Back in 2013 I was introduced to gentleman named Keith through someone I was dating at the time. I didn’t know who Keith was other than this was one of the producers that the young lady I was dating would engineer for. After a few text messages between us we finally got on the phone and I got the ‘real’ introduction to this man’s catalog. Not only was I speaking to someone who was really deep in the industry, he was a legend from the southern 90’s hip hop era. Like any one else would have I flooded him with questions and still do till this day seven years later and for some reason he keeps answering them. Keith along with another producer whom we shall only refer to as “Free” to keep his anonymity have been the secret keys to my success. Most of the wins that you have seen from me in the past 5 years have been because of these two men and here’s why you should find your own mentors as well.
They Know Better than You: Every single goal and experience that you are about to embark on someone has probably done it. In fact, not only has someone probably already done it, they probably did it better than what you yourself can imagine doing. The key here isn’t to necessarily find someone who’s a big time success with multiple plaques and Grammy awards, even though those are great, you want to find someone who has way more experience than you. The bar should be at ten years more. The reason why is that every producer that has survived an era and is still kicking can tell you how to survive the one you’re currently in. Music is cyclical and knowing your history so that you don’t repeat it is what’s going to keep you from going down the wrong road. When everyone was running to only do type beats (though I’m doing it as of this post because of a 30 day challenge I signed up for), I went left and focused on learning how to engineer and develop songs for artists on smaller labels. Yes, some of my peers have found success but most have bowed out looking for the next thing. I didn’t get the YouTube notoriety and my instagram numbers didn’t go up but I did get to work on projects and grew my network of people in the industry. I gave up something then which has allowed me to have the wins I have now. All because my mentors advised to .
They Know which Gear and Plugins You’ll Need Before You Know You Need Them: Most, if not all, the information you’re getting from YouTube tutorials are dated. Its not the creator’s fault as most of them are bedroom producers and are simply reviewing what is out. Most aren’t taking the time to the to go to AES or NAMM to discovered the newest reverb plugin from SoundToys or stereo spreader from iZotope. Most are producers looking to provide content that will keep people coming back to their channel. However, what most of us don’t know is that 90% of the plugins are just remakes of old plugins. (Again, one of the benefits of finding a producer who has ten more years of experience than you do is that they can recognize the cycle.) A mentor can give you advice on the plugins you would’ve never thought to look up. Also, if you find the right person they can simply tell you which ones are coming out before they do because more than likely they befriended an intern at NAMM back in 2006 who know runs a department at one of the major plugin companies. While you’re looking for the next update on Keyscape your mentor can tell you about the next plugin in bundle that’ll hit shelves fall of 2021, today.
They can tell you How to Handle Situations: As a producer this one is the most important. I’ve come across my fair share of situations that were embarrassing, infuriating, and left me scratching my head. I almost walked out of a studio session one time because of the back and forth that was occurring in the room and the only reason I didn’t catch the train back home was because I had some one to talk me through it. A seasoned vet can tell you how to get through those sessions where the artist is being a diva, when the engineer isn’t being competent, and the negotiation on the price of production becomes uncomfortable. A lot of us have hit our heads in these situations when we didn’t have to. Having someone to give you “game” and tell you what to look for will be key to avoid these situations.
Finding a mentor isn’t difficult it just takes time. If you are looking for one please take the time to do an interview. Its going to be difficult for them to tell you how to get placements if their main focus is producing video game music. Find out what they’re specialty is and see if it even aligns with what you are trying to accomplish. Everyone will not want to take on a mentee mostly because of time so you want to make sure that the relationship is mutual. Sometimes that can come in the form of friendship but just be willing to drop a few bucks for their time as they could’ve spent that time making money rather than talking you to death.
Its good to know history.
