What is a Ghost Producer?

Now this is a question I get asked a lot. What exactly is a ghost producer? What does being a ghost producer mean? And what does a ghost producer do exactly? There isn’t really an official definition, but the easiest way to explain what the term ‘ghost producer’ means is the following: a ghost producer is a music professional that is hired to write/create/produce a track that is credited to another artist. It’s the musical equivalent to the ‘ghost writer’ that is common in the book industry. The ghost producer is the person creating the music, but the music is credited to another artist. The ghost producer himself often remains uncredited and anonymous. Usually there’s a confidentiality clause (or non-disclosure agreement) to ensure the ghost producer remains anonymous. In return for staying anonymous the ghost producer gets paid by the credited artist.

See the Wikipedia on Ghost Writing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostwriter

Why use a Ghost Producer?

There are a lot of good reasons to work with a ghost producer. For instance, if you’re a successful DJ with an exhausting touring schedule, you might simply not have the time to be in the studio that often. With an ever more demanding music industry and fans that are looking for the next big track, working with a ghost producer is a good option to keep up with both touring and releasing new music. For this reason most of the bigger and successful artists and DJ’s have built a whole team around them. Another reason can be because of the fact producing quality music requires a lot of effort, practice and a bit of talent. Someone can be a really good DJ but can lack in the production department. You can have the best ideas, but that doesn’t always mean you know how to get these ideas into your DAW. In order to keep their artist career growing they can resort to working with a ghost producer. With professionally produced tracks they can give their career a boost. So to sum it up; often the reason for working with a ghost producer is either a lack of time or a lack of production experience (or a combination of the both). Whatever the reason is; working with a ghost producer gives these artists that extra boost they’re looking for.

What is co-production?

Co-production is an option where the credited artist (the buyer) still has a lot of input in the project. The ghost / co-producer simply helps the artist with a track they already started. This way you get a true collaboration between the artist and the ghost / co-producer. Often the co-producer still remains uncredited. So, while during the production process this is a true collaboration, the co-producer remains uncredited and the final track is only credited to the artist himself. Of course that’s not always the case and in some cases the co-producer does get his place in the credits, just not in the track title.

Custom production vs Marketplace

As an artist looking for a producer, nowadays there are several options. From full service ghost production companies (like ours) to music marketplaces where every producer can sell (or license) their tracks. Both of these have their pros and cons. There are a few obvious ones of course; where with a custom production you can get a track that’s really ‘yours’ in every sense. You are involved in the production from start to finish, meaning the result reflects you as an artist. However, this means the production process takes a bit longer, often making things a bit more expensive as well. Also, a custom production still has to be written, where on a marketplace you can instantaneously buy whatever you like.

Another difference is in the quality of production (which we’ll talk about more later too). Where market places push for quantity with lower prices, with a custom ghost production you choose quality. A professional production simply takes time. Finally, there are some other risks involved with a marketplace. For instance; there have been examples of producers selling the same tracks on multiple marketplaces. Working with (vocal) samples that were not royalty-free or using a template to create tracks that are basically ‘the same, but slightly different.’ To summarize: as a rule of thumb, you could say that tracks from marketplaces are typically cheaper, but offer lower quality. Where custom ghost production services will result in a track of higher quality, but are more expensive and takes longer to complete.

Where quality matters

All of this being said; there are technical elements where personal preferences matter less. For instance where a track is blatantly clipping (and not in the creative way), where the phases are completely misaligned and causing problems, where unwanted artifacts appear because of the misuse or as side-effect of a type of processing, or (as I once found with a track I bought on Beatport) where the whole master was accidentally panned slightly one way. On top of that, while personal preferences are very important, if you want to sign your tracks to a decent label or find a good audience, you will need to keep market preferences in mind as well.

This is where the Ghost Producer comes in. He knows the market preferences and can advise you on what creative choices work best for your particular project. So besides the technical qualities you can expect from a professional ghost producer, he will actively guide you through the whole creative process. But in the end, you will have the final say. You will still make the final decisions. But with all information provided, they will at least be informed decisions. All of this to be able to deliver the best quality possible. Something you are happy with and the ghost producer can stand behind.

For established artists this means delivering a quality that, at minimum, conforms to the artists previous work and preferably be even better. So to have a track that’s ready to be released on any of the record labels the artist is associated with. With newcomers or up-and-coming artists this means delivering a track that gives the artist a real fighting chance with their target labels and audiences on any of the streaming services. Goal is to create something that stands out, so the artists can start building their brand.

What should you expect from a Ghost Production Service?

First and foremost; honesty towards you. A good ghost producer will advise and inform you of his (or her) decisions. They will ask the right questions to get an idea of the complete project before they start. They will advise you when they think adjustments are needed to make the track a success. I’ve highlighted some of the other key features in the paragraphs below.

Additionally, a ghost production service should be fully transparent about pretty much everything, just not about the artists they’ve previously worked with. If you ask a ghost producer what artists he previously worked with and he gives the artist names as an answer, be very careful. A good ghost producer will work with a non-disclosure agreement, meaning he can not disclose any information regarding the projects he did for his clients. If he discloses this information about others, he will disclose information about you as well.

This also goes for a ghost producer being anonymous or using an alias himself. You, as an artist, should know who you’re dealing with exactly. So you can personally determine if you want to work with them. A good ghost producer does not require to be anonymous or to use an alias. The only thing they need to do is A) deliver a good product and B) to not disclose your information to others.

Finally, you should be expecting the quality as mentioned above, as well as some guidance in the music industry for the newcomers. An experienced producer can really make a difference and help you on your way. Explaining how to brand yourself and how to promote yourself and your music. And of course, the producer should be reliable (deliver what he promises.) and be a bit flexible during the process.

What does a Ghost Producer do?

A ghost producer basically does everything a regular producer does. From songwriting, regular production, arrangement to audio engineering. But where a regular producer is often credited the ghost producer mostly remains uncredited. Although in some cases the ghost producer can still keep a part (percentages) of the mechanical or publishing rights. You could basically see the producer as a ‘project manager’ for anything production, recording, mixing and mastering. A valuable member of the team. Ghost production isn’t just about delivering a track from scratch. All clients have a creative say in the process. Starting with simple ideas, references and overall notes. But besides that also by working from midi files, audio stems or even recorded audio (singing, whistling etc.) During the process of creation the client is involved in every step, by showing previews and asking for feedback. The final result is a track that, creatively, is just as much the clients track, as it is the ghost producer.

Who uses a Ghost Producer?

The vast majority of bigger artists and DJ’s work together with either a regular producer or a ghost producer for the reasons mentioned above. If you take a look at the DJ mag top 100, it’s safe to say most of the DJ’s work together with at least one other producer. This is both beneficial to the artist as well as to the ghost producer. For smaller artists it might give them an opportunity to labels, promotional channels or distribution methods that might not be accessible for them otherwise. Most DJ’s starting out their career simply are not able to deliver that type of professional quality track. In that case working with a ghost producer can give them the extra boost. Ghost producing, or even ghost writing (or painting) is something that has been happening for a long time. It was there centuries ago in the time of the famous painters, where a famous painter would sign the painting of his student and it’s still here today. It happens in every sector in the creative industry. In the music scene of today, where artists have a demanding tour schedule and less and less time to be in the studio, a ghost producer can help the artist create or finalize his tracks. Often the artist himself has a lot of ideas, maybe even part of a project, and the Ghost Producer can finish the track for him.

Famous artists like Tiesto, David Guetta are known to have people helping them with their productions, while other famous artists such as Hardwell, Nicky Romero and Martin Garrix are known to have ghost produced for others.

Ghost vs Co-Production

The main difference with regular production services (or co-production) is that, when compared to ghost production services, with the former the producer will keep his part of the rights. This means they will keep their share of the royalties and licensing income that will follow from the track. With the typical Ghost Production Services, this is not always the case. In which case the producer license all exploitation rights to a client in exchange for a fixed fee. However, contracts for both a normal (co-) producer and that of ghost production services can include a clause stating that if a track becomes very successful, this deal can be re-reviewed to determine if the said fixed fee is in proportion to the amount of income generated by the track. So whenever you sign a contract with a producer, this is something to keep an eye on.

Quality

As mentioned earlier the quality is an important factor, but at the same time is also a difficult subject. The reason for this is that with music production there’s an overlap between creative choices and technical choices. What sounds good to one, might not to another. This gets even more difficult considering the different stages of a typical production. It all starts with the ideas for a track; if the ideas for a track are any good is very subjective. However, any producer worth their salt can tell you that doing a heavy-metal polka track targeting Revealed Recordings is not a great match.

From there it goes towards the composition; you can have a great composition that is credible, interesting, and technically very musical. But if someone doesn’t like it, you have nothing. Again, technical quality versus personal preferences. This also applies to the later stages; sample selection, sound design, production, arrangement, and partially to the mixdown and the mastering. For example, technically the balance of a track might be perfect; but since there are creative choices involved, there are personal preferences as well. Simply said; there is not one good mix, there are multiple good mixes possible. As classically demonstrated by the two separate mixes of ‘Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit’ . Where both Andy Wallace and Butch Vig did a great mix, just with a different focus and different characteristics.

How much do Ghost Production Services typically cost?

The truthful answer is: it depends. It depends on if you’re purchasing a ready-made song from a marketplace (that goes from €249,– to around €800,– on average) or from a custom ghost production service. In which case it will depend on your wishes for the project. Important factors are the musical complexity, length of the project, and potentially other parties involved. With potential other parties I mean songwriters, vocalists, session instrumentalists, and/or third party mixing or mastering engineers.

With our ghost production services the average pricing for a professional quality instrumental (or a track using royalty-free sample pack vocals) is somewhere between €1000,- and €1500,-. This includes everything from the composition, to the production, to the mixdown, and finally both a self-master as well as a third party (analog) master in one of the most experienced dance mastering studios. With credits mastering tracks of artists such as: Avicii, Tiesto, Armin van Buuren, David Guetta, Afrojack, Sigala, Galantis, Deadmau5, Major Lazer, Oliver Heldens, Camelphat, Nicky Romero and so many more.

Additional costs can come from working with third parties. The pricing of a typical experienced and professional quality songwriter/vocalist ranges from €500,- to €1600,-. More established names can charge quite a bit more though, in which case you’re often not just paying for the vocals, but for the use of the artist’s brand name as well. With session instrumentalists it depends. In case you’re just looking for background instruments or backing vocalists, you can sometimes find decent quality guitarists, saxophonists, cellists, or backing vocals for as low as €75,- on a service like fiverr. But as always: generally speaking, the higher the required quality, the higher the pricing will be.

You can imagine, when doing a commercial project, a track can become more of a team effort. Where you’re not just working with a ghost producer but with a complete team of 5 to 6 people. For example you, the producer, the songwriter, the vocalist, a session guitarist, and finally the mastering engineer. When a label and a publisher are involved these might also want a creative say over the final outcome. So the final pricing would come down to all the things mentioned earlier summed up.

Who should use a Ghost Production Service?

I can think of a lot of reasons for someone to work with a (ghost) producer. Some of the reasons apply to normal producers as well. For example; when an artist doesn’t have the time anymore to produce for himself due to various reasons (such as extensive touring schedules). Or when demand for an artist is higher than he can personally fulfill. If he wants to work with certain artists/genres in which he is not experienced. Or if he simply does not have the musical or technical skills or knowledge to deliver a certain quality. But the two most important factors to actually work with a ghost producer are: 1) when you want to keep/license all of the rights to the project, and 2) when you want to keep it a secret you’re working with other producers.

You can be a musical visionary. Have amazing ideas and the skills to market yourself and your artist brand. But not have the experience or knowledge to produce tracks of a sufficient quality. Or you can compose an amazing piece of music, but not be able to complete it, and turn it into a finished professional production.

If you are serious about your musical career. If you want to take it a step further and understand what it takes to be a professional artist; ghost production is something that could benefit you.