You Need The Producer Files

Here’s what nobody tells you about being a full-time producer:The guy making $2,000 a week right now?16 months ago, he was serving tables and rationing $10 per day just to eat. Most producers guard their "financial reality" like it's a government secret. They'll show you their studio setup, their credits, their opinions… but ask them how to navigate financial decisions? Nothing. This leaves producers stumbling around in the dark, wondering: Can producers really survive in this economy? How...

It used to be much easier to help full-time producers grow and much harder to help newer producers break into the market.But over the past year or so, I've noticed a big shift...The established producers (already full-time) are actually having a much harder time adapting in this era, while the newer producers are growing faster than ever. Is this just the previous generation making way for the new one? Or is it something deeper? I think I’ve figured out why this is happening more rapidly than...

This is currently my favorite business model for producers who run home studios:Threads/Outreach → Hourly Session/Studio Tour → Project Rate → Retainer + Royalties The result? $6K (average month) to $16K (good month).And if your studio isn't in a great market, just supplement with remote clients (still for full production work). We've also found that when you lead with yourself as a producer first (and the studio second), it's easier to increase your rate per song. I assume that's because if...

Trying to "figure out" your career as a producer can be a trap. That's one of the most liberating truths I’ve discovered after years of working with producers. I know it may sound odd because everyone seems to be searching for the right way to build their career... Sometimes we are convinced that someone else has cracked the code or that there’s a formula we’ve somehow missed. And I know that sounds rich coming from me... I'm guilty of naming my YouTube videos this way (e.g. path, formula,...

There's a pattern I see with producers who constantly get ghosted after sending proposals. You might be missing one 3-second step that could land you 30% more projects. It's embarrassingly simple, but nearly everyone skips it. Have you ever experienced this? You have a promising call with an artist or their manager You spend hours crafting the perfect proposal You send it off with high hopes Then... nothing but silence By the time you realize you've been ghosted, it's usually too late to...

Remote music production has some unique advantages, but also some gnarly challenges. The artist is ready to go now, but the producer has a waitlist and can't start until later... Artist gets impatient. Then the project finally starts, but now the artist is delaying it by not sending vocals... Producer gets impatient. Being able to live anywhere while attracting clients from all over the world is an amazing business... I myself generated $1M with this business model back in my 20s. But without...

$2,500 per song for indie work sounds impressive. Until you realize you can't do enough of them each month to hit your financial goal. You can learn something from this... I'm working with a producer in Canada who came to me with a challenge. His goal is to scale to $8K / month in freelance work while still preserving 20-30% of his time for speculative projects (writing camps, sync, label work). The situation looked fine on the surface: He charges $2,500 CAD per song Canada's grant system...

"What's the difference between producers that earn 6-figures per year and producers that don't?" That's the question I answer in this episode. I had a call this week with a producer in LA who's in his mid-twenties, is freelancing full-time, and he just got his first major label cut. I was impressed with his question because it was specific... He wasn't asking "how do I make more money?"He wanted to know the exact differences between producers at his level and those making six figures. After...

Major label producer... Making content... Two things you rarely hear in the same sentence. That's why I'm certain you'll find this podcast episode a required listen. I sat down with Pete Covington, a touring guitarist, songwriter, producer, and mixer from Australia working with both indie and major label–supported artists. In March of 2023, he came off a big tour and decided to go all-in on studio work. But that wasn’t going to be so easy... Pete comes from the more "traditional side" of the...

Yesterday I was talking to a producer about his experience working across different genres, and it reminded me of this... A few years ago, I was managing a producer who was obsessed with a particular sub-genre of pop/electronic music that was popular at the time. We worked hard to help him break into that scene, landing him new projects writing, producing, and mixing for artists in this market. Three months later, we sat down to audit his quarter and he seemed... just off. "I love the music...