Skip to main content

The Creative System of Producing

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
  • 561 Accesses

Part of the book series: Leisure Studies in a Global Era ((LSGE))

Abstract

Producing is one of the most elusive and least understood of all the tasks of commercial record production. In commercial record production the record producer is the person who has overall creative control across the duration of the recording project and is responsible for the musical, technical and aesthetic decisions that fulfil the needs of the artist and (if necessary) the requirements of the record company or music publisher. Each recording project is unique and the record producer’s responsibilities often change to meet the needs of each individual recording project (Burgess in The Art of Record Production, Omnibus Press, London, 2013). This chapter provides an alternative take on the creative system of producing in the recording studio by first contextualizing the domain and field so they apply to the creative system of producing. Side B presents specific examples of the creative system of producing in action including Sylvia Massy’s creative practice of eliciting a performance and Rick Rubin’s creative process of matching artists with the most appropriate musical material.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD   99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • 60 Minutes Australia. (2013). Extra Minutes: Aerosmith (Steven Tyler and Joe Perry on Walk This Way). Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE7A0xh4zNI. Last accessed Apr 2018.

  • Albini, S. (2010). Steve Albini Interview. Leeds Beckett University. Published on December 9, 2010. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRAc3hx5pok. Last accessed Apr 2018.

  • Anthony, B. (2017, December 1–3). The Producer’s Vision: A Study into the Multi-faceted Cognitive Design of the Popular Music Recording Aesthetic. Presented at the 12th Art of Record Production Conference, The Royal College of Music, Stockholm, Sweden.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blake, A. (2009). Recording Practices and the Role of the Producer. In N. Cook, E. Clarke, D. Leech-Wilkinson, & J. Rink (Eds.), The Cambridge Companion to Recorded Music (Cambridge Companions to Music) (pp. 36–53). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P. (1993). Field of Cultural Production (R. Johnson, Ed.). New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J. (2009). Rick Rubin: In the Studio. London: ECW Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burgess, R. J. (1997). The Art of Record Production. London: Omnibus Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burgess, R. J. (2013). The Art of Music Production: The Theory and Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1988). Society, Culture and Person: A Systems View of Creativity. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), The Nature of Creativity: Contemporary Psychological Perspectives (pp. 325–329). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grow, K. (2016). Rick Rubin: My Life in 21 Songs. Available from: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/rick-rubin-my-life-in-21-songs-20160211/run-dmc-and-aerosmith-walk-this-way-1986-20160209. Last accessed Apr 2018.

  • Hepworth-Sawyer, R., & Golding, C. (2010). What Is Music Production? Oxford: Focal Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jarrett, M. (2012). The Self-Effacing Producer: Absence Summons Presence. In S. Frith & S. Zagorski-Thomas (Eds.), The Art of Record Production: An Introductory Reader for a New Academic Field. Farnham: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, Q., & Gibson, D. (2010). Q on Producing. London: Hal Leonard Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • LinkedIn Learning Solutions. (2016). Sylvia Massy: Unconventional Recording|Lynda.com from LinkedIn. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJu_OrfPCDA. Last accessed May 2018.

  • Loudwire. (2016). DMC: The Real Story of Aerosmith + Run-D.M.C.’s ‘Walk This Way’. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ikJrtxRovl. Last accessed June 2018.

  • Massy, S. (2010, January). Tool Meets the AKG C1000: The Birth of a New Vocal Mic? Mix: Professional Audio and Music Production (pp. 20–21). Penton Media Publication.

    Google Scholar 

  • Massy, S. (2016). Recording Unhinged: Creative and Unconventional Music Recording Techniques. London: Applause Theatre Book.

    Google Scholar 

  • McIntyre, P. (2012). Creativity and Cultural Production: Issues for Media Practice. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Pensado’s Place. (2014). Producer/Engineer Sylvia Massy—Pensado’s Place #184. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdjoXRafLfQ. Last accessed May 2018.

  • Perry, M. (2008). How to Be a Record Producer in the Digital Era. London: Billboard Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Red Bull Music Academy. (2017). Sylvia Massy on Hybrid Mixing. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1PmKtP1WPE. Last accessed May 2018.

  • Ro, R. (2005). Raising Hell: The Reign, Ruin, and Redemption of Run-D.M.C. and Jam Master Jay. New York: HarperCollins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sweetwater Sound. (2015). Sylvia Massy Interviewed by Sweetwater. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om9Ucp-AL0c. Last accessed May 2018.

  • Thigpen, D. (2003). Jam Master Jay: The Heart of Hip-Hop. London: MTV Books/Pocket Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, P., & Harding, P. (2017, September 6th–8th). Collective Creativity: A ‘Service’ Model of Creativity in Commercial Pop Music at PWL Studios in the 1980s. Delivered at Innovation in Music, University of Westminster.

    Google Scholar 

Recordings Cited

Film Cited

  • ‘Beat Street’. (1984). Stan Lathan (dir.). Orion Pictures.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Thompson, P. (2019). The Creative System of Producing. In: Creativity in the Recording Studio. Leisure Studies in a Global Era. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01650-0_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01650-0_9

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-01649-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-01650-0

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics