producing a hit

Posted on

Member Since: Jul 13, 2004

My second question please
1) Some guy here thought he had produced the best song on the planet but sold poorly but the one he produced by the way sold alot. whats the logic for producing a hit

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Administrator
Since: Apr 03, 2002


May 19, 2005 03:33 pm

getting a good song.

Frisco's Most Underrated
Member
Since: Jan 28, 2003


May 19, 2005 03:43 pm

Make it catchy, and keep it simple, but not too simple. That what seems to work anyway.

Then you gotta do whatever you can to make sure people hear it. These days, music rarely sells itself unfortunately.

I am not a crook's head
Member
Since: Mar 14, 2003


May 19, 2005 05:48 pm

Yeah I agree with Coolo. To me, creating a hit is marketing. Creating a song is art. I'd like to consider my self an artist and not a marketer, so I'm more concerned with writing songs than writing hits. Of course some Joe Schmoe home recordist like me has very little chance of producing a hit anyways...

But to answer your question, you basically have to be in the right place at the right time with some widely accessible material (or material specifically suited to a particular demographic). It doesn't even have to be a good song! People just have to hear it and it has to become an earworm for them.

patron saint of quality footwear
Member
Since: May 30, 2002


May 19, 2005 10:21 pm

I had a different take on your question, if I misunderstood you please just ignore me.

If you are asking "Why put the effort into high production skills when one highly polished song doesn't fare as well as one that wasn't as well produced?" Then I would say that although a mastery of production can add to the overall sound and tone quality of a song, it doesn't really change the song any.

I believe that if you have a catchy song that sounds a little rough, it will still stick in your head better than a mediocre one done by a very talented producer.

I am not a crook's head
Member
Since: Mar 14, 2003


May 20, 2005 11:48 am

True, Sam. As an example of your point, I think of contemporary R&B music, which is usually very cleanly produced and it always sounds sparkling, but I can't stand any of the songs. To me, the music is unremarkable. Same goes for Ben Folds' recent stuff...impeccable production but the songs fall flat.

Now contrast that to something off of White Blood Cells by the White Stripes. I love a lot of songs from that album, but they all have an extremely rough edge to them. Lots of mistakes on the guitar playing, voice cracking, drums losing time, and some incidental chatter that was accidentally recorded on a song or two. But it has more character than most recent recordings.

Kaos is only a form of insanity
Member
Since: Feb 03, 2005


May 20, 2005 12:48 pm

Tadpui you have hit the perverbial nail on the head. Music has become overproduced nowadays and has lost it's rawness. Very little music seems to break new ground, whilst the White stripes have definately gone back to what music is about "The feel"

patron saint of quality footwear
Member
Since: May 30, 2002


May 20, 2005 05:14 pm

Kaos,
I agree somewhat but I would add that putting on the producer's hat after the arranging/recording is done and then tweaking your mix isn't a bad thing.

Polish is a great thing to have, but if you use it on a turd, it's just a shiny turd.

Chief Cook and Bottle Washer
Member
Since: May 10, 2002


May 21, 2005 12:21 am

Producing both a 'hit' and a well produced, piece of music is fairly rare. The two are really non-sequiters.

I would dare say that although a lot of kids drag home a get-fiddle at some point in time, less than 10% of the world's population has any real talent in terms of musicianship. This is not a slight, just an observation. For most folks it's simply entertainement. Like watching a football game. Did they and their friends 'have fun' per that experience? Did they 'fit in' during that
experience? Do their friends listen to it too?

Any medicore music with mediocure production can be a hit with enough air time, media hype, etc. 90% of the people listening can't even name all of the instruments being played or for that matter identify their sounds.

Know what you are doing. If you want to make a hit, jump around when you perform it, make agonizing faces, hang out your skin; regardless of how well created or produced the music is. Know your marketplace. What market demographic is buying the most music? What is that demographic listening to? What do they like about the music they listen to? Get in their heads. Feed them what they want. Create a 'craze'. People like to feel that they are a part of something 'bigger'. There were a lot of pet rocks sold. 'I've got mine!' mentality. Create 'jello'. Eric Clapton can play over the rainbow and people will be in awe. Eric did it.

Hold 'Em Czar
Member
Since: Dec 30, 2004


May 21, 2005 11:28 am

WORD TO YOUR MOM!!

spot on walt!!!

i've also observed that the best of the best hits were written and recorded from the heart, and concern about it beein' a hit did not factor in the process (well maybe on the production side, crap)

but the production ppl were artist in their own right, and they too produced it with heart.

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