You Need The Producer Files

The best way to start making money as a producer / mixer is actually the worst way to make it sustainable and profitable. Most people don't realize this, which is a big mistake. Here's why... It creates 2 situations: A. You can make some money, but never feel 100% certain enough to give up your day job / side gigs. or... B. You quit your day job / side gigs anyway (to claim full-time status), but in reality you're not truly making a full-time income. At least not consistently. There is a...

Most successful freelance producers I work with hit the same wall around $100K per year... They've figured out how to book clients and charge solid rates, but then they get stuck: I'm already busy! But I have 7 new pending projects. Will they all say yes at once and crush me? Or will they all bail and leave me scrambling to find new work in a few months? How do I balance this? This constant stress of living in "proposal purgatory" is exactly what prevents producers from scaling beyond just...

10 years ago, my music production company used a very underrated business tactic... It helped us attract new clients, grow our brand, and expand our network all in one shot.It still works today, but I haven't noticed many producers actually doing it, probably because they've never even thought about it.I made a podcast episode that explains it and walks you through all of the steps...You can listen to it here: An Underrated Tactic Producers Use To Attract Clients Produce prosperously,Daniel...

The biggest gift I could give any producer isn't a connection, strategy, or paid opportunity... It's the ability to make good decisions. "I could do this, but I could also do that. What should I do?" If that sounds familiar, you're about to learn why most producers stay overwhelmed (and how to fix it). I want you to hear a real conversation between my team and a producer wrestling with a classic dilemma: Should he focus on freelance work that pays now? Should he say "yes" to an offer from a...

There's a simple negotiating trick that can save you from devaluing your work as a freelance music producer. Even if you never see a penny in royalties...Producers working with indie artists sometimes get confused about whether or not they should ask for royalties. I've seen a few different approaches... Some producers opt to only do "work for hire" when working with independent artists. They just get a fee for their work and no royalties on the back-end. The reasoning is that they feel it...

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...