Windhoek
As with many industries, being a music producer might seem like an easy task but as exciting as it might sound, it also means starting at the bottom, gaining the understanding and making the connections to move up.
Music producers work with recording artists and engineers , session singers and musicians, among others. They are the people who are responsible for arranging, producing, and recording songs, whether they’re shaping the sound of another artist’s album or creating beats or songs for their own projects. The two things that are essential are passion and a diverse talent set. Says Dope Angel’s producer, Jay Antonio: “Producing is about motivating and bringing out the best in an artist, its magic and it only be created if you are passionate and understand the concept of producing.”
Ekia Records music producer, Featring Mbendeka, says the ear is most probably the most important instrument of any producer, as well as building a strong bonds with ones clients by learning the weakness and strength of each client. “To stand out as a producer, it is also very important that one creates your own identity and sound. You need to draw your own road that would lead to your own success as defined by your own expectation.”
Getting into the business
Working as a producer can be long, with late hours in the studio, Antonio says adding it’s always wise to maintain professionalism. Good peoples’ skills are essential for working effectively with artists as well as professionalism at all time. “A lot of people don’t understand producing, if you find people, drinking, smoking, turning up in studio and chilling in studio, [it] is unprofessional and to me such people don’t understand the concept of producing. Producing is something amazing, it should not be in an environment where people sit, drink and smoke. I don’t think beautiful things happen because it’s uncomfortable.”
Making it as a producer
Music producer Araffath Muhuure, who has worked with almost every top leading artist in the Namibian music industry, and founder of the Triple Seven Studios, says there is more to producing than just assembling instruments.
“It took me long to build my trend, a lot people want to [work] with me because they have faith in me. One is not born to make hits but it is about willing to learn to make those hits. You must have the ability and passion to learn. Pride does not sell, practise because music is not only theory, it’s an emotion, and you have to master the energy of sound,” says Araffath.
Jay says that when he first started, he tried to copy what other successful producers used to do and he really didn’t get it right because as a producer one has to have his/her own mark, his/her own style. ”Not all producers have their own style. I started being a good producer to be a good producer, you got to understand music, a heart for music, some people just do it for the money, to get famous but should not be the case,” Jay says.
Earnings
Music producers charge as little as N$500 to N$1500 per recording, which include the beat, recording, mixing and mastering. Their earnings is said to depend on how many recordings they do daily, weekly or monthly, and also whether it’s an upcoming artist or established they are working with. “When I first started, I was new in the game so I used to earn roughly 700. Currently I earn about 3200 monthly,” Antonio reveals.
Adds Featring: “When I had started in 2005 I was earning anything from N$1500 to N$3500 monthly. The highest I have ever earned was N$25000. However most of that earning was from a commercial job, rather than a normal studio recording. I personally do an array of things besides being a producer. I am also a graphic designer and video editor as well as web designer and most of my earning come from those works.”
A money-making business?
Featring believes that nowadays, and with producing equipment affordable more than ever, there have been a mushrooming of many so-called-producers with the wrong purpose. “Many of those are simply just in the business to make quick money without the much-needed know-how and delivery of quality. It is why we are experiencing many low-quality songs within our industry. I have experienced producers who would put more effort in a known artist compared to an unknown artist, such practice is absolutely wrong and it can damage the music industry as a whole. The same goes for producers who are only interested in making money, while ignoring working on the quality of an artist while recording,” says Featring.
Araffath adds that: “Making money is not the prime [goal], promoting talent is priority. There is so much talent out there but we don’t have support from the government. There are support systems but people in charge of the money don’t reach artists.”
“I like working with upcoming artists that are talented, people that cannot afford to pay that large amount of money to get a track done. Not saying I do not like money, nobody will say no to money but music is passion. I like talented people. I like to see people showcase their talent. Namibia has a lot of talented people but do not have the means to pay for studio time. As long as you passionate about your talent, I’m able to work with you,” adds Jay.