The History Of Music Production

The History of Music Production offers an authoritative, concise, and accessible overview of nearly 140 years of production of recorded music. It describes what role the music producer has played in shaping the creation, perception, propagation, business, and use of music, and discusses the future of the music production industry.

The guidance of a skilled music producer will always be a key factor in producing a great recording. In that sense, as Michael Zager points out in his second edition of Music Production: For Producers, Composer, Arrangers, and Students, the job of amusic producer is analogous to that of a film director, polishing work product to its finest sheen. And this is no small matter in an age when the recording industry is undergoing its most radical change in over half a century. Although innate talent and experience are key elements in the success of any music producer, Music Production serves as a roadmap for navigating the continuous changes in the music industry and music production technologies. From dissecting compositions to understanding studio technologies, from coaching vocalists to arranging and orchestration, from musicianship to marketing, advertising to promotion, Music Production takes readers on a whirlwind tour of the world of music production, letting readers keep pace with this rapidly changing profession. The focus of the second edition is on such topics as the expanded role of music supervisors, the introduction of new production techniques, and the inclusion of new terms in music industry contracts. Including new interviews with eminent industry professionals, Music Production is the ideal handbook for the aspiring music production student and music professional.

The Creative Electronic Music Producer examines the creative processes of electronic music production, from idea discovery and perception to the power of improvising, editing, effects processing, and sound design. Featuring case studies from across the globe on musical systems and workflows used in the production process, this book highlights how to pursue creative breakthroughs through exploration, trial and error tinkering, recombination, and transformation. The Creative Electronic Music Producer maps production's enchanting pathways in a way that will fascinate and inspire students of electronic music production, professionals already working in the industry, and hobbyists.

In this book, veteran music producer Richard James Burgess gives readers the tools they need to understand the complex field of music production. He defines the many roles that fall to the music producer by focusing first on the underlying theory of music production, before offering a second section of practical aspects of the job.

The field of music production has for many years been regarded as male-dominated. Despite growing acknowledgement of this fact, and some evidence of diversification, it is clear that gender representation on the whole remains quite unbalanced. Gender in Music Production brings together industry leaders, practitioners, and academics to present and analyze the situation of gender within the wider context of music production as well as to propose potential directions for the future of the field. This much-anticipated volume explores a wide range of topics, covering historical and contextual perspectives on women in the industry, interviews, case studies, individual position pieces, as well as informed analysis of current challenges and opportunities for change. Ground-breaking in its synthesis of perspectives, Gender in Music Production offers a broadly considered and thought-provoking resource for professionals, students, and researchers working in the field of music production today.

(Technical Reference). More than simply the book of the award-winning DVD set, Art & Science of Sound Recording, the Book takes legendary engineer, producer, and artist Alan Parsons' approaches to sound recording to the next level. In book form, Parsons has the space to include more technical background information, more detailed diagrams, plus a complete set of course notes on each of the 24 topics, from "The Brief History of Recording" to the now-classic "Dealing with Disasters." Written with the DVD's coproducer, musician, and author Julian Colbeck, ASSR, the Book offers readers a classic "big picture" view of modern recording technology in conjunction with an almost encyclopedic list of specific techniques, processes, and equipment. For all its heft and authority authored by a man trained at London's famed Abbey Road studios in the 1970s ASSR, the Book is also written in plain English and is packed with priceless anecdotes from Alan Parsons' own career working with the Beatles, Pink Floyd, and countless others. Not just informative, but also highly entertaining and inspirational, ASSR, the Book is the perfect platform on which to build expertise in the art and science of sound recording.

The playback of recordings is the primary means of experiencing music in contemporary society, and in recent years 'classical' musicologists and popular music theorists have begun to examine the ways in which the production of recordings affects not just the sound of the final product but also musical aesthetics more generally. Record production can, indeed, be treated as part of the creative process of composition. At the same time, training in the use of these forms of technology has moved from an apprentice-based system into university education. Musical education and music research are thus intersecting to produce a new academic field: the history and analysis of the production of recorded music. This book is designed as a general introductory reader, a text book for undergraduate degree courses studying the creative processes involved in the production of recorded music. The aim is to introduce students to the variety of approaches and methodologies that are currently being employed by scholars in this field. The book is divided into three sections covering historical approaches, theoretical approaches and case studies and practice. There are also three interludes of commentary on the academic contributions from leading record producers and other industry professionals. This collection gives students and scholars a broad overview of the way in which academics from the analytical and practice-based areas of the university system can be brought together with industry professionals to explore the ways in which this new academic field should progress.

Richard James Burgess draws on his experience as a producer, a musician, and an author in this history of recorded music, which focuses on the development of music production as both art form and profession. This comprehensive narrative begins in 1860 with the first known recording of an acoustic sound and moves chronologically through the twentieth century, examining the creation of the market for recorded sound, the development of payment structures, the origins of the recording studio and those who work there, and, ultimately, the evolution of the recording industry itself. Burgess charts the highs and lows of the industry through the decades, ending with a discussion of how Web 2.0 has affected music production. The focus remains throughout the book on the role of the music producer, and Burgess offers biographical information on key figures in the history of the industry, including Fred Gaisberg, Phil Spector, and Dr. Dre. Undergirding Burgess's narrative is the argument that while technology has historically defined the nature of music production, the drive toward greater control over the process, end result, and overall artistry came from producers. In keeping with this unique argument, The History of Music Production incorporates clear yet in-depth discussion of the developmental engagement of technology, business, and art with music production. Burgess builds this history of music production upon the strongest possible foundation: the key transitions, trends, people, and innovations that have been most important in the course of its development over the past 136 years. The result is a deeply knowledgeable book that sketches a critical path in the evolution of music production, and describes and analyzes the impact recording, playback, and disseminative technologies have had on recorded music and music production. Central to the field and a key reference book for students and scholars alike, it will stand as a companion volume to Burgess's noted, multi-edition book The Art of Music Production.