5 Essential Tips For Becoming a Full-Time Producer

[@doomsday4031]

1. KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS 2. PORTFOLIO 3. CONFIDENCE AND COMMUNICATION AS A MUSICIAN 4. 110% EVERYTIME = ARTIST LIKEY LIKEY 5. BE THE ULTIMATE MUSICPRENAUR

[@MakePopMusic]

Bingo bango!

[@zcb27]

To expand on the last point, one thing to remember is to price yourself appropriately. You could be the best producer in the world and have all these connections and produce track after track, but if you’re only charging $100 per track then you’ll never be able to make a living. I’m far from a full time producer but I’m a full time graphic designer and a lot of these definitely apply to both areas, and this video knocks it out of the park

[@deejavu]

Great point!

[@MakePopMusic]

Yes! I could do an entire video about pricing yourself right because that’s 70% of the entire battle.

[@zcb27]

@@MakePopMusic next week? 👀

[@martybrown2831]

@@MakePopMusic Yes!

[@JayUrbanMusic]

@@MakePopMusic YES please! We'd love that!

[@zaalimbeats]

Definitely a video about "pricing yourself" would help.

[@damianpress]

Been a full timer for 15 years and appreciate your channel and actionable advice! THanks

[@royalcities]

This video couldnt have come at a better time. I've decided to quit my traditional job in the new year and get into this full time. Produced under a different handle for a couple years and now with the thought of being able to just focus on music is a dream to me.

[@JayUrbanMusic]

Wow, me and you, my friend! I have the same plan for this year!

[@royalcities]

@@JayUrbanMusic hey dude. Checked out your tracks. You're already well on your way! Good luck with your future full time career!

[@JayUrbanMusic]

@@royalcities Ahh thank you! Wishing you all the best too!

[@SantaliTradition]

We love you bro

[@1299-l5v]

i really needed this right now!! great video!

[@DowntownLAKid]

That charisma shii is so important. Being a cool person has gotten me more time and gigs than my talent lol and I’ve seen many other more talented people not get anything because they were super obnoxious or big headed It’s such a key aspect

[@RaepaMusic]

Great Tips Austin. Agree with Creating a Repertoire of songs you've produced as a starter and secondly giving your best work every time and crushing it to get artists to return.

[@playmakersmusic]

Bless you as always Austin! Thank you for always dropping gems for the KZbin and Facebook community!

[@prince_rhythms]

You are so REAL! thank you

[@deejavu]

I am a full-timer. These are good tips!🔥

[@biebiekei3798]

Good tips 👍 Austin could you record a video for beginners? Like where to find good sounds and how to stop wasting time.

[@a.j.musician]

Man, thank you so much for sharing all this knowledge, I’m trying to start as a producer and all these insights clarify many questions I had.

[@adoebeatz]

Just starting this video but I’m going to say thank you so much in advance because I know it’s going to be very useful for me 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿

[@sasujuntunen3750]

Thanks for this video. I liked it a lot. What hit me really hard was that I could have a part time job and then scrape some dollars from my studio. You're also very likable person.

[@Thenextphasemusic]

Really appreciate your insight!

[@JaeRo1339]

Yeah.. this hit me a lot and also maybe many another producers. Basic and simple but the most important. Thank you for give me a will power and inspirations.

[@MusicLife-xx8tl]

LOVE your attitude, man !

[@JansleyMusic]

It's so hard not to rush into trying to get paid projects. I highly recommend people get into stoic readings to help with that mindset.

[@nosaefe-anthony5888]

Make pop music your the best I love all you do we young producer

[@rautshsale1948]

re. point 1, i'd love for you to get into what practical requests artists have, that a producer should be able to fulfill. i'm genuinely curious about how wide the spectrum is tbh. and are there requests that producers really can't deliver? (making an instrumental sounding like a 100% real orchestra for example lol)

[@divine_architek]

A lot of requests from my experience just end up being differences in backgrounds. Like what might mean 1 thing to you might mean something to someone else. For example "dry". To us producers and engineers that means no reverb. However I have ran into a few instances with my clients where by saying that something sounds dry, they meant it sounded monotone. Every genre is a completely different field and your clientbase will determine what is common. From a producing aspect, I'd say there are 2 real skills that are commonly needed amongst most sessions: 1. Being efficient with your workflow enough to provide results in a timely manner. I have gotten to the point where I can bang out an entire arranged beat for a client in 20-40 mins. Now I'm not telling you that you have to be able to make a work that fast especially depending on genre but regardless you want to keep a system where you may have some go to sounds that you know you can make heat with on demand. You don't want to have an artist or multiple artists in the room with you excited to make a high energy banging track only for you to be spending 30 mins looking for the "perfect" snare. If they get bored, the vibe changes and they will no longer be feeling like making a hype track. They will become indecisive of what they want since their mood has changed and this can be catastrophic. Best case scenario they ask you to make another track of a different style, worst case they cancel the project all together. So efficiency in getting 80% of the sound you are looking for in a timely manner is crucial. Don't stress about pedantic things like being mixed to perfection. Let your feelings make your decisions in the immediate term. If that first kick you reached for felt right off the bat then use it no point in trying to find a "better one" while the energy is still high. Replace it later if need be but usually its not necessary. 2. Being able to make your own version of a preexisting work is one of the best skills to have. It's not uncommon for an artist to find a beat they like online only to find out later that it has been sold exclusively. Being able to make your own production in that same vain not only provides a challenge by keeping to the same key, tempo, and mood, but also hones your skill to be able to discern how another producer approached the work and how sounds and their timbres affect the feel of a song. Even if it isn't this exactly, usually its good to get an idea of a reference track that a client would want to emulate and you make an attempt with your skills, sounds, and style to make something of the same vain but not an exact replica. You can also take into consideration your genre's history, how the music has evolved, and how different cultures have impacted the sound over the years to develop an understanding of not only how they got their results but what made those results sound good. I had a client that wanted a Tone-Loc type of track but he wanted a more west coast style. I took the idea of old west coast tracks like Summertime in the LBC by Dove Shack or Keep It on the Real by 3x Krazy and combined it with some older bass music like Munchies for Your Bass by Nemesis. These are just the inspiration for different flavors to add for the creation of the client's track and ultimately my client ended up happy with what we came up with. I was able to pull this off not having done a production like that ever in my life by knowing the history of my genre and being able to discern not only what elements they put in their tracks, but what purpose each element served and how they make the track feel. Overall ensure that you are honing your skills to become efficient and effective, and come to understand production from a standpoint not of objectivity like what sounds another producer is using, but understanding why they are using it and what context it provides to the music. Just like a guitar can be both the rhythm or the lead depending on the context. Learning what purpose the sounds used in a song serve will serve you for many years when it comes to understanding what the perspectives of other producers are and how you can define your own perspective.

[@rautshsale1948]

@@divine_architek i highly appreciate your reply! i think every point is extremely valuable!

[@JayUrbanMusic]

Amazing! Love it! More happy to be one of the first people to watch it, finally! 😁😍

[@johnkhalkho798]

Always a pleasure to watch Austin - A great Artist and a Mentor!

[@RJJohnson]

Great tips Austin! Thanks so much for sharing and helping. Sending greetings from Austin and the Music For Life crew.

[@ValentinMacagno]

Thank you so much for this video Austin! For the first time in years I feel like I'm on the right path :D!

[@IamQrock]

Perfect Info! I love these types because I can always take something away to apply

[@JSHardrocker261]

This was an incredible video! Thank you so much for the practical yet inspiring tips. I especially resonated with the final tip 🔥 I have my own business consulting company and do investments for my main sources of income. But after months of searching and practicing music production for almost 2 years, I have found my first starting artist to collaborate with!! I've been passionate about music all my life. But to potentially game plan even just a bit of income with my hobby, is a very exciting step! Been watching your videos since the beginning of my journey Austin! You've been a huge guide 🙏🏽

[@deeymobeats]

Great video bro

[@DezheMusic]

Really, just be as good as Justin, the business will take off 😄

[@Audiojunkk]

Great video! really helpful to geet wisdom on these aspects of pursuing a career in music.

[@SantaliTradition]

Nice keep it up bro

[@MusokeMSK]

So useful! And so relatable! :)

[@brookshoffman4972]

Love the vids man. Would love too see a how to make a Morgan Wallen/Diplo track similar to 'Heartless'.

[@xxxdoremi8820]

Your channel is beneficial. Thank you. I want subtitles of multi-language videos. I'm Korean.

[@Jcjenxnc]

Great video! Could you make a tips video for how to get a label?

[@kennethstavis9953]

Hey Austin. Since your computer died, I have a question. Would you please talk about file managment? Here is what I am talking about? When working with Native Instruments, Toontracks, Omnisphere and other VSTs with libraries, what process do you use when are managing files?. Do you use an external drive for libraries? How do you file your projects (full songs finished and works in progress)?

[@joshmcali.sk8]

Great Video! 💎

[@thorstenkellner]

Just want to say: thank you!!

[@Quant-Beat]

Could you estimate what it takes today to make a hit? The empires pretty much "own" the audience in enormous terms, so they have the power. The empires are the big labels. Is it possible without them? I am not purposing now on making the absolute best music, which should of course be there first. The aspects around, is it possible doing a hit without the big labels/companies...?

[@dafingaz]

Computer crashed!!!! Whoa. Can you do a video on your backup methods? I like seeing what people use and how they backup their stuff...

[@MakePopMusic]

Coming soon!

[@dafingaz]

@@MakePopMusic Thanks!

[@BeatNerdBerlin]

Great content. Greets from Berlin/Germany

[@kayezer0]

thank you very valuable content

[@jonhutchinsmusic789]

liked immediately just because of the title

[@MiketheNerdRanger]

As a producer, how do *I* become the artist? Like Zedd, or Martin Garrix, or someone like that?

[@doomsday4031]

Hey buddy, can you make a preset pack of retro synths for vital. Like serum gets my pocket eaten and most would have to go for serum before buying your preset pack. It would be a great thing.

[@MakePopMusic]

Vital presets coming soon!

[@doomsday4031]

@@MakePopMusic 🤩

[@jerrysillahsongwrite]

Sometimes though, just jump and see if you're gonna swim. I had like 1200 dollar (translated into swedish currency) on my bank account when i made my decision. And it was the best ever. But then, a few hard years will come. truly. But now i think it's all worth it.

[@Quant-Beat]

By the way, Kontakt and several other 3rd party tools are problematic in Cubase Pro 11, but nothing at the 10 version. I switched recently to 11.

[@TheBawss90]

Bro's desktop going crazy

[@shaytzir]

Can we get a video on how to start? 🥲

[@jitendradewangan9485]

Thank you Austin BTW Love frome India, You are my inspiration for being a music producer and artist also. I have learnt a lot from you, If one day I will have more than I needed then how I can pay for what you have given to me?

[@Soundpaintmusic]

The only thing that (really) matters is how much you (really) want it.

[@8bitheroes86]

I get its good to diversify and have multiple things you can cash in on but for me its a double edged sword and can only make things more time consuming. If you are only good at maybe music or making a particular genre and you need to learn graphic design or a new skill/discipline its going to take months/years to get good at that to the point where someone will want to pay you for it, all the while your music skills are suffering because you didn't have the time to focus on it. I have been doing commissions on and off for a few years and i can only really process one thing at a time.

[@johnlukenance8977]

I’m in a situation where I’ve put time into the skills with a solid portfolio, but have no idea where to actually find clients other than sound better and melodynest and stuff like that. Anyone have any advice on that?

[@SamuelNovota]

Please, where can I buy that cap? 🤣

[@MakePopMusic]

I got it from Von Dutch but it was limited edition 😩 it’s fireee though. The brim is faux leather and the front is faux leopard skin.

[@xeityrj405]

Hey man, in your freelance book you gave recommendation in prices for mixing job which is $250-400. Now I went to airgigs looking for mixing services, and there is a ton of professional sound engineers charging $75-350 for mixing. How can I compete with them charging $250 for mixing, if a client gets a professional studio and the engineer with 10+ years of experience for $90? Or is it that I don't get something Appreciate your work!

[@MakePopMusic]

Don’t worry about other peoples prices. Value your own work, prove your worth, and work with artists that respect your rates. Someone charging $50 for a production isn’t pulling in the artist that’s paying me $3000 for a production. And I’m not pulling in someone like Drake who is paying $100k advances.

[@xeityrj405]

Thank you. Let the dudes do their job then, and everyone to get their part of the show . _ .

[@bradcarey9719]

Where are you bringing your vocals from? Are you recording?

[@MakePopMusic]

I typically don't record the vocalists for the projects I produce, because I'm working with artists around the world. Typically they will record themselves or I'll send them to a studio in their city to get their vocals done.

[@benirodriguez9516]

wiii... I just clicked the like and we went from 999 to 1K likes! :)

[@evilrichard1118]

How to make a post malone song drop a full tutorial please please

[@luciferboygamingyt3257]

Can you make one vedio how to make song on mobile please

[@akeyzstudio6620]

sorry about the computer pls austin is there a way to calculate release time according to the tempo of my track

[@fionaforman6520]

60000/ bpm = quarter note length in milli seconds Divide by 2 = eighth note Divide by 2 again = 16th note Try eight or sixteenth notes time as a compression release time to start with

[@selliantuttimusi6735]

Step number 1: Be a good producer.

[@MakePopMusic]

100%

[@ItsByko]

Develop your serum legs*

[@fionaforman6520]

Lol!