Want to follow in the footsteps of your favourite producers and make music for a living? Learn how you can launch your dream career in music production here!
At dBs Institute, we’ve helped countless students achieve their dream of becoming professional music producers, sound engineers and music industry professionals through our industry-focused music production courses.
It’s a tough industry to crack, but with motivation, perseverance and a dedication to practising the technical skills required, starting your career in music production doesn’t have to be a pipedream.
To give you a helping hand, we’ve created an ultimate guide to starting your career in music production, from getting to grips with music production software and starting a music production portfolio to releasing your music through labels, building a community and growing your audience. Learn how you can become a professional music maker and producer here!
Everyone has to start somewhere. Even the greatest producers in the history of music had no idea what they were doing at one point - some of them would probably say they still don’t!
Learning the basics, experimenting with music production software, and sharpening your skills as a music maker are the initial steps for everyone wanting a successful career in the music industry.
So, whether you’re a novice or experienced, but are trying to take your skills to the next level, getting to grips with the basics of music production is an essential step in your journey towards your dream career.
If you’re serious about getting into music making in the 21st century, there is some hardware and software you will need to get started. Across the music industry, DJs, producers, music makers and engineers all use similar tools and it’s important to have a broad understanding of what you need to learn, so you can help make legendary music like our friend Gordon!
Whether you’re a Mac or PC user, the music production process requires a decent computer with plenty of storage space and a fast CPU. Much of the software used to produce music is CPU-intensive and the more complex your production gets, the more intense your CPU usage will be! Do yourself a favour and get yourself a good laptop if you’re serious about getting into music production as a career.
A Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) keyboard reflects the style of a piano and features additional buttons, wheels and sliders that simplify the music production process ‘in the box’. These tools patch into your Digital Audio Workstation (more on that next) and allow you to quickly compose your music and control a variety of virtual instruments, synthesisers and samples.
These are on the desk of every music producer who works using software and they’re relatively inexpensive, so getting your hands on a new or second-hand one will give you a good head start.
Digital audio workstations (DAWs) are software that allow you to record, edit, sample, produce and manipulate sound and music. These revolutionary pieces of software transformed the world of music production in the late 90s and early 00s, as home computers became standard in homes, offices and studios globally.
Several DAWs, that you may already be familiar with, have ruled the music industry for decades. These include:
Although other DAWs are worth looking at, these are the industry-standard programmes that it’s well-worth having a firm understanding of. Many of these programmes are freely available on a trial period, so experiment and find out which one you find the most user-friendly before committing.
Students on our music production courses use Ableton, Logic Pro and Pro Tools, this variety ensures they have the skills and experience to produce music on a number of professional tools and to a professional standard.
Software synthesisers, or softsynths, are digital renders of analogue synths, with many of the same functionalities as their physical counterparts. Synthesisers are used by music producers to ‘synthesise’ sound by generating and manipulating waveforms and are often employed for ‘designing’ the sounds that make their way into a track. For example, you could create a beefy Reese Bass for your drum and bass tune through the process of sound design using a softsynth.
Arguably the best-known softsynths on the market are Serum and Phase Plant; both used by professional music makers across the globe to shape the sounds they work with.
Virtual Studio Technology (VST) plugins are pieces of software that allow producers to work with a huge variety of instruments, synthesisers and effects hardware without buying the physical products. VSTs are essentially virtual instruments and effects that plug into your favourite DAW and provide music makers with countless instrumentation options to experiment and compose.
‘Plugins’ is the umbrella term for what’s been described in this section. Plugins are software that augments the functionality of computer programmes like Ableton Live or Logic Pro.
In the music production context, plugins can include everything from EQs, compressors, limiters, VSTs, softsynths and much more. They integrate seamlessly with your DAW to provide additional functionality that allows you to produce in more sophisticated and professional ways and access the analogue gear professional producers use at mixing desks - but in a digital environment.
Now you know the hardware, software and equipment needed to get started, the next thing to do is dive in and begin experimenting with the basics of music production.
Whether you decide to use Ableton Live, Logic Pro, FL Studio, Cubase or any of the other DAWs available, begin by learning how to navigate the programme and how to create a simple beat or sound, depending on the type of music you’re interested in working with.
Starting with the basics is always a good idea when learning something new. Begin by:
This is a time when there is no pressure on what you produce. What you make doesn’t have to be good - what is important is to learn where everything ‘lives’ on the programme and to become familiar with the processes behind making a track.
Most of these programmes will have in-programme and online resources to help you get started, so check them out and get stuck in!
By now, you’ll have decided on the DAW you prefer, sourced a range of VSTs, softsynths and other plugins that you feel comfortable using and have experimented with the basics of music production. Hopefully, you have the beginnings of a track that you’re happy with. Once you have the seed of an idea that sounds good, develop that to its endpoint and think about sharing it!
Platforms like Soundcloud, Bandcamp and YouTube aren’t only for established producers and DJs, they are great tools for developing a music production portfolio. It can be hard to share your work, but getting feedback from your peers is one of the best ways you can improve. By being brave and putting your work out there, your confidence will grow and you can begin the important process of letting go of a project so you can move on to the next.
Take the leap and begin sharing some of your music. Experiment with a variety of genres to show your dexterity, collaborate with other producers, remix your favourite tracks into different styles and produce music that shows off your unique set of skills.
If you’re not ready to share your work publicly, share a private link with some trusted friends and producers you know to get some initial feedback.
Transitioning from a hobbyist music producer to a professional music maker isn’t simple, but it’s certainly not impossible! Several routes are available for a career in music production, from the educational route to the self-taught route, which we will explore here.
One of the best ways to start your dream career as a music producer is to study a course in music production. By going down the educational path, you will gain access to state-of-the-art studio facilities, learn the skills and techniques you need from tutors who have decades of experience and gain all of that knowledge amongst peers who share your interests and could even become collaborators or important industry contacts in the future.
Yes, it is possible to learn everything you need to start a career in music production without formal education, but you won’t have the guidance, support and time and space to focus on your craft that you get by studying a degree or diploma course.
At dBs Institute, we’ve been providing degree and diploma-level courses in music production and sound and audio for more than 25 years and have helped countless students achieve their dreams. Anaïs, who recently graduated from dBs, has gone on to tour the world and is now one of Hospital Records’ most exciting artists. “Thank you dBs!!!,” she said when speaking to us about getting signed to Hospital, “I genuinely couldn’t have done it without you guys. Doing uni gave me the time to work on music and learn things in class & now I can do it full-time which is great!”
Some of the courses we teach that you might be interested in if you want to start a career in music production include:
It’s a cliché but practice does make perfect. Once you have developed the skills in music making, sound design and arrangement you need to become a music producer, one of the key things to do is to keep practising. Repetition of your workflow alongside some experimentation is the only way to improve.
As well as practising the ‘hard skills’ it’s also important to hone the ‘soft skills’ that make a successful music producer. Networking online and in person, social media promotion and defining your ‘brand’ are all important parts of becoming a producer. Begin reaching out to other producers you admire, share your music with them, see if they have any feedback and start thinking about where you see yourself within your scene and how you want to promote yourself. All of these steps are vital and you should start thinking about them as soon as possible. Practice being a producer, not just the process of production.
Wherever you’re located in the world, finding the people who like the music you like and creating a community around your shared interests is a great way to begin cultivating a music scene in your local area.
Not only will it help you find valuable friends, but it can also help you begin the process of starting a fanbase, building a network of collaborators and finding people who have skills you don’t so you can all grow together.
Community-building is one of the most important things you can do to start the journey towards a career as a music producer. You never know where you or your friends will go and having people around you who can support your music and your live performances and who you can rely on for help is an under-appreciated stage of developing your career.
Find out how building a community helped Manami - a DJ, producer and dBs graduate - forge a career which has seen her perform at Boiler Room and support the likes of BICEP and Orbital.
So, you’ve developed the fundamental music production skills you need to make the music you’re hearing in your head, you’ve built a community of like-minded people around you and you’re either studying a music production course or you’ve just graduated from one; how do you translate those new skills and knowledge into establishing yourself into the wider community? Let's find out.
Record labels are an essential way for music producers to get their music out into the world, whether you start your own or work with an established imprint. Labels have the knowledge, infrastructure and budget to distribute the music they sign to a much wider audience than you can do independently - although many music producers choose to stay independent, and that’s fine too!
Find the record labels that have been releasing music from your favourite artists, see whether they put on events as well as release music and try and consume as much of what they do as possible. This will give you a great sense of what your favourite labels are looking for. Network with the artists who are releasing music on your favourite labels and see if you can get direct email addresses or social media handles for the A&R contacts at those labels.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to the relevant people you need to speak to directly, share your music but also show your interest and admiration for what they’re doing. All networking is about give and take, don’t harass or harangue people with constant messages, offer help, be kind and interested and share your music once you’ve established a connection. If you don’t receive a reply from the labels you’re reaching out to, don’t pester them but don’t give up either. It only takes one reply to get the ball rolling.
Whether we like it or not, having an online audience is intrinsic to being a music producer in the 21st century. Social media, digital radio stations, the internet and online platforms like Spotify, Bandcamp and Soundcloud are how most people find new music.
You need to be where people are looking, so set up a Bandcamp, Spotify and Soundcloud account and start dropping your music on there. Be active on social media, but be authentic to who you are - people can spot someone jumping on trends from a mile away. Grow an online presence through consistency and by connecting with other like-minded people online.
The internet isn’t the real world, so having an online presence alone isn’t going to propel you towards your dream career, but it’s an important part of the journey.
Getting out there into your local or neighbouring towns and cities and performing live is an essential part of starting your dream career in music production. Keep abreast of the local gig promoters, dig into the types of artists they are working with and see if and where you fit.
By getting a local gig or DJ set, you can show your music to an engaged audience who, if they like you, will come to see you again and tell their friends. Performing live is another great method of ingratiating yourself into the local music scene and by getting out there as much as possible, other promoters will begin to notice you and your gigging calendar will begin to fill.
Performing live can be a nerve-wracking experience, but it can help you share your music and you will only get better through repetition, so get out there and get involved!
Want to kickstart your career in music production? Learn more about us and our music production courses on our website or at an Open Day!