How can I become an INHOUSE PRODUCER?

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BIGMOZ

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Does anyone have any idea how I can become an inhouse producer for any lable? I do beats, and I think my beats are good enough where I can join a team, and with their help, and knowledge (on mixing, eq, everything), I can start to get tracks played on the radio. Im lost at the moment, because all I do is do beats, and I sell licensing to rappers and such but its not enough.... I want to join a team, so I can learn from their and take my tracks to the next level....Im just lost on how to do it. Does anyone have any info on this?


http://www.soundclick.com/pro/default.cfm?BandID=39897&content=music
 
Theres no way you can do it unless you have a really solid relationship with the label. Either you know people WELL, and you've produced hits.

Or you produced a number of hits for artists on their label, and you've proven yourself. Either way, you need to have a strong relationship with the label.

You shouldn't need "the team" to take your tracks to the next level. You should already be at that level in the first place to even consider a label...

You have to make them come to you....

Most hip hop labels already have in house producers in the first place, so its virtually impossible to even try....Hell, its hard to produce a cat on a label if your an unknown w/o any connections to them...

On the reals, most labels/artists already have their own producers...Usually their homeboys/roomates/ cousins/ wifey's brother's cousins.......Hell- its not hard to find someone YOU KNOW to make you a beat....

Sorry guy
 
i'm no pro on the industry by any measure, but what i do know is that a large part of being successful (if making money and becoming well known is your measure of success, that is - incidentally that is not how i see it) means knowing the "right" people, and being in the right place at the right time.

unfortunately, it is not always about skill. . .

from what i have heard from friends who have tried to break in, sometimes the best way to get yourself in the door is to take some menial job at a studio - scrubbing toilets even. i guess it all depends on the path that is important to each individual to follow. regardless, we could all use some luck, no? so good luck, bigmoz. i hope to hear your ish on the radio soon!

peace and prosper
 
hey big -

real quick, i just wanted to say that i just listened to your tracks on soundclick and they sound nice. go get that foot in the door, kid!

5000
 
There is only one thing that will get you in.....


Stalking.

Yes, thats right, stalking.

You gotta find these people who run the show, wait for a moment when they are not doing anything important, then waltz right up with a (GOOD!!!!!) boombox let and let those beats rip. (.....and make sure the beat is playing before they notice you. That way when they first hear it they are not already in the state of mind where you are some psychopathic serial killer.
 
Gamez I read your post but you made it a catch 22.... for one there are alot of lables out there that have inhouse producers that arent making #1 hits... Its not as if every inhouse producer is a platinum, or gold selling producer... and youre kind of making it like I have to allready be an inhouse producer to become an inhouse producer. Im sure most inhouse producers start at lower levels, maybe on the sidelines before becoming full fledge team-mates...


No disrespect meant. Thanks, and Id appreciate any other info u guys have.
 
Gamez actually made very valid points in which I agree with. Sh!t ain't no cakewalk. Why would you wanna be an inhouse producer anyway? Unless your with somebody like Shady/Aftermath, Rocafella or big dogs like that it's kinda pointless. And you wanna make sure you sign a clause that allows you to do work for outside acts... or else you might be really starvin if your stuck to the confines of your label.

Anyway.. I somewhat agree with the stalking comment as well. If you can catch them off guard... and they're willing to give you a chance to play some of your tunes... go for it. It's really a shot in the dark.. but by all means a shot in the dark usually hits target and leads to somethin big. Take a look at Kanye... altho he already had work and a few business connections.. he ran up in the Rocafella offices all the time.. and finally go chance to approach Dame and Jay about business.
 
BigMoz

They said it man, you need some publicity, something to get them to come to you. Get on some mixtapes or something.

as a matter of fact...check out this link. if u wanna be apart of it, holla on there

https://www.futureproducers.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=38725

i peeped your songs, i remember hearing them a while back, i think "my homiez" is tight you should consider using that. you got a nice westcoast flavor in your tracks reminicent of early dre and 213 flava.

peace
 
BigMoz, I feel what you're saying about getting in "The In Crowd" of production at its highest level which is producing for a label or plain producing hits that labels buy into. And judging from what many of our colleagues have stated, it is imperative that we have industry connections at the level we want to be at. For me the solution became simple.

I have over 20 years of djing skills and I was into step programming House Tracks back in the early eighties when House grew out of Chicopolis, IL 606?? and now with having my own home studio that I've built over the last 3 years, I've decided to take the guess work out of production and also get the industry connections I need so dearly. I've decided to get professional training as a producer by grammy award winning instructors and professors at Studio Chicago. Now Studio Chicago is no small cheap studio by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, it's the premier, multi million dollar, state-of-the-art production facility in the midwest. It also has an impressive list of clients that include: Britney Spears, Smashing Pumpkins, Warner Bros Records, Universal Records, Linkin Park, Cash Money Millionaires, Twister, DMX, and many other top acts and labels. I'll be attending their 4 month Producer Boot Camp which will set me back close to $4,000. Here's my list of 10 reasons I chose this route.

1. I get instant connectivity to the industry being an apprentice of their program.
2. Extensive training on the SSL Boards, Yamaha 02R Digital Mixing Console, Analog Tape Machine, Pro Tools, Mic Placement, Sound Engineering, and the whole nine yards etc.
3. I'll work with live professional musicians on all my projects. (I'll have the pro's playing my sh!t that I've composed)
4. Instructors are grammy award winning producers who are also professors of music at DePaul and Columbia .
5. Small class size (no more than 5 students)
6.State-of-the-art production facility (multi million and huge)
7. In house premier mastering facility.
8. Impressive list of INDUSTRY clients (I'll get to work on their projects)
9. Boot Camp is industry certified.
10. Career Placement

So to sum things up, I'm pretty much gonna pay my way into the game, although I know a lot now. I just want to get the correct knowledge, training, and certification that will help take my productions to the top. And also to get those many connections throughout the industry I'll need and to take the guess work out of production. This is the route I'm going to take and I know it will be a wise choice. Sorry for the long post
:)
 
SSTM, Thanks for the long post. You dont know how appealing a program like that sounds to me. Id be willing to put out 5 grand for a school like that....Im in LA county in California, and the schools we have MUSICIANS INSTITUTE or others cost over 20,000 per year... But the program youre talking about sounds great. Do you have any tips on how I could look into a program like that in my region? I looked up "INHOUSE PRODUCER" on google, and didnt get much guidance there....and if I could, let me ask you some questions about your program.


1. How often do you attend class during the 4 month period? Daily, or once a week?

2. How much previous knowledge do you have to have in the studio before you can take such a course? Would I allready have to know about large mixers, and protools and such, or would they start me from scratch and teach me the road?

Honestly, good luck with your program...sounds like something I HAVE to get into...Im lost at this point. thanks again.
 
BigMoz, I'm glad that my post have struck an accord with you. To answer your first question, the 4 month course meets on weekends (day and hours will vary depending on what training session you're on). They also have the weekday course in which you can get the training in 2-3 weeks. It's the same training and facitity and instructors as the 4 month course. To answer your second question, no experience necessary. You'll get top notch training from a-z. Let me point out that those with experience can test out of a course. However, for me, I'm taking the whole nine. I just don't want to miss any knowledge these instructors want to teach me being big headed thinking I already know this or that. I'm going in as a newbie although I'm old (42) and have some experience. Oh yea by the way, the program is called Music Industry Workshop (MIW) and here's the web address: www.miworkshop.com MIW's training is held exclusively at Studio Chicago.

Bigmoz, email them and let them know what your interest are and maybe they can recommend a similar program in your area. I do know tha MIW has branched out west and out east. So log onto their site and take a look at what their producer boot camp has to offer as well as other training programs. It gives the courses and their objectives. Man you're getting me excited because I don't start until January. P.S. check out their long Industry guest list, this place is the place for signed artist's and major labels (very impressive). I went on their tour of their facility one Sunday afternoon and was floored. The place is huge, clean, state of the art, comfortable client lounge with full bar etc. Let me know what you think after you've visited their site.
 
BIGMOZ,

We got a program like that here in Phoenix. Its one of the best schools in the country. Its $12k plus you have to go do an internship somewhere in the country which they will help you get.

But it is the only school who actually CERTIFIES you on ProTools.

I am going to go here but I gotta go join the army or something first to get the GI Bill to pay for it.

But ya, like that other school, you learn all the ins and outs of analog tape, splicing and repair, sound design, mixers, and outboard gear.....syncing with video, folio work. More than you may need for Hiphop....but you never know.


www.cras.org
 
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Just checked out their site. Really nice layout. And their programs are exactly what Im looking for. I emailed them about schools in the future in LA, or any other schools that they know of so Im waiting their response. Thanks again for your help... and if you can keep me updated on your schooling if u get the chance. Im at: BIGMOZ@sbcglobal.net



Id like to stay in touch.
 
BigMoz, I'll be right here, I'm not going anywhere. I'll keep you informed on how my training is going. One of my goals is to transfer as much knowledge to others what I've know and learn. By the way, I already have two future producers waiting in the wings for me to teach them all that I know. Actually their two young prolific rapper's/composers that I'm producing exclusively and their goal is to be producers in the future (after I get them their first deal). By the way, I'll be taking two business courses prior to my January starting date. One is called Producing Hip Hop (three hour course $79) and Forming Your Own Record Label (three hour course $79). I'm going to take these courses in October or November. :)
 
My lil 15 minutes of fame.....

I was a huge fan of Jam & lewis back in the day and i really wanted to get on as a in house beatmaker for their FlyteTyme studio. Of course i had no idea how to go about it. What i did was go to the Colorado Institue of Art for the music business course to gain some knowledge and meet others like myself.
In my 2 years there i met several rappers and rnb singers who i worked with and eventually clicked with a particular rapper whom i formed a group with. We did some local shows and produced a couple albums, nothing that jumped off but a great experience. We started to get serious and began to attend music expos out of state. The one we frequented was the Black Music Expo in Minneapolis which we entered in for about three years. Come to find out, my partner knew several folks from his old stomping grounds in Wisconsin who were involved in a new group that were signed to Jam & lewis' Perspective label by the name of The Sounds of Blackness. They came out to see us perform several times and offered to manage us. The two main people instrumental in this deal were lead singer Ann Nesby and her soon to be husband and manager Tim.
We decided to make the move to Minneapolis to be closer to them as well as get involved in the local music scene there. We did shows and made a third album and started to make connections with Djs and radio hosts.
One night Tim and Ann decided to bring me out to FlyteTyme to meet Jam & Lewis and get my face seen since they knew how much i wanted to meet them and work at the studio. Well, to make a long story short it never worked out for me since they had two cats there who were already the in house beatmakers but just the chance to meet my idols as well as experience how stuff was done on a major level was enough for me.
I stayed out there for almost three years but eventually decided to go back home and start freelancing on my own and try different things. I still kept in contact with everybody and about a couple of years later i was asked to do a remix of a song from Ann's solo album. I was thrilled man!!! The only catch was it was a House track and they wanted to keep the remixes in that vain. Now i love some House but it was in no way my specialty, but how do you pass up a chance like that.. So i got in contact with the A&R dept. at A&M records to discuss the deal and get the vocals on DAT. They flew me out to Minneapolis to record and mix it at a local studio and Ann came down to add some live vocal stuff to compliment all the sampled stuff i did. It was an awesome experience!
I could go on to tell you how my track blew away the other producers on the project but i wouldn't be tellin the truth! My ish was okay but paled in comparison to the guys i was in competition with. If i would have known that Steve Silk Hurley, Mouse T and Blaze were the other cats i may have had second thoughts..... But hey, it was all a growing/learning process.
So that's my 15 minutes of fame on a major label gig! Although it wasn't my best stuff or my particular specialty i can't complain and i was grateful for the opportunity alone!!
So my advice to you would be to go to some music schools and workshops. Hook up with some people who share the same passion for music you do. Produce some artists and do some shows. Get out of state and attend some music expos and conferences, if only to meet MORE people like yourself or ones that are in the industry. Most importantly NETWORK!!!! NETWORK!!! NETWORK!!!!! Have demos of your own stuff as well as artists you have worked with. Get them into as many hands as you can, and be PREPARED!
Sorry for the long post ya'll, but being a newbie here i thought i would give you a lil background on myself. I'm glad i found this forum, there are some great things on here.
GOOD LUCK to you and everybody on this forum hoping to do the same thing.............GET ON!
 
Homeboy your beats are pretty hot. Out of curiosity what your set-up like.
 
Italy good post man... u said it with NETWORKING.... thats something that I havent done because of laziness.... I allways figured I would do the tracks and someone would network for me... hahaha.... didnt turn out like that.


SSTM, you got to tell me how that hiphop course turns out... let me know some of the details...I wonder if they teach you how to mix, and eq for hiphop in that course....keep us in the loop.


chazzo thanks... Most of my music is from an akai z4(for drums), a 5080, a Motif, MS2000, and waldorf....sometimes throw a triton in but i rarely use the triton any more... all sequenced and recorded in Cubase SX.
 
SSTM, i just wanted to say good luck with your program. for only 4k thats a hell of a deal. got me interested in looking for something similar here in florida. i just moved here from boston a few weeks ago, and everyone is hyped on a school named Full Sail in orlando - but its 30k! it sounds like you're getting a lot that Full Sail offers for a 6th of the price.

BIGMOZ, good luck to you too and thanks for starting a quality thread that yielded some good info. . .

5000!
 
ALLUR1, I was actually going to move to Florida temporarily for FULL SAIL... I know its got alot of prospects in there, and former students who are grammy award winners. It sounds like a real good school, but my issue is the same as yours....30,000. I know u cant put a price on education, but if you cant afford it...well...
 
Hey how's it going Italy and welcome to the forum. Thanks a lot for sharing your experience. Man that's what it's all about, getting the opportunity to perform at that level of production. You pretty much have to be ready for any opportunity that arises. By the way, who got to do the remix. I'm going to take a guess and say my main man "Steve Silk Hurley". Oh yea we go back to the mid eighties when I was on the same bill with him and "Farley Jack Master Funk" the Premier GodFather Of House Music at that time.

Alure thanks a lot for your kind gesture. Yea, is is a great deal for the training, facility, instructors and location. However, in Chicopolis it's pretty competitive as far as the music scene and these guy's just blew me away with their overall program. They are also in partnership/sponsorship with several of the local radio stations as well. MIW just puts it all together and introduces you to the industry first hand. I just want to go where the big boys work/play and throw down with them at that level period.

BigMoz, yea I'm actuall going to be taking many of MIW's business courses. I'm 42 and I'm in this for the long haul. I'm going to make producing my career. I've done a lot and have a good career now as a Credit Manager for Mitsubishi Generators. However, I'm serious about my career and I've built my own studio with top flight gear and got a pretty solid production foundation established. I want to get my credentials to be able to not only run my own pre-production studio, but to be able to go to any commercial studio in the world and throw down on the SSL Boards/Consoles.
 
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