What Is a Producer, Really?

It might be the most confusing job title in music. So what does a producer actually do?

In Episode 16 of KNOBS, Simon Moro and Terry Hart try to nail down a role that means five different things to five different people, and explain why getting the definition straight helps anyone hiring for a record.

They lay out three kinds of producer they see today: the traditional producer who oversees the whole project like a director, the beat maker who is really a composer, and the self-producing artist making everything on a laptop. All three are valid, and the confusion comes from lumping them together, or from the television meaning of the word, where "producer" just means the person who puts up the money. Simon tells the story of the TV producer who sat at the back of a session insisting he was the producer, and could not name the chord progression.

Along the way: why they almost never engineer and produce at once, the exhausting cost of context switching between the two, what real vocal production looks like versus just running takes, and how to interview a producer so you can tell the difference.

Whether you are an artist about to hire someone or a producer trying to explain your own value, this one brings some welcome clarity.

Topics covered:

The three types of producer. Why "producer" gets confused with funding. The producer as director. The self-producing artist and its caveats. Why not to engineer and produce at once. Vocal production versus vocal engineering. How to hire the right producer. An engineer captures, a producer fights.