The Art of Music Production the Theory and Practive

Richard James Burgess

OUP USA

978-0-19-992172-0 | 10 October 2013

*Annunciation: The author of this volume is a member of the JARP editorial board.

Addressing product in book-length class parallels confronting the multiple options provided by a large multitrack recording console or digital audio workstation. Determining which elements should assume priority in the terminal mix, and how the primary components can best be integrated to accomplish a satisfactory overall effect poses enormous challenges for which no uniformly stable template exists. Now in its fourth incarnation, The Art of Music Product by striking producer Richard James Burgess attempts to pinpoint "the essence of music production" (Burgess: 2013, p.xi), providing factual and conceptual illumination of an area often shrouded with mystique from the general public's perspective. Burgess aims to bring clarity to the mix of ideas surrounding the processes, protagonists, and production. The adjustment of his book'south title from its original class every bit The Art of Record Production reflects the transformative changes in the music industry and with associated digital technologies since the first and 2nd editions were published in 1997 and 2001 respectively, and and so for the first time with its present championship in 2004. This version with a new publisher acknowledges that the relentless footstep of modify has led to significant restructuring from the volume's third edition. The text is now divided into two distinct segments respectively representing theory and practice, each with internal subdivisions. Burgess's "concern is the minimization of the broader range of essential musical, interpersonal, behavioral, managerial, legal, financial, and business skills" (Burgess: 2013, p.3), dimensions increasingly overlooked when the producer'due south purview is probed. There is ample exploration of the psychological, philosophical and more nuanced human dimensions of tape product, interjected past professional person observations from established producers, engineers and label personnel. This panoramic perspective greatly contributes to the book's insightful analyses, underscoring Burgess'due south thematic contention that the art is achieved not but through studio activity, but also through the organisation of crucial human resources, effective advice and incisive execution of business aspects.

Burgess accordingly designates the book as "an auto-ethnographic work" and confronts the somewhat unenviable task of deconstructing an area characterized by many intangible and often unquantifiable facets. The author possesses his own significant long-term credentials as the producer of hitting albums and singles showtime in 1980 with United kingdom's Spandau Ballet. That phase of his career was also preceded by a successful stint every bit an in-demand session musician in the U.K. which included a pioneering office in introducing the electronic Simmons drums to the musical mainstream. The multi-genre scope of his production piece of work ranging from the early independent characterization dance releases of New Edition and Colonel Abrams through to the major label international urban finesse of Living in a Box and Five Star reinforces the value of his critique of a pursuit seldom perceived as an art form. The author is consistently frank nigh the complications experienced during his own career and the consequences arising from those circumstances. Such experiential narrative components carve up the work from more detached articulation of production realms, lending a distinct season of vital actuality to the proceedings. Despite Burgess's necessary regard for the ethics of non-disclosure, there are however many moments in which the curious reader hopes the veil of descriptive anonymity concealing the identities of parties cited in various situational examples might be lifted. The Art of Music Production applies cross-cultural belittling scope, concisely establishing several of the theoretical parameters framing academically-targeted works such every bit the broadly encompassing essay anthology The Art of Record Production (published in 2012, and unrelated to Burgess's work with the same championship) edited by Simon Frith and Simon Zagorski-Thomas. Whereas the latter text is aimed more squarely at academics, Burgess attempts to span the gap between the studious and the casually curious, infusing his writing with analytical latitude without alienating the uninitiated reader. The author negotiates a balancing act between thorough, clinical autopsy of the subject matter and accessible articulation of ideas and their multifaceted implications.

Decidedly emphasizing the practice over the theory, The Fine art of Music Product too provides frequent reminders that the product procedure which we now take for granted arose from humble technological and methodological origins, speedily evolving via magnetic tape, multitrack recording and artistic intuition to get arguably the nearly postmodern of creative enterprises. With its unprecedented manipulation of time and space and the simultaneous rendering of musical parts recorded in isolation too equally in collaboration in the studio, it'south remarkable that the broader academic attention that production is at present receiving had not occurred sooner.

Burgess provides articulate exposition of what a producer does, is, and what information technology means creatively, artistically and in some cases financially. The discussion is non focused on the technical details of recording, instead taking a more holistic view of the creative process and the business and interpersonal dynamics interwoven with information technology. Equally the author demonstrates, technological advances have had direct consequences for product recruitment every bit few neophytes now advance through the in one case compulsory apprenticeship system; consequently, the interpersonal human characteristics that the job requires are oftentimes missing (Burgess: 2013, p.31). The Fine art of Music Product transcends perfunctory description of the job's assumed roles, venturing into many of production's less well-defined and less readily identified areas. While the book is clearly non a history of production, historical frameworks play crucial contextual roles throughout, discussing interaction between individuals and the technologies they employed to propel major changes in the production process. It should exist noted, yet, that accent on product'south historical aspects occurs in Burgess's separate companion text, The History of Music Production, first published in 2014.

Much of The Art of Music Production discusses career establishment and subsequently survival strategies, and it might as well have included a pointed warning that its portrayals may be harmful to any illusory perceptions. The cited producer examples encompass about every decade since the invention of commercial recording engineering inclusive of the twenty-get-go century hybrid superstars. Withal, despite the undeniable axis of production aesthetics and techniques in popular music, Burgess' account underscores the producer's paradoxical outsider status manifesting itself in the absence of whatsoever statutory legislation to standardize or protect producer payments (Burgess: 2013, p.170). Consequently, matters such as producers' fees and royalties can usually only exist broadly estimated in the volume due to broad ranging conditions under which the negotiations and the work itself may be carried out.

Section One: The Theory

The introduction tackles the inevitable problems surrounding taxonomy and the ambiguous use of the give-and-take "production" in the context of the manufacture. Even when the contextual scope is specifically applied to the individual creative controlling that largely defines the function, there often remains an acute lack of clarity about the functional details and the inherently not-musical aspects. The identification of production typologies in this section is quite important, equally is descriptively qualifying production roles since activity in a given studio scenario case does not necessarily equal the type of participation defining another instance: equally Burgess asserts, "[f]unction in the studio does not consistently align with background skill" (Burgess: 2013, p9). Veteran producer Arif Mardin (1932 -2006) is one of the many first-hand sources cited in the book, and some of the producer types he describes to Burgess (Burgess: 2013, twenty) are also among the half dozen categories he identifies in the 2013 DVD documentary The Greatest Ears in Town: songwriter/producer, engineer/producer, musician/producer, music lover/producer, arranger/producer and absentee producer. The author's clinical approach also addresses Functional and Subset Typologies, recognizing that polyfunctional producers span the designated categories.

Section 2: The Practice

The bulk of The Art of Music Production is devoted to the area'due south practical working realities, carrying its multilayered psychological, sociological and creative complexities. After outlining "8 core routes" to becoming a producer, Burgess unequivocally emphasizes that "[t]he producer's role is to realize the vision for the artist, manager and label" (Burgess: 2013, p.threescore), subordinating most other considerations to the fulfillment of these goals. However, he establishes that the artistic and commercial validity of a production does not solely rely on its technical accuracy or its alignment with record characterization and management objectives. Burgess notes that even the best conceived project volition collapse without "[thou]ood communication skills, negotiation, and diplomacy" (Burgess: 2013, p.138), balanced decisiveness, mediation, and recognition of each participant'south roles and personalities. In addition, "Producers consider the end users and construct the track to survive its competition" (Burgess: 2013, p61), recognizing the ownership public's conclusion of whether the production meets the goals of the parties concerned.

It becomes rapidly axiomatic in Chapter three on 'Becoming a Music Producer' that no single formula exists for achieving producer success, and that in fact an entire series of factors beyond the individual's control continually touch on on career prospects regardless of talent, determination and industry networking. Furthermore, the range of examples from early 20^th-century proto-producer Fred Gaisberg to the currently trendy French DJ David Guetta dispels myths of atypical archetypes occupying the studio helm. The chapter reaffirms that the fine art of music production does not merely involve rumination and decision-making on aesthetics, but it also encompasses the producer'south dichotomous consciousness making effective business judgements that contribute to successful outcomes for all of the primary parties (Burgess: 2013, p.86). The politics of contract negotiation and budget submission are amidst the rarely examined working practices, and while these tasks tin can be and oft are shared or delegated to others, the ultimate responsibleness lies with the producer. Burgess emphasizes that the value of the varied producer skillsets including musical knowledge, technological familiarity, and interpersonal feel in groups and/or studio environments is relative to the circumstances that bring the producer, artist, A&R person, and record label together. Chapter three also dissects each stage of the production procedure from the first meeting to the last mix, illustratively considering the respective pro and cons associated with different approaches.

For experienced readers of mainstream literature on producers, the core of The Art of Music Product between Chapters v and 12 delivers the scope of word and information usually absent from other works on the topic. Books such as Howard Massey's 2 volumes in his Behind the Glass serial and Richard Buskin's Inside Tracks are incomparably more than focused on the application of artful sensibility and audio-enhancing technologies, utilizing the interview format to project the viewpoints of the corresponding producers/engineers. Other works are broad historical chronicles such every bit Marker Cunningham'due south Skilful Vibrations (1998), or anthologies of biographical narratives in the instance of the multi-authored Encyclopedia of Record Producers (1999). While these books achieve their stated goals, bug surrounding producer career sustainability, financial survival, and the intertwined business relationships are non foregrounded, thereby creating a niche for Burgess upon which he has persistently expanded since 1997'southward commencement edition.

Beyond discussion of the mechanics of the producer's roles, other segments – such every bit Affiliate 5: 'What Can Y'all Expect from a Career every bit a Producer?' – encourage a long-term perspective. Burgess proposes a diversity of scenarios representing different stages forth the career journey, even consciously addressing the oftentimes overlooked branding and marketing angles (Burgess: 2013, pp. 116-118) which inevitably affect the industry's perceptions of the producer's body of work. His discussion may be a revelation to those outside of the music industry (and to some within it), probable unaware that successful producers as well demand divide full general and business managers, and that they are therefore subject to the same types of income subdivision as artists, having to pay for essential administrative and legal services from negotiated fees.

The raw economics of producer survival are more comprehensively tackled in later sections. The word of 'Lawyers' in Affiliate viii delivers an unflinching appraisal of the pros and cons of retaining legal counsel to negotiate contracts. Chapter 10, 'Success and Coin' shatters whatsoever lingering fiscal delusions about the producer enterprise. The applied examples demonstrate in particular that while contracts are essential, the benefits perceived may be undermined by less obvious clauses which reclaim money seemingly granted by record companies in other sections. In a sobering reflection upon the sharp decline in producer income, Burgess concludes that securing legal communication is no longer automatic due to the relatively high costs of such services (Burgess: 2013, pp. 146-147).

Burgess's reflections on an inherently unstable business organisation bailiwick to changing trends and practices query the fairness of existing fiscal profit splits that work against the producer, sometimes creating conflict with the creative person (Burgess: 2013, p254). With the proliferation of new digital distribution formats, such issues assume enormous significance for the future of producers. In his cess of popular music'due south intangibilities, the writer states that "Producing is a circuitous combination of science, art, and interpersonal skills" (Burgess: 2013, p.50). Consequently, many questions surrounding the field cannot exist definitively answered. Notwithstanding, in The Art of Music Product Burgess effectively magnifies the producer'south vital role as "[t]he author and/or editor of the recording, in control of the many nuances – sonic and musical," besides observing that the resulting "creative work exists on a scale from consummate aural fiction to a nonfiction snapshot in time" (Burgess: 2013, p.216).

Bibliography

Buskin, R. (1999) Inside Tracks: A First Hand History of Pop Music from the World'due south Greatest Record Producers and Engineers. New York: Avon Books.

Cunningham, M. (1999) Good Vibrations: A History of Record Production. London: Sanctuary Books.

Massey, H. (2000) Behind the Drinking glass: Top Record Producers Tell How They Arts and crafts the Hits. San Francisco: Backbeat Books.

Massey, H. (2009) Behind the Drinking glass, Volume II: Height Record Producers Tell How They Arts and crafts the Hits. Milwaukee: Backbeat Books.

Olsen, East., Verna, P., Wolff, C. (eds.) (1999) The Encyclopedia of Record Producers. New York: Billboard.

*Conflict of Interest Policy

A book submitted for review by an editor or editor'south publisher will be handled by one of the other editors. The other editor will select referees and make all decisions on the review. The decision process will be handled in such a way that the submitting editor does not have access to information or correspondence relating to the submission that is not meant for authors.

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