Being a music producer has a lot to do with the love and passion for the profession. Many of the producers, when talking about how they started, discloses that their is an iota of compassion for drums and instruments when they were growing up, before they turn their love to profession.

Also, talent can’t be debase here, as many are well gifted in making sounds and much so, they have good ears for beat and they know when the sound is a jam.

As an aspiring music producer, you may have listened to top producers, saying they makes beat under 30 minutes, yeah, but before that is achievable, it takes a lot of mastering the kraftof music production before turning to a wicked producer.

Noticeably, analog studio, or you may call it virtual studio is going into extinct, digital studio has taken over, from your phone, to your laptop, you can carry a studio around, but as the wants widen, so is the needs.

Back to the mata, these are things you should know as as aspiring Nigerian music producer

How to Learn

Learning music production in Nigeria can be achieved through many process. Like i said earlier, love for the art, makes many to learn independently at start. Starting from getting a personal computer and “stumbling” on a software, that’s how many started. Imageline FL Studio is a great software, more than half of the producers in the industry started with FL Studio and it still got their back in their respective careers. Other software like Cubase and Ableton Live are what other started with as a rookie till they turned professionals.

“Clinching” is another form of learning, lobbying in studio with a producer, for long and see how things are done, a times with a certain amount of money involved and dim some without any. This is the major way many learns the trade, even some who have elementary knowledge of using the software. Don’t forget, experience is the best teacher.

Schools like Tenstrings and National Music school are preeminent institutions to also learn.


Cost of Learning

Cost differs with reputation. A source hit a topnotch producer in the industry on Twitter, the producer has letter P somewhere in his name, he has worked with artiste like P-square. A number was given to the source to call after the source DM the producer his intention to learn music production. The source called the number and someone picked the call, identifying himself as the manager of the producer. He told the source that, he’d need to pay N250,000 to learn music production for one and half month.

Also, a young producer was conversed with on Whatsapp, who requested N80,000 for about 2-3 months. One thing that makes studying production more costly is learning of instruments like piano and keyboard.

A budding producer was willing to teach an aspirant for free but stressed that the rookie must learn how to play keyboard first before he can help.

Undoubtedly, learning keyboard is key in music production. Most songs in Nigeria are played on the same drum patterns and instrument but keyboard changes the beats completely.

Music schools also varies with their requested cost, Midas production, a music school based in Ibadan, Oyo state, contacted through Whatsapp replied that they charge N40,000 for music production course.

Success

Just like any business, being a successful music producer requires lot of hard work, to create a success story. Popular music producer brothers, Zei and Mutay of Legendury Beatz, in an interview, said they goes to every show, wooing artistes, before they became a force to reckon in the industry.

Personal and craft development is require to stay relevant, as software used by producers are upgraded always, others instruments like mixer are also revised to create a better and simpler version.

A producer needs to stay relevant with every newer version.


Payment

As a producer’s status rises with hit songs on the resume, so does the pay. A report by Information Nigeria, stated that topmost producer, Don Jazzy, charges a million naira for a beat, while others like Shizzi and Legendury Beatz commands N500,000 or slightly lesser. Others collects much lesser up to N5,000 for a beat.

Contracts is another way of making much money in production, from signing a record deal with a label, like Young John on YBNL or signing an artiste, Don Jazzy Is a good example.

Producers have cried foul play most times, insisting they deserve much more than what they got, after creating a banger for an artiste, the cry for royalties as they said.

A good agreement must be in place before a working relationship and once the agreement is met by both parties, no izzue afterwards.

Town Pitch

For Fourmoola.com





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