What Sarz, Samklef and new record producers should know in 2015

By Akinyemi Ayinoluwa

I once had dreams of being the next Rob­ert Kelly, and from my first studio session, I knew that recording properly, with the right equipment, and lacing the right tracks under the guidance of a gifted record producer was instrumental to producing a potential hit-record.

While I acknowledge that some singers are extremely talented and have visions of what they seek to create before storming the studio, it is beyond debate that a record producer is a central figure in the creative process. Musicians call it ‘vibing’ or ‘freestyling’; that moment when you seek melodies and hooks, muttering incoherent gibberish. The producer is burdened with the task of taking a singer from a place of nothingness to the Promised Land, and often times, he does this by providing a bass line or a drum pattern.

Over the years, I have studied how elite record producers sustain careers in the United States of America. I have read widely and watched tones of YouTube videos in understanding the lots of these characters and how sustainable their careers are.

Many have had it so good, others have not.

In Nigeria, the music landscape has recorded many breakthroughs; it is the decade of Afrobeat. Many have profited thereof, but there are too many sorry tales of elite record producers who are pained. They have expressed their frustrations in private and in the media. Most recent is Sarz, who expressed his discontent with Wizkid, Africa’s Afro-Pop dynamite. This is coming on the heels of Samklef’s similar rant on twitter.

Their frustration essentially borders on them not getting a fair deal, from a process they actively participated in and which had been commercially successful.

On November 27, 2014, I chuckled when the news broke on Jaguda.com, and my immedi­ate reaction was this on Twitter:

1. It is a pity Nigerian Record Producers always get the short end of the stick.
2. They do not know the immense power they wield and as such suffer unnecessarily.
3. In hush-hush tones, many have registered their frustrations but nothing is done to collectively address the issues as creative professionals.

For some time I have advocated their inter­ests, spoken at conferences and written blog posts and here are my thoughts in dealing with their challenges:

1. Record producers need to understand where they are on the food chain. I hold the firm view that they are next on the pyramid after investors or record executives. This is hinged on the fact that they interpret visions as songwriters and producers.
2. They are entitled to remuneration as song­writers and producers; this means they earn royalties off music publishing and the sound recording.
3. They should have a solid creative team built around their craft, one that protects their in­terest creative wise and in business. The af­filiate studio engineer, mix engineer, instru­mentalists, vocalists and the likes should be equally talented. They should be commis­sioned accordingly and everyone must be clear as to ownership of the final product (song).
4. Record producers must think about how they can have their hands in all the pies in re­sidual income, such as ring back tunes, movie soundtracks, airplay performance royalties, etc.
5. Building exploitable individualism as a business; this can be in synch with your sig­nature sound and trademarks. A strong trade­mark sets you apart from the crowd, you are easily distinguished from regular beat makers who lobby shamelessly to supply beats to the rave of the moments.
6. Music producers should have legal repre­sentation and management. These profes­sionals will help secure favourable benefits commiserate with the work done. They under­take negotiations, executions of agreements and documentation of remuneration.
7. As the industry gets more competitive, producers must commit to education and self development by attending seminars, confer­ences and industry meets home and abroad.
8. Record producers must unionise in order to present a united front to protect their in­terests in the creative industry.
9. They should be incubators of great talents. Producers should build imprints where more established labels can court to break new tal­ents. They should have talent development deals that protect their interests.
10. Producers should understand how con­tracts, collaborations, split-sheets, music publishing, mechanical royalties and rights collecting societies work.

I honestly believe these tips will help safe­guard the interest of record producers and reduce the torrents of rants released into the media space from their constituency.