Greater Success
The quantity and quality of music production have never been higher, thanks to the reduced cost of powerful computers and monitors, advanced software, and endless online tutorials. The playing field has been leveled, but the bar has been raised, and success requires the production of even higher quality tracks.
Making it as an Electronic Music Producer is not easy. It isn’t for the faint of heart. And it's not just something you do for the hell of it. This profession may be a quest for what leads the imagination to a space seemingly outside of yourself. And if you can invent a way to get it effortlessly from your heart to that of the audience, you have aced it. The EDM world is your oyster!
Any creative individual who produces works of art needs to acquire only 1000 true fans to make a living.
Electronic Dance Music (EDM) encompasses styles ranging from beatless ambient music to 200-beats-per-minute hardcore and house music, trap, techno, drum and bass, dubstep, and trance.
What do Electronic Music Producers do?
An Electronic Music Producer would typically need to:
Accredited
$75,420
