The term ‘music producer’ means different things to different people. Some are musicians, some are engineers, some are remixers.

So what does a music producer actually do ?

In very pragmatic terms, the producer is a ‘project manager’ for the recording, mixing and mastering process.

She has an overall vision for the music, the sound and the goals of the project, and brings a unique perspective to inspire, assist and sometimes provoke the artists.

The producer should make the record more than the sum of it’s parts – you could almost say she is trying to create musical alchemy.

Every producer brings different skills and a different approach, and this can make what they do difficult to summarise. In this post I’ve identified seven distinct types of record producer to try and make this clearer.

1. The Engineer

This is probably most people’s stereotypical idea of the “classic” record producer – hunched over a mixing desk, obsessing about compression settings, reverb tails and drum sounds. The studio is an instrument, and the producer “plays” it like a virtuoso, working late into the night to create a mysterious sonic masterpiece.

In fact this is often far from the norm though, as we’ll see.

2. The Mentor

Rick Rubin

Many producers don’t claim any technical expertise at all. Rick Rubin is a well-known example – despite being a self-confessed audiophile, he doesn’t actually sit at the desk on the records he produces, but instead specifically chooses different mix engineers to work with on each project.

“Mentor” producers like Rubin instead focus solely on the artist’s intent, motivation and performances, coaching them to produce the best music they’re capable of, by whatever means. Rubin seems to have a gift for freshly inspiring and invigorating artists and re-focusing them on their core strengths, for example.

3. The Golden Ticket

Some producers seem to have an almost magical touch – a secret formula that guarantees almost anyone who works with them success. Phil Spector, with his trademark “wall of sound” was an early example, whereas in the 80s Stock Aitken & Waterman developed and instantly recognisable template for their artists.

Of course a distinctive sound is only a good thing if the producer’s style suits the material. Paul McCartney was famously outraged at what Spector did with “Let It Be”. Dr Dre is a more recent example of a “golden ticket” producer – almost single-handedly responsible for the output of a vast swathe of the biggest rap and R&B artists in recent years.

4. The Remixer

Many people think of the ‘remix producer’ as a recent development, but the origins are actually a fusion of Lee “Scratch” Perry’s dub remixes with Tom Moulton‘s extended disco mixes in the mid 70s. Artists like Grandmaster Flash pioneered the use of cutting and scratching, and midi and sampling took this to another level. Remixing has now become so much a part of the mainstream music culture that often the remix becomes the hit before people know the original song !