Also, sometimes "producer" mean the person was responsible for having the song or album put out, the person must not necessarily be in the studio doing all the recording and mixing of the artist. That's the engineers job. Maybe the producer was telling the engineers to do this and do that, the producer may not necessarily know a thing about multi track equipment. Sometimes a producer functions as both producer and recording engineer. Sometimes a big shot producer (who has no clue about tracking) just wants their name on the record for credit and being responsible for the whole project and product but pretty much the ones responsible for tracking and pressing buttons in the studios are the engineers and mixers. Sometimes they go uncredited as they get paid by their studio set fees.
I was in a compilation CD which had a person credited as producer (the person was responsible for the whole project being put together plus also owned the label). That person was never there with me in the studio. I was there. I made the songs. The producer is simply the one responsible for the project and putting it out there. We live in different states and so are the other artists in the CD compilation yet the person who put out the CD was credited as "Producer". This leads to confusion sometimes because people are going to think this "producer" is all knowing and genius. Other examples of deceit: Comedians do not write their jokes, they buy them yet they come across as geniuses. Another one: Obama's speechwriters make him look like an orator. You get where this is going? There are lots of deceitful acts out there such as the Grammy's, The Hollywood Walk of Fame, maybe even The Billboard charts. From what I understand you can actually buy a spot on The Hollywood Walk of Fame. Don't get me started with the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame. It's also pay-to-play.
I was also in a tribute album CD to a well known artist. For me to get in that CD, I paid $100 for 1 song I covered. So if there's a dozen artists there that's $1200, that pays for the CD project to be put out. All it does is it gives me credit for my resume and bragging rights that I was in a CD compilation or tribute album CD put out by such and such record label. Pay to play...
I think "director" is another tricky label. You really think Angeline Jolie knows anything about technology yet she is credited as director in her movies. She might have the main say as to how the scene needs to be played out but the cameramen, screenwriters, editors, lighting, etc behind the scenes are what created the final product (with her say). The director is simply the one responsible for directing how the project is going to go and so on. It doesn't mean they are creative geniuses. Same could be said about Kanye or Quincy. I don't even know much about P. Diddy. As dumb as he looks, I doubt he knows how to use a remote.
There should be a difference between a "Producer" and a "Recorded by". Producer gets credit and the money (I think they call this "points") and the people who recorded the material are just locals working by the hour in a studio that was rented by the band or artist or "producer". The producer is responsible for the project's outcome but the ones behind the boards I think are responsible for the "creative PRODUCTION outcome" of the final product.
This varies by genre. EDM artists seem to have their own studios in their bedroom which is why sometimes there is no such thing as a "producer" credited because the artists themselves made their own albums. Although sometimes the head of the label may want their ego stroked and put their name on the CD as "producer", a broad term. True, they put out the CD but were they in the studio doing all the creativity?
Another example of being "broad", Leslie Gore may be known for the "It's My Party" song, but those 3 people credited in parenthesis were the ones responsible for writing it. They got credit and the royalties. Leslie got the fame, not sure how her royalties are distributed (performance royalty maybe, but not songwriter royalty?).
Q was a vice president of Mercury records, he produced it, he didn't write it
