How To Get Producer Leverage: A Step By Step Guide
Two weeks ago, I had a conversation with a music producer to talk about improving his consistency when it came to his production.
He has incredible sounding music and is a wizard with the guitar who creates incredible samples for other music producers.
But, he was facing a challenge that other producers face: he was getting in his own way trying to find time to produce and create content.
In today’s issue, I’m going to share our discussion, my recommendation, and the results.
Alec’s biggest challenge: A complicated schedule & production process
Alec had been creating content for over a year and wasn’t getting the traction he wanted.
So I asked him to walk me through the most common way that someone becomes a fan of his music, then we created a repeatable system for it.
Here's how we did it, and literally, step-by-step, how you can do it too.
Step 1) Capture Ideas
If you have an empty idea bucket, it is going to be even harder to create. The easiest way to spark inspiration is to look to those around you who are creating what you want to make and as Picasso says, “steal like an artist”.
You want to start writing down notes to fill up your idea bucket with different loops, melodies, drum patterns, you want to use to help create. As well as quotes, stories, observations, stats, studies, anything that interests.
Find your favorite sources to capture ideas from such as:
- Albums
- Videos
- Books & Articles
- Shows & Movies
- Podcasts
- Social Media
Gather as many puzzle pieces as possible in the beginning, and figure out which ones are useful later when you try to frankenstein them together.
Using all of these sources you will be able to have a consistent flow of material to distill and create from.
Step 2) Constraint Filter
Once you have all you ideas gathered, filter out the ones that are the most relevant for your current project.
You can’t use everything you collected, so you need to start to condense them down into single ideas.
Figure out which parts fit together, and discard the rest (or save them for another time). Looks for related topics that you can bunch together. Look for contrarian connections between ideas that no one else has surfaced before.
Then CREATE!
Don’t be scared to think outside the box, and be different. Your unique set of sources are something only you could have captured and gelled together.
If the music sounds a bit weird, let it. Explore it. Finish it regardless.
“’Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish’ - The Whole Earth Catalog” - Steve Jobs
Step 3) Pick A Media Platform
Now that you have a finished creation, choose a single media source to LAUNCH it on.
When you’re starting you don’t need to build an audience on every platform. Just use one until you get some traction.
Here are a few platform examples:
- Youtube
- Spotify
- TikTok
Each platform has a particular purpose and uses specific mediums so pick the one that is most suitable for you.
Another thing to keep in mind is to pick one that has your desired audience on it. For example, if you’re trying to get people to listen to your music posting it to Spotify will probably be better than Twitter.
However, if you’re trying to write about music, then maybe using Twitter is the right platform.
Pick whatever is appropriate for you and your audience.
Step 4) Grow Your Audience
The last step in the process is to use your creations to build an audience and make genuine relationships.
It will be slow at first, but remember that your audience will compound over time.
With each creation you make more and more people will become fans of your work. Make sure you welcome them all appropriately. Nothing is worse than walking into a store and not having anyone greet you.
Find ways to develop real connections with your audience and plant seeds that will blossom down the line.
Over the years I have kept in conversation with and collaborated with a lot of my followers. Make sure you do the same on your journey using these steps to grow your audience.