Darth_Pietrus

So Im currently studying ICT but dont have a real passion for it. My real passion is music (metal). Either playing it or writing it. Ive written a few songs and have had positive feedback from my friends.
Becoming a famous musician in a band is easier said than done but becoming a producer seems like a more doable option to me. So I was wondering how does one become a (metal) producer? You can study music production/dj but as the name suggests, this is a very pop/techno kind of course and is all about writing the next big radio hit, which I dont want. I want to produce metal!
So does anyone have any experience or knowledge in this matter? Is it even necessary to have a sort of degree in music production to become a producer? (I live in the Netherlands if that helps)

Thanks for any help

Hydra150

I geuss you should learn how to work with recording technology (become friends with the people in the recording forum) and get in touch with studios in your area to see if they are looking for someone to train as an engineer or anything. Or study music in college.

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J-Dawg158

First off you have to be a good producer. If you can't do a good job with phenomenal results, then why would anyone ever wanna pay you money to produce their album? The big names in the business get all of the work because they have proven that they can produce top-quality albums.

Secondly, and this applies to life in general. It doesn't matter what you're educated in all people care about are can you give them the results they expect. That's why employers are gonna pick the high school drop-out that's been in the business for 30 years vs. the guy that's fresh out of college 90% of the time.

Scoring a producing job is probably just about as hard as becoming a successful rock star in itself. If you wanna work for a studio then you had better have an impressive resume with lot's of successful albums under your belt otherwise you'll have to settle for whatever position they're willing to offer you.

If you decide to go freelance then it's the same deal except now you're peddling yourself to the artist directly, which will include the same problems every small business faces: How will you compete with the big names in the business? Why should artists come to you to produce? Will you give them the results they want? What experience do you have?

It's just like any other job. You either have to work your way up from the bottom and scrape together a good reputation of turning out quality work, or of course be the progeny of someone already successful in the field.

I hate to be such a downer, but that is the reality of the "real world" dude.

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Darth_Pietrus

OK thanks. So basically its a self-taught kind of thing and you have to get the word out yourself.
I'll see what I can do

J-Dawg158

Well, its not really so much of a teach yourself kind of thing as it is a you have to prove yourself first kind of thing. At least if you want to be a professional producer. It's one of those jobs that there's no definite way to get into it. Like a CEO of a company, not very many people will just walk into a position like that. I mean you can get all the gear and start "producing" but that's like starting your own business which I touched on in my previous post. Best of luck to you man. If its what you really want to do then all you can do is just keep at it.

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GaryBillington

I'm going to play the bad guy for a minute...

Have you had feedback from anyone who isn't a friend/family? People like that aren't always the best to get opinions from.

Have you posted anything in the recordings forum? You'll get some honest feedback from people who don't feel obliged to compliment you.

The advice in the posts above is all good, but it means nothing if you aren't as good as you think you are. Look at it this way:
On any of the Simon Cowell shows, there are always 100s of people who audition that are absolutely terrible, but have spent their lives believing when family & friends say they're good because they don't want to hurt them. When they go on those shows in front of millions of people, it's the first time they've ever been given a genuinely honest opinion of their talent.

Now I'll move along and go back to being the nice person I usually am...

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z4twenny

What Gary said. The only reason I have my recordings posted on UG is to get honest feedback on my compositions (I know the mixing / production isn't too hot but that's not what I'm looking for)

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41 songs in my profile, click "view all mp3's" all sorts of variety
Check out my new Industrial side project Penis Christ
http://artists.ultimate-guitar.com/penischrist/
Cover of the NIN classic Head like a hole.

Darth_Pietrus

Yeah I know friends tend to do this, but atleast one of my friends seems to really like it. He actually learned the song and plays it when he is bored and offered to write lyrics for it. But I want to get some real guitars on the track before I post in on UG or Youtube, because right now its purely VST's and MIDI.

Darth_Pietrus

Im getting a Line 6 UX1 for my birthday so yeah

Darth_Pietrus

But yeah, right now Im doing this as a Hobby and have only really just started working with Fruity Loops and such.
You're free to check out my non metal compositions.
They have basically no views but whatever:

http://www.youtube.com/user/PFranke...ic?feature=mhee

My passion is music and so Id love to do something with it for my career, wether it be producer or songwriter or bandmember etc. But we will see ^^

Hydra150

Have you thought about going to college to do this stuff?

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Darth_Pietrus

Well here (the Netherlands) you do have a "rock" academy but its all pop. I think maybe its best to continue with my current study and work on my music as a side thing.

Hydra150

Good luck with that.

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mrkeka

From my personal experience, the best thing to do would be to try and get an internship, or became an assistant to a established studio or producer... that way you get experience, contacts, and so on and so forth

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corza334

Practice Practice Practice

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Quite impressive for a cripple.

AlanHB

Start on the local scene with smaller groups, and work up from there. Beware, even a "small-time" producer has easily $100,000 of gear around. Hope you've got some cash saved up.

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And no, Guitar Hero will not help. Even on expert. Really.

91RG350

Start sweeping floors at a studio and work your way up from there

and...

"Surround yourself with skulls and candles if it helps"

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stringzzz

[QUOTE=91RG350]Start sweeping floors at a studio and work your way up from there

I totally agree. Nobody is going to hire you without a track record. Do what ever you can, work for free.

If you have a chance to take a production course, do it! Who cares if the main focus is pop, this is all about having a starting point and making connections. Be more open minded before you close doors that could help you.

Also, most big time producers are accomplished musicians. You have to be able to make suggestions that will make a recording better. If "guitar track 3" is out of tune, you need to be able to hear it. You may have to re write a section of a tune, etc...

If this is what you want to do, just get started and don't let anything stand in your way.

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AlanHB

This is a very good point. Nobody got anywhere by limiting their options. If you're the sort of guy who would turn down 1 million dollars to mix One Direction because they're "ghey", then perhaps you're best keeping music as a hobby, where you can be as picky as you want.

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And no, Guitar Hero will not help. Even on expert. Really.