Ghost Producing (Part 1)
I honestly don’t know where to begin with this one. Maybe because I
have such mixed feelings about it but let me just jump into the
definition and let it fly from there. Ok… Ghost producing is pretty
much when one producer (usually uknown to the masses) works under a
big name producer. The name producer would take beats from his ghost
producer(s) and shop them or get them placed as his own on projects.
Name producer of course will get full credit for producing the track
and the unknown producer would get percent of the advance money and
all of his publishing (depending on what kind of deal you make cause
some name producers may want in on that too being it’s a lot of
money).
Now this tactic isn’t really knew, it’s been around for quite awhile.
Just think about Dr Dre and his team of producers, including Scott
Storch at one time….oh wait hold on…lol..you thought Dre produced
those Chronic albums himself? Lol Your sadly mistaken, time for a wake
up call. To be honest, most of the big name producers we give praise
to have some producers under them working in the lab 24/7 while they
are out shaking hands, meeting other celebs, getting interviews, write
ups, awards, endorsement deals, downing bottles at the club, f*kn bad
b*tches , lol..etc.. ok u get the point. Maybe it’s not exactly like
that…….but then again…..maybe it is. Hmmm
Ok now you may ask why would the name producer have ghost producers?
Doesn’t he have talent? Didn’t he get to where he is today by doing
beats?
Well yeah, but what happens is its pretty difficult as solo producer
with a big name to keep up with the demand. How is he suppose to be at
every function, work on 10 different artist tracks, oversee his homies
album, be in 3 cities, be at a photo shoot, make a video appearance
and be home in time to drive little Jr. to school and tweet about it?
Even Arkatech Beatz, a production duo…2 people is difficult still…I
wont front. (Like how do I even find time to type this, I need to be
making a beat……but anyway). So what the name producer does is get some
producers under him to give him some breathing room so he can do all
the other things. Not saying the name producer does nothing, it just
gives him some room so he doesn’t have to make a beat every day. Not
to mention it gets hard to get in your creative modes at time so it’s
cool to have that support system when your creativeness is on hiatus
as well as some fresh ears, ideas and other talent to feed off of.
Here is a quick break down of pros & cons for a name producer who has
a ghost producer(s) working for them.
Pros
- Able to pump out more music for more projects
- Able to feed off ghost producers ideas and influence
- Able to offer a wider variety of music (Hip Hop, R&B, Pop, etc)
- Able to land more various deals because of all the work that’s being put out.
- Name recognition, adding worth to the brand
- Don’t have to be in the studio everyday working on a beat (honestly
I don’t mind working on a beat everyday but you do need your days or
rest. Even God chilled one day)
Cons
- You may not have actually produced the record, so you don’t own any
part of record including publishing (depending on deal that is made)
- If you don’t own any publishing, you cant make a good publishing
deal..and that’s where the real money is at.
- If word gets out too fast that you don’t make your beats, rarely but
it is possible that your brand can be damaged.
- Loss of respect (if that even bothers you)
I’m sure there are more pros and cons…but basically everything is
depending on the type of deal and what you agree to.
Next article we’ll talk about ghost producing from the unknown
producer who takes the deal, being exclusive, gag orders, pros and
cons and what else to expect. Lol..maaaan Its about to get real
interesting so stay tuned.
Mike “Trauma” D twitter.com/arkatechbeatz
Business Never Personal…Or Is It?
I think it’s safe to say we’ve all felt the sting of bad business,
some large some small, but bad business none the less. In the music
biz sometimes bad biz feels almost…personal. Let me give you an
example. You shoot out an email to an exec just to find out what
project he is currently working on and he simply reads your email and
ignores you. You wonder to yourself, what s that about? Is the person
that busy that they can’t reply at least which artist he is working
with? (It’s usually no more then 6 letters, if even. How long does
that take?). What’s dude problem? He that Hollywood and feels he too
big to reply?? Some actually reply but don’t want to give you any
info on how you should go about submitting music to the project. How
about you send some music to someone, and you follow up with a did you
get to check out the music? Instead of them simply saying yeah, I
pass on it…they don’t even answer, leaving you to wonder if they
actually got a chance to check it out or did they pass on it…you don’t
know. Some say well, if they don’t respond that means they pass…ummmm
not all the time. I’ve actually been in numerous situations where I
would follow up a week later and an artist would say oh yeaaah..I
recorded that track…that joint came out hooooot! leaving you saying to
yourself…ok…why didn’t you let me know? I just gave that same beat to
another artist. Now what if artist # 2 already locked it in
financially, artist #1 would obviously be upset. Now that I think about it,
I’ve been in that situation too…sorry homie…that record was sold A
YEAR AGO…you never returned any of my follow up call or emails! (yeah
it was really a year old too…and yeah they were mad...SMH)
Unfortunately you just may never know these things until it happens,
that’s why its always a good idea to consistently follow up and not
allow yourself to fall in the cracks of the day to day shuffle.You see
this game is filled with a lack of consideration and courtesy…my
partner Jug would simply just say it’s a lack of of respect . Call it
what you want but it seems that an exec would rather you hound them
all day making you hang on to hope and fill their egos then rather
simply set your mind at ease and tell you in one simple word…”pass”.
Maybe it makes them feel important or something, I don’t know what it
is, I never got on that when I did A&R.I would at least tell you I
passed on it. Now if you want a full detailed reason why I passed on
it, now you maybe be asking for much. But I will tell you that it can
be very discouraging and frustrating for the person trying to navigate
and make moves thru it all.
But in all fairness, sometimes there are certain things going on
behind the scenes that we are unaware of. Maybe this exec is having a
bad day, in the middle of a meeting, on phone call, or just forgot to
reply with the hundreds of emails he may have received after yours.
It’s often difficult to nail the reason and one shouldn’t
automatically take things personally. The best thing is to assess your
material to make sure it’s where it needs to be quality wise and go
around the individual, or simply move on the next. There is always
another road to reach your destination, and there will always be
others that appreciate your material and hard work. It maybe longer
and it maybe harder but your road doesn’t have to end with that person
and situation. Bottom line…get ya grind on and don’t let peoples own
personal issues in this already shark infested business stop you from
reaching your goals. For all you know….that exec your trying to get at
is about to lose his job.
Good luck out there
Mike Trauma D
Protect Your Brand : Damage Control
Lately a lot of producers just aren’t getting the respect they deserve
in the game. Producers are either getting jacked for their beats,
promo deals(no pay) or just not being credited at all. Especially now
in the mixtape game the rules differ with every project. What ever
situation you work out with the artist one thing for sure needs to be
in stone. Your credit!! Your credit is everything…its your brand, your
name. Your name alone will get you opportunities where money alone
just can’t buy. Not to mention your credit helps build your resume,
portfolio, your stock…it gives you some clout and the ability to
demand a few things..(especially financially) later down the line.
Just today I was listening to a major mixtape and a few people I was
listening with asked..”yo who did that track?? It’s banging!” I said
“I don’t know” looking at the track listing and noticing no producer
credit. I said “It sounds like (Producer A) “, so we ran with that.
Come to my realization days later, I was wrong. It wasn’t (Producer A)
it was another producer,(Producer B)
Now I’m thinking damn this kid probably just missed out on a few
opportunities because folks thought it was (Producer A). (Producer A)
probably getting new calls based on a record (Producer B) did. I tell
yall to tell you this….
1)Tag your beats! Tag your beats loud and clear! A sound effect alone
right now just aint gonna do it being we can all find the effect or
just sample it from a record. You need something that says it’s you
“Producer B On The F*kn Beat!!!!” something!
2)Promote the record wit your production credit via twitter, myspace,
facebook, youtube, etc…every social network you can. So when someone
googles the track , Pow!! your name comes up with it.
3)Work on getting a little publicity, small interviews, write ups,
blogs,..whatever in addition to helping get the word out.
Bottom line, your brand is your name and name means everything.
Protect your brand by all costs cause on the real others don’t have
your interest at heart. Tell em I said that!
Good luck out there!
Mike Trauma D on the F*kn article!!!!!
Why YOU Aren't Getting Paid For YOUR Beats - Part 2
We are back for more. In part one we discussed the main 3 issues as to why you weren't being paid.
1. Producers under selling their work.
2. Artists not respecting producers because they're under selling their work.
3. Mixtapes replacing albums as the new medium of music.
We're going to break down the issues and present solutions. Artist and Producers come together to make songs. Magic if you will. It’s a joint effort. What we're seeing is one side isn't respecting the other and the music as a whole is suffering.
Read more: Why YOU Aren't Getting Paid For YOUR Beats - Part 2
So an aspiring artist reached out to me and said they are putting together a demo for this A&R. I Immediately wanted to ask which A&R so I can roll my eyes and tell them without telling them “maaan he got no power over there, try another approach”. No disrespect to A&R’s because at the end of the day, I’m a credited A&R as well. But at the same time the A&R’s of today aren’t like the ones back in the days. I mean there are still maybe a handful left but not much.
Why YOU Aren't Getting Paid For YOUR Beats - Part 1
We get a lot of email from up and coming/new producers asking the same question...
How do you go about getting paid for your beats/tracks, and what should I charge?
This here can pose as a semi tough question. While I can't tell you what you should charge, I can sure as hell tell you what you shouldn’t be charging.
Read more: Why YOU Aren't Getting Paid For YOUR Beats - Part 1
