By Darrell “Digga” Branch

Have you ever heard the phrase “one hand washes the other?” Or have you heard someone say “you scratch my back and I will scratch yours?” If these anatomy references disgust you, toughen up because these phrases touch on a vital part of how the music production business works. I know you have heard it a million times but I’ll say it again—This is a business! People could care less how talented you are and they definitely won’t do anything without getting something back in return. So, the question is, what should you give up in return?

Industry hygiene is a term that I created to describe the act of corruption and bartering that goes on in the music industry. Some of us want to get into this industry to strike it rich but most of us just want to make sure we get paid for the work we do. While we all expect to get paid in dollars or by some other monetary system, there is a percentage of the music economic system that uses bartering as a way of payment. The barter system is the concept of exchanging goods and/or services for other goods and/or services. It’s a great way to do business and negotiate agreements without actually exchanging money. You have to be very careful when using the barter system because what might seem like a simple business transaction could turn into a form of extortion.

If you are a beatmaker landing your first major production placement, be prepared to take the ride of your life. Your production work becomes a valuable asset and people will do anything to get a piece of your production credit, copyright, or publishing share. I’m not talking about people putting a gun to your head (I’ve heard about some violent altercations though), I’m talking about the threat of you losing out on an opportunity. If I told you I could get you a placement on a 50 Cent record but you would have to give me 50% of your publishing share, would you do it? What if 50 Cent didn’t want to pay you for a track because he was providing you with the opportunity and exposure of being on his album, would you do it?

What about this scenario: Let’s say you produced a song for artist A and artist A decides to get a megastar to feature on the song with him or her. The megastar doesn’t write any lyrics or contribute production. After the song was completed, the mega-artist wants a percentage of the publishing share and production credit on the song. Would you agree with that arrangement? Remember, whatever comes out of artist A’s share will come out of your share. In some cases, you could be asked to give up almost 100% of your contribution in the song. These are real life situations that I’ve witnessed or been in myself.

A few months ago, the former governor of the state of Illinois Rod Blagojevich was removed from his post because of accusations of corruption, conspiracy, and taking bribes for Obama’s vacant Senate seat. While some of the details are sketchy, we do know that the former governor is guilty of using the barter system to do government business, which is against the law. You can’t force an organization to make a financial contribution to your campaign in order to fund a state run hospital. But it’s not against the law to exchange a percentage of your publishing for a major production placement. This is not fair but it’s still a major part of the inner workings of this wonderful music industry.

Have you ever wondered how or why some of these megastars feature on a new artist’s record? What about how an A-list producer provides production for your favorite artist? Do you really think Jay-Z is going to pay Dr. Dre $250,000 for a track? Do you think Dr. Dre is going to pay Jay-Z $250,000 to be on Detox? No! The conversation between the two megastars would sound something like this: “Let’s make a deal. I will be a feature on your song later if you provide me with production now.” No harm, no foul. Pretty simple! Of course, I don’t want you to think you’ll be able to offer your grandmother’s home as an equal trade for a Dr. Dre track. You get the idea though.

Finally, the most important thing you should get from reading this is the importance of understanding your value. Some people will offer you pennies while others might offer you an opportunity of a lifetime. It’s going to be up to you to make the right decision that’s best for you. Most of all, don’t be so naïve to think that you will truly be compensated fairly. In business you don’t get what you deserve, you get want you negotiate.

Darrell “Digga” Branch, founder of Six Figga Entertainment, Inc. started his professional production career in 1995.  He executive produced Cam’ron’s debut album, Confessions of Fire. He has also provided production work for industry heavyweights like Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Jennifer Lopez, Busta Rhymes, Ghostface, Big L and Young Gunz to name a few. He has contributed to over 30 million records sold. In 2008, Digga formed Producers Skill Inc., the parent company of OnlineBeatTutor.com and Pskill University.net.

     

By Darrell “Digga” Branch

What is “production credit?” Well, according to the dictionary, a credit is “an acknowledgment of something as due or properly attributable to a person.” So, in the music world, a production credit is awarded to a person to acknowledge their music production. This seems like something that is easily obtainable for a producer right? Not so fast. Credit might be the single most important asset in the music industry other than music publishing. Just look at how some songs are promoted today: “The new smash single produced by ‘Such and Such’.” The mention of the music producer adds tremendous value to the success of the song. Even megastar Beyonce is credited as a producer on the majority on her songs (Hmm, I’ll explain in a future article). Production credit is really that important; not only to producers but also to anyone who can obtain it. 

For today’s music producer, credit is more than just simple text in the liner notes in the packaging of an album cover, but an acknowledgment or “props” within the music industry. Don’t get it twisted either, shouting your name at the beginning of each beat doesn’t exactly guarantee props by your peeps, especially since that’s the cool thing to say “Digga On The Beat!” Ideally, you want to be taken seriously and develop credibility within the industry. The only way to do that is by being credited with doing quality production. This leads me to a few important points. The term “ghost production” or “ghost producer” was essentially created as a title for a person who doesn’t receive credit. Why would anyone want that title? If I were a chef, why would I allow someone to take credit for a wonderful dinner I prepared? 

I know what you might be saying: “This might be my shot to get into the industry.” I slightly disagree with that statement. If you have the opportunity to become an intern or an apprentice at a production company, make sure you gain knowledge about the production business process. There is so much more to music production than programming beats and melodies but I’ll save that discussion for another article. Anyway, don’t assume that you will miraculously inherit a production credit by sharing your ideas with people within the industry. Like I said, a production credit is an asset worth a lot of money, especially on a major label release. If a record is a success and you receive the proper credit, you will forever be linked to that success. The production quality and sound you provide will likely attract new artists to collaborate with you just because you were given the proper credit for your previous work. Do you think people would care if you went around saying “I’m the one that really produced that song but my name’s not on there?”

To support my point, there is a public dispute going on between two producers over the Lil Wayne song “A Milli.” Shondrae “Bangladesh” Crawford and the song’s co-producer Cha-Lo have been involved in a public dispute over who actually created the track. Bangladesh has gone on record and said that Cha-Lo’s production contribution was minor and that he gave Cha-Lo an opportunity. While some of the details are sketchy, we do know that Cha-Lo did receive a publishing share and production credit on a triple-platinum album. I don’t know any of these guys personally but I do wonder why Bangladesh would be so generous to Cha-Lo if his contribution were so limited? The main point you should get from this situation is that Cha-Lo did receive a publishing share and the production credit on a 3xs platinum album. Remember what I said earlier, you will be forever linked to the success of a hit record. 

Finally, don’t take your production credit for granted. Don’t allow your music to be displayed without getting the proper credit, especially now in the digital era. Music is flying across the web so try to tag your mp3 files and ask website owners and bloggers to add a credit when publishing your work. No matter what stage of your production career you may be in, make sure you get the credit you deserve. 

Darrell “Digga” Branch, founder of Six Figga Entertainment, Inc. started his professional production career in 1995.  He executive produced Cam’ron’s debut album, Confessions of Fire. He has also provided production work for industry heavyweights like Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Jennifer Lopez, Busta Rhymes, Ghostface, Big L and Young Gunz to name a few. He has contributed to over 30 million records sold. In 2008, Digga formed Producers Skill Inc., the parent company of OnlineBeatTutor.com and Pskill University.net.