For as long as I have been producing music; It has never crossed my mind to question whether there is a difference in using the term Beat maker or Producer. This new thought of whether their is indeed a difference stems from a retweet that I read a few weeks ago, while I was reading my twitter timeline. The retweet read “Beatmakers are not Producers” there is a difference. Quoted by the legendary and to some, iconic, Dr. Dre. With that being said, I decided to do my own independent research in order to learn the proper terminology, when calling myself a beat maker or a producer. There are a few blogs online with articles about this topic, but a lot of what was being explained about the difference was not thorough or either made no sense to me at all. So, what is the difference when using the terms producer or beatmaker?
A “Beat-Maker” is the person or persons that will create the beat. A beat-maker will then lease the beat or sell the beat exclusively to a song writer. Depending on the role of the beat-maker he or she will also play the role of the producer.
A beat-maker can also be a person that strictly makes beats, that is all, that is it! He or she may make beats for hobbies sake or because their parents bought them a MPC 2500 XL for their birthday or something like that. Others want to pursue their dreams of becoming the next hit-maker but lack the knowledge what it takes to market their beats.
A “Producer” is one that will produce, manage, or finance a project or production. He or She will see the project through from beginning till the end. The producer will arrange the song and usually can point out any mistakes and will be quick to edit (re-do) any area’s that need corrections. A producer is a perfectionist at heart.
To me; a Beat maker and a producer are both one and the same but what separates the two are the work they are willing to put into their business and creation also their drive to be successful.
What are your thoughts on this topic? Let’s discuss this in the comments section.
Peace & BoomTap to all beat makers & producers!
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