The Hypocrisy Surrounding Ghost Producing
Not everybody wants to be on stage!
Ghost producing a dirty word?
It’s as old as the hills, except for the fact that it was called ghost writing
in those days: hired professionals more often then not wrote the emperor’s speeches.
Obama was supposed to be an exception to the rule because he wrote his own speeches.
Or did he?
Let’s get one thing straight: spin doctors in the political arena were invented for a reason.
Big deal
Plenty of articles about ghost producing have a negative tone of voice.
Ghost producing is surrounded by hypocrisy.
We wonder why.
Why is ghost producing/writing/painting accepted in practically every form of art but not in the dance scene?
Pop, rock, hiphop, literature… no one cares!
Why is this a big deal in the dance industry?
This weird point of view has been puzzling us for years.
And honestly, we still haven’t found the answer.
The general idea in the dance scene is: ‘You have to produce your own music.
If you don’t, you’re a phony’.
Why?
Whether we’re talking about books or art, ghost producing/writing is as old as the hills.
We all know that master painter Rembrandt van Rijn put his signature at the bottom of paintings made by his students and subsequently passed them on as his own.
Are those paintings less beautiful because of that?
Big names
For starters: a music producer/composer doesn’t have to be a DJ by definition.
Crazy enough, many hang on to that notion.
There are plenty producers, in fact, who don’t have any desire to get on a stage in front of a crowd, but who love to create tracks and want nothing more than make a living out of it.
Why is there a different standard for DJ’s?
Many big names in the dance industry use ghost producers.
Why is this a problem?
Does it interfere with the quality of the music?
The shows rock, the artists score; what is the problem?
Why not let everybody do what they’re best at?
Honest
Another point of criticism that skeptics use: ‘Let those DJ’s at least be honest about using a ghost producer’.
We agree.
But we understand why are they not open about this.
Would you be honest if you know that the whole world will condemn you for it?
Also often heard: the producer/composer never gets credits for his or her work.
Not true!
It’s up to the producer and DJ to come to an arrangement they’re both happy with.
If he/she wishes, the producer can hold on to the copyrights.
It is true that the producer/composer generally will not be named on a digital release.
As far as cd’s are concerned, the producer/composer is in most cases named in the inlay.
Double standard
Why the double standard?
If you produce songs for Rihanna or Coldplay you’re 'The Man'/'Woman' – and we totally get that!
But producing music for a DJ is considered not done?
Why?
We really don’t grasp the logic in this.
If you ask adversaries of ghost producing/writing this same question, they will tell you that the singer was present in the studio while the track was composed.
Believe us, this is rarely the case.
The reality is more like: ‘Here are my vocals; do something great with them!’
And again: is a song less beautiful when the performing artist didn't compose it?
Open any CD-cover of a major artist and you will notice that at least twenty people worked together to realize this album.
Is the album less good because of that?
So, is the conclusion that if you can’t produce you should not pursue a career in dance music?
Ghost producing is here to stay
Therefore, we were pleasantly surprised when this summer 2018 we saw a segment about ghost producing primetime on the largest public Dutch news bulletin by the NOS that reveals ‘The truth about’ ghost producing'.
At House of Tracks, of course we’ve known for years that many world-famous DJ’s never would have reached their huge status without the help of ghost producers.
Some of them haven’t produced one single note of their biggest hits – they simply bought the track, including all of its rights.
So, as we have always predicted: ghost producing is here to stay!