Music Producers

Join a music group to get a sense of the collaborative process of putting songs together. Your school may have equipment available for recording performances, and your school's music teacher or media department director may be able to assist you in a recording project. Since a large part of being a producer involves good communication skills, any experience you can get dealing with a variety of people—as in a retail sales job, for example—will be helpful.

Listen to all types of music. Try to get a sense of the "big picture" for each recording—what the artist and producer are trying to get across. Spend time on the Web sites of musicians and music producers and follow them on social media, such as Instagram, Bluesky, Facebook, YouTube, etc. Read the backs of CDs and production notes for digital downloads, to familiarize yourself with the names of producers.

Students can contact record companies or recording studios to get more information; local studios can usually be found online or in the classified telephone directory, and others can be located in the music trade papers. The Recording Academy is another good source for information on the industry. There are also numerous books and music trade magazines that cover music production.

Ask your school counselor to help arrange an information interview with a music producer. Suggested interview questions include: What made you want to enter this career? What type of tools and equipment do you use to do your work? What do you like most and least about your job? How did you train for this field? What are some key skills for success? What advice would you give to young people about preparing for the field and being successful on the job? How will advances in technology change the field? Perhaps you could even job-shadow a music producer to learn even more about the field.