The Savvy Producer | Productivity and Efficiency in Music Production

The music industry is in a bad place... artists are barely getting paid from streaming, the monetary value of music is plummeting and venues/promotors aren't exactly helping either. There's no hiding from this, but in this episode I wanted to share some silver linings and positives about working in music right now. I talk about

- Why there's never been a better time for audience building

- How industry gatekeepers have been pushed aside

- How music discovery is in a better place than ever

- Why I couldn't have built my mastering business 20 years ago

Marsden Mastering - https://marsdenmastering.com/

So how do you actually build a client base? I'm asked about this almost daily and it's something I love nerding out about, so I figured it was probably time I recorded an episode about it. I cover:

- The 5 things that haven't worked for me

- The lead generation method that my mastering business is built on

- Why social media doesn't have to be stressful

www.marsdenmastering.com

Lower income, long hours, no free time and unhappy clients - These are all risks of spending too long on your mixes. In this episode I wanted to share my advice when comes to speeding up your workflow, so that you can boost your hourly pay, take on more projects and get better mixes while you're at it! I explore:

- The two biggest factors in speeding up your mixing

- Why mixing faster delivers better results

- How to be more instinctive when you're mixing

Marsden Mastering - ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://marsdenmastering.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Are you sabotaging perfectly good mixes? This episode was inspired by an Instagram post I made last week that good some really good conversations going about the things that can ruin a great mix. I talk about:

- Why you should use limiters with care

- The one opinion that matters more than anybody else's when it comes to a great mix

- Why you might be ruining your low-end

Marsden Mastering - ⁠⁠⁠https://marsdenmastering.com/⁠⁠⁠

Things change a lot when you've been working on your craft for years and years and sometimes, you wish you'd learned those lessons sooner in your career. In this episode I wanted to share three big differences in the way I work now vs when I was just starting out. I talk about

- Why I love working on headphones

- Why you should go against the grain and be different

- How trying to desperately prove your worth could be holding you back

- The biggest factor in being decisive in the studio

Marsden Mastering - ⁠⁠https://marsdenmastering.com/⁠⁠

This week we have Boston-based producer and mixer Owen Korzec on the show. We deep dive into Owen's unique approach to communicating with artists and getting the best out of their project, his studio workflows as a multi-instrumentalist and what he feels makes a great finished production.

Follow Owen:

⁠Instagram⁠

⁠Website⁠

TikTok

Marsden Mastering - https://marsdenmastering.com/

If you're like most engineers, you probably can't stand the tedious, non-creative tasks like mix prep, editing and file organisation. They sap your creative energy and waste time that could have been spent actually producing or mixing! But what if you never had to do them again? Automating them with something like Keyboard Maestro could be the answer. In this episode I talk about:

- How macros can allow more time for creativity

- Why automating non-creative tasks increases your hourly pay

- My plan for implementing more macros into my workflow over the next few weeks

Freebie - How busy music producers can crush their schedule and keep their clients happier, without stress or overwhelm - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠marsdenmastering.com/trello⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Marsden Mastering - ⁠https://marsdenmastering.com/⁠

This week I want to tell you about a mastering session that wasn't quite going to plan and the realisation that turned the whole track around. I learned a massive lesson from this that can apply to every part of music production or freelancing in general. In this episode, I cover:

- The mastering session from hell

- How the biggest results come from the things you have the discipline not to do

- How to get out of a creative rut and produce your best work

Marsden Mastering - ⁠https://marsdenmastering.com/⁠

If you only take one piece of advice into 2024, make it this. In this episode I talk about:

- The mistake that holds producers back the most

- How you might be promising too much to potential clients

- How you can make sure you're going above and beyond on every project

Marsden Mastering - ⁠https://marsdenmastering.com/⁠

This week we have Nashville based, award winning mix engineer Brent Hendrich on the podcast chatting about how he niched down into mixing pop music, his approach to efficiency, templates and how he balances that with creativity, and some thoughts on the future of the industry when it comes to Atmos.

Follow Brent:

Instagram

Website

Marsden Mastering - ⁠https://marsdenmastering.com/⁠