I don’t know what started such a heated argument all I remember is DJ Pain 1 getting his mentions destroyed on twitter when he tweeted that there’s nothing wrong with using loops. To a lot of people this guy is a leader in the producer community because of all the business advice he gives on his YouTube Channel. Now, he’s public enemy number one for what I would assume is a big reveal to a lot of young and older producers. As I watched the swarm of music theorist, purist, and so called experts launch obscenities at him I kept wondering. What’s the big deal? Then I took some time to dive into this a little deeper and I finally saw it their way. They’re right, but they’re arguing the wrong point.
Loops were made simply to spark ideas for a producer. That’s it. There’s nothing deeper to it than that, yet there’s been these constant discussions about a what producer should and shouldn’t use when creating a track for an artist. If you look at a loop for what it is it’s just a WAV file, but what’s the difference between that a sample from a record. When I was producing a record for an artist I sampled Dido’s “Here With Me” and threw my drums over it and played a counter melody on top of it. Based on those arguments, wouldn’t that count as “not producing?” The sample didn’t come from a website but it is a WAV file from a CD used to create a beat. So that defeats the argument from that angle.
However, if we are talking about producing which is to create a record for an artist then simply throwing loops together for a beat that will simply sit on your hard drive is not producing. Sure, you could release a beat tape later and say you produced the track. No argument there. However, the point that should be made is the practice of simply extracting these loops to make a beat in ten minutes just to say you made a beat in ten minutes doesn’t count. What they are missing is the misuse of the loop, not the practice itself. I know plenty of producers that have created phenomenal beats all from samples and I mean every single piece of the beat. From the melody all the way down to the hi hat was sampled from an old record. So what’s the difference from what they did and what a 15 year old bedroom producer does from splice? Isn’t the kid doing the same thing? Instead of walking down to his local record store which 1.) Isn’t the safest right now due to COVID and 2.) probably doesn’t exist and if so is probably 20 miles from his house, he/she is grabbing the sounds they have access to and cooking up. So what are really arguing here? After a discussion with another A&R about it I finally got the biggest missing piece of this whole argument. No one knows what the hell a music producer does!
Let’s take Quincy Jones for example. When he was producing the album ‘Thriller’ he had well over 30 musicians, composers, song writers, and vocalists at his disposal. He crafted records off of Michael’s demos and then built the records from there. He’s already disqualified because he’s using someone else’s work for inspiration, but let’s cut him some slack here to keep things moving. For the new tracks he would have another composer or songwriter come up with a melody and then have one of his bass players play behind. He’s now disqualified again! He didn’t come up with that melody nor grab the guitar. So if this is how the legendary Quincy Jones produces, which you can see for yourself in a plethora of YouTube videos and documentaries, then how come he can wear the crown of greatest producer of all time? Of course, he has composed hundreds of songs himself but he didnt’t come up with every note. If you think for a second that someone like a Miles Davis would sit down and let Q tell him how he should play during his come back with Warner records you are delusional.
The sole purpose of a music producer is to create a record and see it all the way through. From start to finish. Some of your favorite producers weren’t even in the studio when some of these big records that have their name on them were being created. I mean how could they if they’re busy making sure the business of the label is being take care of, looking for new acts, signing new acts, creating hundreds of other records that never see the light of day, all while pushing to market those records. No wonder most of the big time producers have private jets. Its not a luxury its damn near a necessity. I digress. Loops are your best friend. You don’t have to rely on them. You can do like some of us and take the loop out once you feel the beat is done that way you won’t have to feel so guilty.
Argue all you want. People only care about the record.
