Ryan West Interview
Nov 30, 2007 7:25 PM
(re)Mixed Media
Read the entire "New Rules of the Game" article on the state of urban music production.
Ryan West is a NYC-based producer/engineer, one of Neysa Camacho’s clients, and long-time production assistant to Just Blaze.
Remix: How are top producers being paid these day? When we hear of them being paid $80k or $100k for a beat, is this all-inclusive for the entire production, or just for the beat?
RW: In my experience, most producers in hip-hop negotiate a set fee for their services. When negotiating that flat fee, a producer takes into consideration all of the elements he or she needs to conjure to accomplish the job. If that means bringing in additional musicians, engineers, voodoo priests or whatever, the producer usually pays for that out of their check. That hasn't always been the case, and I suspect it still occasionally has some variation. I'm sure someone out there has the luxury of an additional production budget, but in my world it doesn't exist. That fee often does not negate the need to share royalties if the producer becomes involved in the writing process as well.
Remix: At what point does a producer’s contribution to the writing process generally warrant getting their name on the writing credits, thereby sharing the publishing royalties? Does it start with the beat itself – in that it’s an automatic part of the composition credit – or must it extend more to the melody, hook and verse writing once the artist gets involved?
RW: I think that works differently depending on the type of track we're talking about here. Most often, with hip-hop the producer makes the beat, and is relatively "hands off" from that point on. Some of the more skilled producers like Just Blaze, Dr Dre and others, take it upon themselves to see the song through its many stages. That might be as simple as monitoring the writing process with the rapper to ensure that the direction and content match the musical elements, artist's persona, general direction of the project as a whole and the interest of the label. When a producer, or engineer, or anyone for that matter contributes ideas that are used in the song structure, arrangement, melody or lyrics that are integral to the creation of a new composition, writing credit is due. Simply creating a beat for which any new work can be created around doesn't mean you've earned writing credit, but in some cases can result in partial ownership and therefore publishing income. Producer/writers are free to negotiate, however, and for whatever they want, basing the percentage of publishing on the percentage of the work they completed individually.
Remix: How do you see the health of the urban music industry heading into 2008 – do you feel it’s strong?
RW: It's a really tricky, sticky and icky time for the music industry as a whole. Major labels are being extremely careful with what they are signing, budgeting and putting on the market. I see a return to a singles dominated market. That's the way it used to be, before big industry started packaging whole albums in an effort to boost profits. They figured that 12 or 14 songs on vinyl, tape or CD selling for $15, instead of a single for much less, is a better model for filing their pockets. It seems, recently, that consumers have had plenty of reasons to reject that model. With instant digital downloads, the proliferation of digital music players like the iPod and a near constant flow of substandard music from major labels, listeners are choosing quality over quantity. The internet has brought freedom of choice to our business, and they have chosen not to pay for music they don't want. All of this upheaval is challenging the labels to get with the program, or simply fizzle out. Music will always be a huge commodity, but with big industry more often than not lacking the creative willingness and momentum to compete with the kind of freshness coming from indie acts, some power is being restored to the individual artist along with the listener. The future is a competitive marketplace of both physical and virtual products and presence, with content coming from all directions.
Remix: What have you seen happen in the industry that you, personally, really don’t like?
RW: The demise of artist development is the single most destructive change that I can think of. Let's face it, most acts and musicians don't come out of the cornfield or off the city streets knowing everything they need to know to become a stand-out artist. It takes a team. Producers with real ability, engineers with talent and experience, management that takes care of business are what it takes to develop a somewhat raw artist into a nuanced, multi-faceted force of nature. Success as a commercial artist means the buying public has decided that you're something special. A cut above the rest. There are many elements to making that a reality, and no one person can do it alone. So unless you're extremely wealthy, connected, or a freak of nature, your only hope is a network of people that can provide the kinds of services and direction needed. Now, some will argue that commercial success isn't all it's cracked up to be and they'd be just as happy performing on a street corner all their life. Well, that's all fine and dandy but not very realistic. It takes money to keep a career going. Perhaps you don't want to be the next Justin Timberlake, but you've got to make a buck somehow to keep eating and making music, ya know?
Remix: Absolutely. So, what needs to be fixed, RIGHT NOW?
RW: Right now? Well, there needs to be some sort of organization of resources. Those wanting to break into a life of music in this era need to know what and who are out there so they can decide what advantages they can apply directly to their own career. For example, I mix a ton of indie records. Most of my independent clients tell me that they never imagined they could get me to work with them. That's bullshit! They've been given the impression that I would never give the time of day to someone with a somewhat less than household name. They are also under the false impression that my fees are way too high. Like most music professionals, I work with a very broad range of clients and I scale my rates to accommodate smaller budgets by offering variations on the same services I provide to major labels. I think that if there were some centralized point of contact with a structured way of weeding out the phonies, loonies and hacks, people would be thrilled to realize that the same guy who just mixed or produced their favorite new record might be enticed to do the same for them. For far too long, the real music making professionals have seemed out of reach. Now that everyone has Protools or Logic, or another DAW, the gap between professional record making and the home studio has narrowed significantly. A new producer’s and engineer’s guild, anyone?
Remix: What would you like to see brought back from hip-hop’s past, if anything?
RW: Songwriting! Not to say that there aren't some downright talented songwriters making hip-hop records, but the vast majority of commercially available music lacks any sense of the craft. There are a ton of really well crafted, thought provoking, personal and political, socially valuable rap songs from the past 25 to 30 years, but I don't hear many new ones these days. A few, but not many. If your song consists of an 8 bar beat, two verses that say nothing more than how rich you are and how many cars you have, and hook that has two words, one of them being profane and profoundly ignorant, you don't get to call yourself a songwriter. That's just my opinion, of course, but I think that's one of the reasons why record sales are in the toilet. Creativity is subjective, but if the only message in your song is an anatomical reference or self congratulatory rant, you should hang it up. If we can't bring songwriting back, I'd settle for NWA. In my living room. Yeah, that's what I want!
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