Essential Gear For Any Self-Employed Producer
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Jun 22 2016, 7:06 AM
If you’re chasing a dream of becoming a self-employed music producer, then you’re certainly not alone! Music is a massive part of countless people’s lives. Seen as it’s near impossible to make it as a musician, a lot of people go into production and sound engineering as the next big thing. If you’re about to launch your one-man production firm, here’s some of the things you’ll need.
First of all, a strong online platform. These days, becoming a self-employed creative is easier than ever. However, you won’t get far without a strong platform for marketing yourself. Learn how to set up some professional social media accounts where you can exhibit some of your best work. Then, ask all your supporters to share them like there’s no tomorrow! You’ll need to start off small, probably offering your services to small artists for free. Don’t worry, the money will start rolling in later! Some budding producers even make their own compositions just to exhibit their skills. Check out this Soma EP for an example. You may want to set up a website as well, but this will probably be an unnecessary cost.
Seen as you’re reading this, I’ll assume that you’ve got already got a competent computer for the purpose. Now onto the rest of the hardware. In order to plug a guitar, keyboard, or any other electric instrument into a computer, you’re going to need a MIDI adapter. “MIDI” refers to the kind of audio file you’re going to be using to record artists at your home studio. There are a range of adapters with different degrees of quality, but all of them serve more or less the same function. Furthermore, you’ll need a pair of high-quality audio monitors, so you can play back your work and talk it over with artists. For when you’re alone, a pair of professional-grade headphones are in order. These will let you hear the music in all its detail, and pick up on little imperfections. Grado are one prominent company to check out. Microphones and soundproofing should also be considered before you start bringing in clients.
Finally, software. Windows Audio Recorder really won’t get you very far if you want to make a career out of production! You need to get some software that will allow you to record and manipulate tracks to a professional-quality standard. There are a few different brands I could mention, but the only two you really need are Cubase and Logic Pro. Made for Microsoft and Apple respectively, these programs come with dozens of patches and effects, so you can get to work straight out of the box! There are differences, of course. Cubase’s interface is known to be slightly harder to get used to, and there are certain tools which you can get on Cubase but not Logic. However, the full versions of either should suit you perfectly.
I hope this list gives you a great start in the world of music production. Going self-employed in any niche is tough. However, you’ll never know until you try!
If you’re chasing a dream of becoming a self-employed music producer, then you’re certainly not alone! Music is a massive part of countless people’s lives. Seen as it’s near impossible to make it as a musician, a lot of people go into production and sound engineering as the next big thing. If you’re about to launch your one-man production firm, here’s some of the things you’ll need.
First of all, a strong online platform. These days, becoming a self-employed creative is easier than ever. However, you won’t get far without a strong platform for marketing yourself. Learn how to set up some professional social media accounts where you can exhibit some of your best work. Then, ask all your supporters to share them like there’s no tomorrow! You’ll need to start off small, probably offering your services to small artists for free. Don’t worry, the money will start rolling in later! Some budding producers even make their own compositions just to exhibit their skills. Check out this Soma EP for an example. You may want to set up a website as well, but this will probably be an unnecessary cost.
Seen as you’re reading this, I’ll assume that you’ve got already got a competent computer for the purpose. Now onto the rest of the hardware. In order to plug a guitar, keyboard, or any other electric instrument into a computer, you’re going to need a MIDI adapter. “MIDI” refers to the kind of audio file you’re going to be using to record artists at your home studio. There are a range of adapters with different degrees of quality, but all of them serve more or less the same function. Furthermore, you’ll need a pair of high-quality audio monitors, so you can play back your work and talk it over with artists. For when you’re alone, a pair of professional-grade headphones are in order. These will let you hear the music in all its detail, and pick up on little imperfections. Grado are one prominent company to check out. Microphones and soundproofing should also be considered before you start bringing in clients.
Finally, software. Windows Audio Recorder really won’t get you very far if you want to make a career out of production! You need to get some software that will allow you to record and manipulate tracks to a professional-quality standard. There are a few different brands I could mention, but the only two you really need are Cubase and Logic Pro. Made for Microsoft and Apple respectively, these programs come with dozens of patches and effects, so you can get to work straight out of the box! There are differences, of course. Cubase’s interface is known to be slightly harder to get used to, and there are certain tools which you can get on Cubase but not Logic. However, the full versions of either should suit you perfectly.
I hope this list gives you a great start in the world of music production. Going self-employed in any niche is tough. However, you’ll never know until you try!
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