Artist communication: a step-by-step guide
As a professional producer, understanding the requirements, goals and desires of a client is crucial to executing a successful project and maintaining relationships within the industry. When working with artists in particular, it cannot be overstated how vital it is to hold a mutual understanding of a project and manage the emotions and feelings of all parties involved. In this blog, I will discuss potential issues that may arise when dealing with an artist specifically, and will address methods of preventing, managing and solving said issues.
In many cases, some artists may struggle with communicating their ideas or needs with a producer or engineer. This could be due to a lack of specificity or planning towards the project in question, struggles with confidence, or their ability to express their musical ideas in words. Firstly, it is crucial to put a basic contract in place as a means of identifying the basic scope of the project, and to act as a safety net if the project goes awry. To further assist in understanding the scope of the project, asking the artist for songs with a similar production style or aesthetic could be useful for both parties. This can help the artist narrow and specify the sound and aesthetic they are aiming for, and the producer can use these songs as reference tracks for use during mixing.
During the production process, it can be necessary to keep in mind that most artists do not have the detailed understanding of production and audio that producers do. To aid this, try different production techniques that could match up with their descriptions. For example, if the artist tells you ‘…I want the drums to sound bigger’, play them versions of the drum track with effects such as compression, reverb and perhaps boosted EQ and see which they prefer. Picking up with their language and associating it with the effect will make for easier communication down the line, so from that point onward you know that when they say ‘bigger’ they mean add more reverb. Reference tracks can also be useful in this scenario; you can ask the artist to provide a track which matches their vision for the production, and identify individual instrumentation that reflects what they want for their music.
“…receptive communication allows for more trust, investment and motivation within a professional and creative relationship.”
Ultimately, keeping open and frequent communication with client(s) during all relevant stages of the project is necessary, and will limit the chance of miscommunications, assumptions and distrust. Although the quality of the project outcome is extremely important, your interactions with a client will often leave the biggest impression and will result in further work if handled in a professional, empathetic and receptive way. Not only is this important for your reputation in the music industry, but will enhance the quality of the project, as receptive communication allows for more trust, investment and motivation within a professional and creative relationship.