How do you define the difference between a beat maker and a music producer?

Do you think it's just some petty ego thing?

Is it acceptable to be a "preset" producer in today's environment?

Are you only the "real deal" if you sound design all of your own stuff?

Does it boil down to what the individuals goals are?

Is there a noticeable difference between a "music programmer" and a live midi/instrument performance artist? And if there is a difference, does it matter?
 
A producer is anybody who ...produces. lol it can be for film, a tv show, records, a cartoon, movie, etc.

A "beat maker" is a music producer, but a music producer may or may not be a "beat maker".
Idk, producer is like the real officail word, but personally, I think a "beatsmith" sounds cooler.
 
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I guess there are differences.. a lot depends on how noble a hero you want to make yourself, haha.

In the end though.. nobody is going to care how it was made, by who, if it was a stolen idea, if the right people got paid for it,
whether they used original or pirated software or whether it came from a sample pack or whether you spend all your days in the field messing with taperecorders to capture the rustling of grassblades just right.
The moment it hits the record (or goes online) all that becomes entirely irrelevant to most people.
If it's not to you, you're probably a musician... or should be.

So yeah, it really boils down to what your personal goals are. If waiting around 5 days to capture the right field recording is what inspires you, then that's awesome. Go for it.
If flipping through presets is inspiring to you, by all means.. buy them all. Just don't do it because it makes you the 'real deal', or because you think that's how it should be done ("all the pro's do it this way"... well then, do it better, faster, smarter or cheaper...beat the pro's at their own game)

Aside from that.. I always take the difference between a beatmaker and producer as that a producer is a lot more involved. He might make the beat... as a part of producing the song or album, but he could also produce it with a beat bought from a beatmaker. A beatmaker can be halfway across the globe. A producer should be in the studio with the artist. He's the guy that either helps the artist realise their artistic vision or even helps develop that. On a big enough project, he might not even be hands on at all and really just in a directorial role.

But I guess a lot of those old terms and their roles are really relics of before the digital age. Most electronic artists nowadays do a lot of their own engineering.
Even on a lot of big records from the 70's and 80's the engineering and production is just as key to the end result as the artist's input. "executive producer" could mean anything from being a shifty loan shark, the studio boss, random friends to, you know.. actually doing something on the project.

I'm neither.. I'm a renegade funk doctor.
 
There really is only one difference between a producer and a beatmaker...

Beat makers are just that. They make beats.

Being a producer is about seeing the big picture. Find/make the right beat that will fit with the right artist(s), Make sure the recordings are the best possible, be able to tell if instruments need to be changed to better fit crowd pleasing, bring in an audio engineer who can mix and master the project in the best way possible.

Being a producer requires being able to network with a wide array of artists, audio designers, Record companies, distribution companies, as well as having a good knowledge of the business aspect of the music industry.

A beat maker really only needs to know one thing: How to make beats.
The only production a beatmaker does is 'produce the product to be worked upon'
If the beatmaker is involved with the background workings of the project then they are not a beatmaker... they are a producer or executive producer.

A producer works mainly in the background and only in the foreground if they themselves are beatmakers/artists/musicians.
If a producer makes the beat for a project, then they are still a producer.

So when it comes down to it, if a person has a hand in the business side of the project then they are a producer, if the only hand they had in it is that they made the beat (i.e. selling the beat online through a 3rd party), then they are a beat maker.
 
Great explanation Stoner Bill but truth be told cats need to focus less on semantics and stay about the music and business. The moment I produce a track is what considers me a producer.
 
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Basically a producer see's the whole song process through ie working hands on with the artists songwriters musicians engineers etc. A beatmaker just emails the beat to the artist and doesn't hear the final product until it comes out. I think its ok to use presets just as long as its not a preset that have been exhausted by everyone else. Some of the songs we love the most were made up of presets. I tend to tweak stock presets or just make my own completely. I do think making your own sounds gives you an edge because whatever software or hardware you encounter you know the techniques to navigate it and get the sound you want.
 
This topic becomes less confusing, when you figure out what each job/term means. It goes like this!

Music Producers are people who are concerned with how the song or instrumental is going to sound. Notice I said “SOUND”. The producer of a song does not have to be the writer or composer of the song. He just basically overseen how it was going to come together sonically.

Composers create music. No matter the genre. They compose melodies for songs, instrumentals, film music, tv shows, video games and theater. The melody is the music. In modern day hip hop, where a person creates original melodies for a rap song. He is the composer. The only time he’s the producer also. Is when he sits in with his engineer and makes decisions on who things are going to sound. Like fader levels on all tracks, panning of every instruments and vocals. What effects he wants to use. Basically everything sonically.

Beatmakers are people who don’t create original music, but put together a backing track threw sampling short loops, chopping loops, basically what a lot of other guys do in hip hop music. It’s a cool way to learn music making. But eventually. You should wanna start to create your own melodies and grow into a composer and keep your publishing lol. Just remember that producers jobs are not to compose anything. But to oversee compositions as to how there are gonna sound, banging threw your speakers. If you compose your own melodies and program drums and put together compositions and then take them to the next level sonically. Then you’re a composer and producer. Your mix should have your style and name written all over it. Your melodies should speak to people to let them know who you are. And the term composer is not just for people in film, tv or jazz. It’s a term for what we do as melody makers! Oh is that a term? Lol. I hope this helped.
 
In general I agree that a beat maker is one kind of music producer.

But when it comes to how the word feels, Beatmaker sounds more like it's you know... limited to beat making. I would call myself (and I do) a producer, when I'm also able to record vocals and rappers on a beat, or record music, or do anything so that a finished and polished piece of music is done. I feel like producing means making a song finished so that you can make it official for radio or youtube or whatever.
 
I think that a music producer is a category. Where a beat producer is a subcategory.
There's lots of kinds of music producers.
 
Music Producer - sees the bigger picture with the music, can make the production fit with the song and not just fitting the song to the production

Beat maker - makes beats i guess?
 
The producer is responsible for the overall sound of the song. The beat maker writes and/or plays the music.

Think about it in a traditional sense, with bands. The band members (beat makers) write and/or play the songs. The producer determines how the song will sound. The producer ddidn't write the song or play an instrument (unless he's also in the band), but will select instruments, amps, effects, mics... anything that might affect the sound of the song.

With electronic music, there's crossover where that person could be one in the same. When those folks are separate, that's when you hear folks complaining about not getting producer credit. A beat maker makes a beat under a big name producer. That producer then puts his often recognizable sound on it and the track sounds like all the other big name producer's work.
 
A beatmaker is a combination of a songwriter and producer. Songwriters write lyrics or music or both. The first part of production is choosing the instruments to play the notes the songwriter composed. In rap, r&b and electronic music. We do this at the same time. Compose music. Music meaning the melody and chord progressions. Theirs no definition for beatmaker. But if you want to use it. Cool. A songwriter is a certain type of composer. He’s a composer just specified. A producer chooses the instruments to play the music. He’s in charge of how it sounds sonically. Hope this helps.
 
This is a touchy subject due to how the industry has changed. But from my point of view a beatmaker just makes beats. Nothing wrong with it at all. A producer would be considered the one who can bring all the elements together to make a complete song. They're usually there from the beginning to the end and even after the record is released.
 
when you start recording ppl rapping or singing or whatever that's when you cross that bridge in my honest opinion. i know ppl that just make beats forever but have no clue how to bring a track to creation from start to finish that includes tracking vocals and mixing / leveling. Engineering is a whole different story all together though lol get you a good mic and some acoustic setup (not a closet lol everything will sound like you're in a box otherwise). good luck on cross that bridge my friends!
 
if you like it and you know it sounds good then what does it matter how it was made. it just works. also i think beatmaker is a designated hip hop beat maker and a producer is a more diverse music producer
 
Actually tho! When I think about it. Theirs no real definition for beatmakers. People try to make it seem like some type of knowledge ground, but it’s really just a word that’s loosely thrown around. And that title of course belongs to hip hop. Yep! Where all the negros are. Lol. We always starting something and changing a name to make it fit a description. In music period. You have a producer and you have a songwriter. That’s the geniuses right there. A songwriter writes the lyrics and vocal melodies. And a producer creates the arrangement for the song, plus oversees the recording, mixing and mastering of that song. The singer or rapper performs the song on his album or to an audience. Simple as that. It’s nothing wrong with a producer saying he makes banging beats. That’s what hip hop is partially about. Engineers help the producer enhance his music. If anything, know the difference between writing a song and producing a song. That’s more important. We producers make tracks. We’re the creative forces behind a song. Everything you hear in a song is on purpose for a reason. In hip hop, r&b, electronic and pop music. Producers create the background music first, so the songwriter can topline over what’s there. Hip hop and r&b has been done like this for like 35 years. I think other genres are catching on or caught on later. And now they practice this way of working too. Also! To be a versatile producer. Try working traditionally too. Ask a songwriter to write you a full complete song, fully structured with lyrics, melodies and chord progressions. And take that raw barebone song and produce it. As a producer, you should be able to work both ways. And as a songwriter, they should test themselves too. Stop doing 300 toplines a year. And start writing from the ground up without a producers backing track to provoke you. Provoke yourself. This way a songwriter can keep maybe 100% of your writing and publishing credits.
 
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