Music producers can be likened to the foundation of a house- hidden, unappreciated, but
extremely important. In an interview with Hip TV a few years back, award-winning music
producer, Kiddominant, disclosed that Nigerian producers do not get up to ten percent of
what is due to them. Legendary producer, Cobham Asuquo, in an interview with TheCable
Lifestyle, further asserted that producers are not treated fairly in Nigeria.
Who are music producers?
Music producers are professionals who help artists record their songs or projects. They have
an encyclopedic knowledge of music. The role of a music producer includes producing beats
and instrumentals; direct supervision of recording sessions; producing quality artistic
performances; overseeing the technical engineering of the recording, and supervising the
production process.
Appreciation of Nigerian music producers
The appreciation of music producers can be categorized into pecuniary rewards and producer
credits.
Pecuniary rewards
Just like any service provider, payment for services is the basic form of appreciating a
producer’s work. Music producers make money off their beats in numerous ways. They can
license their beats(which can be exclusive or non-exclusive license) or sign split-sheets
entitling them to royalties from the song produced. It is common practice now for producers
to sign split-sheets because it is the most favourable form of payment especially if the song is
a success. Having knowledge of this, some artists try to deny producers their royalty
payments and prefer only a one-off payment, contrary to agreement.
There have been numerous instances of producers calling out artists over unpaid royalties.
Earlier this year, Napji called out Davido over unpaid royalties from producing Jowo, Fem,
and Sunlight, on Davido’s album, A Better Time. There was also a dispute between Wizkid
and Northboi few years back over publishing rights.
Producer credits
Another way in which music producers are not appreciated is the failure of artists to credit
producers in their work. Sometimes, artists drop the cover art for their music and only the
featured artists are credited, conspicuously omitting the name of producers. A recent example
is Kizz Daniel’s failure to add production credits to Uncle K’s artwork, his latest EP.
Failure to add producer credits can rob producers who are pivotal in the creative process of the spotlight they deserve. This is a simple issue that can be resolved by simply telling the
graphic designer to add producer credits to the music artwork.
However, producers seem to have found a way around this by adding distinct tags to songs
released by them. For example, “P!/Giddem” is P.Prime’s tag, “Riddimakoolayor/Rih/Pheelz
Mr Producer” is for Pheelz, and “Kukuruku” signifies Kukbeatz’s work, to mention a few.
This underappreciation has led producers to rely on their tags to bridge the gap between their
work and the recognition they deserve.
Interview with Syntax The Creator The upcoming producer, Syntax The Creator, was interviewed to provide further insight into this issue. Syntax is an emerging producer who has successfully worked on numerous music projects, the latest being his EP, Room 203, which was solely produced by him.
When asked about the underappreciation of music producers, Syntax claimed that their
appreciation is tied to how intentional the producer is. According to Syntax, offering
producers meager sums for their services is not underappreciation but disrespect. “Anybody
can be offered any amount of money, it depends on you as the producer to accept or reject it”.
When asked whether he signs split sheets or accepts one-off payment as consideration for his
services, he claimed that he agrees with either of them depending on the nature of the music
project he is working on. Interestingly, he believes that producers must prove their worth
before they get recognized accordingly. Using Metro Boomin as a case study, he explained
that Metro Boomin had been consistently working behind the scenes before releasing his
debut album, Not All Heroes Wear Capes, which became a highly acclaimed album.
However, he admits that US music producers are treated better than Nigerian producers.
Erroneous Mentality
A cursory look at the numerous instances cited beforehand establish a particular point- artists
do not appreciate producers enough. Some even believe that they are doing the producer a
favour by working with them, because no one will get to hear about the producer without the
artist singing on their beat. This is a wrong mentality that should be corrected. Music
producers are equally as important as the artists themselves. Semantically, “Afrobeats”
includes “-beats”, portraying how important producers are to the genre.
The importance of music producers cannot be overemphasised because without producers,
there would be no song. According to Motolani Alake;
“Music producers are the oft-overlooked, yet most important element in the rise of Afrobeats.
In the studio, they envision sounds, cook up a blend of instruments, which produce boundless, eclectic African pop music, that continue to transform the perception of a country, from a
home of fraudsters, to the home of excellence in contemporary African pop music.”
Conclusion
For producers to get the same level of recognition as the artists they produce for, it is
important for producers to start signing iron-clad contracts with the artists they work with,
stating in clear terms what they desire. It can be stipulated that the artist must duly credit the
producer in every promotional medium employed to push the song(e.g., the song’s artwork)
and clear royalty rates should be agreed to. Also, music artists should be enlightened on the
importance of music producers and how to duly appreciate them.