The Savvy Producer | Productivity and Efficiency in Music Production

Are you getting the most out of your portfolio? If you're like most other producers, it probably sits on your website or in your bio, waiting to be listened to in hope that somebody likes it and hires you, but there's so much more it can do for you and in this episode I wanted to unpack that. I talk about:

- How you can easily repurpose every project to generate more interest in what you do

- Leveraging credits and connections to expand your circle and bring in more of the work you love

- Why you should celebrate wins with your artists

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

Full show notes - ⁠https://marsdenmastering.com/thesavvyproducer/34

When you start out in the music industry, people will tell you that you need to "hustle", meaning you need to work around the clock, as much as you can, sacrificing your weekends and even your sleep. This is the way that a lot of really experienced producers I know still do things and it's massively hurting their growth. In this episode I wanted to share my experience with this and how I built my mastering business without working over 7 hours a day or losing my weekends. I talk about:

- Why working these long days isn't going to help you progress

- What happened when I shifted my mindset around this

- What you should actually focus on if you want a more sustainable, enjoyable music production career

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

Full show notes - ⁠https://marsdenmastering.com/thesavvyproducer/33

The music production world is one of the most saturated creative industries. If you want to hit your goals, you're going to have to make sure you stand out amongst the crowd, so in this episode I wanted to share 3 things that are certain to do that for you. The great thing is, they're easier than you think. I talk about:

- The stereotype that you have to avoid if you want success

- Why gear isn't the answer

- How you can find your people in the music industry

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

Full show notes - ⁠https://marsdenmastering.com/thesavvyproducer/32

Ever have those months where your studio is quieter than normal? I think that's natural for most freelancers, so I wanted to share the three things I think every studio owner should do when business is slow. In this episode I talk about:

- Not letting a slow month affect your motivation and determination

- Ways you can actively find more work and rebuild the momentum

- Why you should maximise this time by working on your business

- Making sure you're recharging during slow times

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

Full show notes - ⁠https://marsdenmastering.com/thesavvyproducer/31

This week I want to share four tiny tips that will take you virtually no time to apply to your production workflow and will make a massive difference to your client base, your productivity and your efficiency in the studio. In this episode I talk about:

- The one important question you should ask clients after every project

- Why Loom videos are so great for remote studio owners

- How to set boundaries without scaring clients away

- The best way to solve FAQs from your clients (and potential clients)

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

Full show notes - ⁠https://marsdenmastering.com/thesavvyproducer/30

If you want to be a successful recording engineer or producer, you need to be able to make your artists feel 100% comfortable in the studio. This is non-negotiable. If you can't do this, you artists won't be able to fully express themselves and their music (as well as your portfolio) will suffer. I've recorded hundreds of musicians over the years, so I wanted to share some things I've picked up when it comes to making your studio feel like home to your clients. In this episode I talk about:

- The dangers of not communicating properly, not making artists 100% comfortable and letting your ego take control of recording sessions

- The importance of your physical recording environment

- Why great headphone mixes are so key

- Ways to nail your communication in the studio and build trust with your artists

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

Full show notes - ⁠https://marsdenmastering.com/thesavvyproducer/29

Are you actually being productive, or are you just being active? There's a big difference between keeping busy and actually doing productive, meaningful work. If you're feeling like you're constantly busy and always working, but you're still not making progress towards your goals, this is for you. In this episode I talk about:

- How the busyness trap is stopping your growth

- How to differentiate between activity and productivity

- Applying this idea to your workflow so that you can free up more time, make more progress and be as productive as possible in the studio

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

Full show notes - ⁠https://marsdenmastering.com/thesavvyproducer/28

This week I sat down with London-based mixing and mastering engineer, Eliott Glinn, to talk about all things productivity and efficiency. We had a great chat and managed to fill this episode full of nuggets of wisdom on:

- Mixing and mastering workflows

- Making your social media/content creation plan work for you

- They keys to a consistent, happy client base

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

Full show notes - ⁠https://marsdenmastering.com/thesavvyproducer/27

Eliott's links:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/eliottglinnaudio/ 

Website - https://eliottglinnaudio.com/

I haven't bought a new plugin in at least two years and in todays episode, I want to tell you about the huge benefits I've discovered during that time. Not just in terms of money saved, but also the huge boost in efficiency and creativity you can experience when your plugin library is lean and minimal. In this episode, I cover:

- How constantly buying new plugins is affecting your skills as a producer

- How a simple toolkit can make you a better engineer 

- How to avoid the temptation when it comes to shiny new plugins

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

Full show notes - ⁠https://marsdenmastering.com/thesavvyproducer/26

Producing music, especially if you work remotely, can be a very solitary job. Most of us a self-starters and run one person businesses, which is great, but it's all too easy to get yourself stuck in an echo chamber. This means the only ideas, opinions and advice you have is your own.  This is a dangerous trap to fall into and it could be massively damaging your music production career. In todays episode I talk about:

- Why you should be asking your clients for honest feedback after every project

- The benefits of building a community of like-minded music producers

- How coaching massively changed my mastering business for the better

- Why you need to collaborate as much as possible

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

Full show notes - ⁠https://marsdenmastering.com/thesavvyproducer/25