The Role of a Producer vs Engineer

This is a topic that could fill an entire book, so this short blog post will just scratch the surface.

Disclaimer: There are varying opinions on this topic, and this blog post is primarily intended for artists/bands who may be wondering or questioning the “need” for a Producer. Also, for the sake of this post, we are not referring to “producer” in the sense of modern day Hip Hop Producers like Timbaland who may be composing beats and working with artists in the studio.

It may be helpful to discuss two extreme examples of these roles. First, there’s the Steve Albini (Nirvana, Breeders, Posies etc…) type ENGINEER. Steve has given many interviews where he discusses his “ethos” on Engineering vs Producing. Essentially what he says is that he views his Engineering role as efficiently capturing the sound of the artist/band with the highest fidelity possible.

He does NOT view his role to tell the drummer how to tune their drums or which snare to use. Same for all other musicians. He is NOT going to suggest lyric changes or tell the artist the chorus needs work or to write a bridge for the song. He even goes so far to say it’s primarily up to the band to decide if every band member performed the song such that they have a keeper “take”. He sees his role to capture the “bands” sound, not to impose his “taste” on the band and he certainly isn’t going to play an instrument or compose a beat for the song.

In comparison, let’s look at a total opposite example to illustrate the role of PRODUCER - Berry Gordy of Motown fame. In addition to owning the Motown Label, in his role as producer Berry Gordy had input on everything from song lyrics, song structure, arrangements, song tempo, instrument selection and even which session musicians were used on each song.

From a practical perspective, there are dozens if not hundreds of decisions to be made during the record making process. If you list 10 of your favorite records or songs, it is highly likely the majority (if not all) will have someone listed as producer. Rarer still will be records that are self-produced by the artist. There are exceptions to every rule, but generally speaking it rare to find critically or commercially acclaimed record produced by the artist or band.

A producer doesn’t necessarily mean the person has to make all the decisions listed above by Berry Gordy, but…”someone” has to be prepared to make any one or a combination of those decisions — and do it in an objective and timely fashion. There IS a reason most of your favorite records have producers. Not quite the same, but there is also a reason why most physicians don’t operate on themselves (ha ha).

The Beatles famously had George Martin as their producer, but GM wasn’t an engineer. He relied on the skill of Geoff Emerick (Paul McCartney/Wings) or Ken Scott (David Bowie, Super Tramp) who morphed into the hybrid role of producer/engineer. This was also the case for Glyn and Andy Johns (Stones, Who, Zeppelin). Jimmy Iovine also started out as an Engineer (Springsteen, Tom Petty). It is important to recognize that Engineering & Producing ARE two distinctly separate roles which CAN be performed by one person (usually with the help of a very competent 2nd Engineer).

Even the most successful artists/bands usually rely on a trusted external advisor (producer) to assist them in objectively making the many important decisions required to keep the session on track and to help achieve the artists goals.