Music Producing & Engineering
Course 14: Planning a Project

Organization is the key to managing a successful recording project. From small to large-scale recordings, there’s a whole host of moving pieces to keep track of. Fail to do this and you could have a disaster on your hands. Not being prepared not only makes you look unprofessional but will cost you clients. And word travels fast in the music industry.

Knowing your objectives well before starting a session keeps you from consistently making mistakes or burning out from always having to put out fires. In this course, you’ll learn about the administrative, technical, creative, and relationship-building aspects of planning a project.

It is pretty rare for a band to come into the studio, record a few songs, and call it good after a few hours. From the budget to the creative needs of the song or album to scheduling studio time to the actual recording, when a producer plans for a project they need to research, plan, and prep for everything.

In this course, you’ll learn how to listen to clients for enjoyment and with a critical eye, when you’ll need to rent equipment or hire backup band members or vocals, which studios will meet your needs, and how to prepare a studio when it doesn’t meet your needs. The key takeaway: plan for everything, even the occasional disaster, so you aren’t wasting your client’s time when you get them in the studio.

Objectives:

• Be able to understand a basic production schedule.
• Be able to understand the importance of project management.
• Be able to use the techniques in this course to plan their own future project schedules.
• Be able to determine an effective approach to putting a project together.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of thoughtfully planning a project.