As a mix engineer or producer, you’ve spent years developing your skills, honing your sound, and building up an arsenal of tools, plug-ins, perhaps even your own home studio. You’ve gotten your name out there, worked on albums you’re proud of, and you’ve started building a network of clients. 

You’re a pro, but you’d love to get past that plateau, and make the part-time projects your main thing. Sound familiar? The good news is, with music production becoming ever more accessible, more and more artists are also searching for you, a great mix engineer or producer to help them get their demo over the finish line to release-ready.

What does it take to break through as a mix engineer or producer full-time? We teamed up with SoundBetter, the world's leading music-talent marketplace, and spoke to some of their premier creators on the ways to best stand out, create lasting clients, and expand your client base globally.

We spoke to:

Daniela Rivera - Emmy nominated mix engineer

Highnote user and SoundBetter pro Daniela Rivera, is an Emmy nominated mix engineer and Golden Melody award nominee who has seen over 36 billion streams across tracks she’s worked on.

Chris Adams - Billboard charting producer

Chris Adams is a Billboard charting producer specializing in urban, pop, and gospel, who has booked over 500 projects, and 90+ repeat clients, producing, mixing, and playing piano on tracks over SoundBetter.

Sefi Carmel - Mix Engineer

Mix engineer Sefi Carmel has worked with titans like David Bowie, Massive Attack, and Ed Sheeran and has booked over $1 million in projects over SoundBetter.

Read on to hear their most important tips for how to grow your business as a mix engineer and producer. 

Master your craft. 

The number one way to grow your business as a mix engineer or producer? Make great work. The best way to do that? Study your craft. If you’ve truly mastered your craft, clients will continue to spread the word about your great work. “Study the craft,” Chris says. “Really work and study your craft.”

Studying the art of mix engineering and producing, Daniela agrees, guarantees long-lasting client relationships. “There’s really nothing you can do but continue to work on your craft,” she says. “Mix as much as you possibly can.” With time, you’ll only get better, she explains. “You will get better and better and better. Then you start to define your sound and your aesthetic And then from there, you can kind of define your shape as a mixing engineer. And then you also have proof of work.”

Above all - always be learning, Chris suggests. “Being a student,” he says, “has kept me in the game and kept me going as far as I have.”  

On retaining clients and getting repeat business. 

Set a tone early on. When starting with a new client, make a great first impression. “Try to knock it out of the park,” Chris suggests. “It’s not always easy, but try to knock it out of the park the first time.” From there, center your client relationship around a few tenets. The most important things, according to Daniela, Sefi, and Chris are communication, empathy and kindness. 

“Be polite, be respectful, be kind,” Sefi says. “Nobody can afford to be an asshole. People like working with nice people.” It’s important to be empathetic, Chris adds. “I’m an empath and I care. We have to make it a conversation - I’ve had artists still come back even after we’ve bumped heads.” 

An important element of communication, Daniela says, is being upfront about your services and timelines. “If I can’t deliver, I just need to let them know what’s going on.” Being honest and clear throughout the creative process is key. “It goes such a long way to be like ‘hey, I’m going to be a bit late on this reference mix’ instead of just avoiding that conversation.” 

And always be asking questions, Chris adds. “Ask things like - what is the goal, what are references you can send, what do you want this project to sound like?” Keeping an ongoing dialogue, Chris says, engenders trust between client and mix engineer. “Establish that trust,” he continues, “and establish that communication.” 

Sefi agrees that trust is a bedrock of the creative process. “The client needs to trust you to show up and produce your A-game work time after time,” he says. With that established, lead with empathy throughout the project, even when there’s creative differences. “It’s super important to make people feel good, feel good about the process and make them feel heard and listened to.” 

Study the trends.

If you’re a producer or a mix engineer, embed yourself into the culture. “Study the trends,” Chris says. “I have to study the trends, I have to study Top 40 music, I have to study old school music too.”  Whatever your genre, whether it’s hip hop, pop, rock, metal, ambient - attune yourself to the ears of that audience. Artists are going to want a record that sounds like their heroes, and the better you are at your craft, the more in-demand you will be. 

And don’t just look at the charts, Daniela says. Pay attention to what’s going on in the business and the kind of work other mix engineers are doing. “Listen to your competitors, what do their mixes sound like?” Daniela suggests. If you’re looking to do paid work, it’s important to see what others who do this professionally sound like. “Where are you sitting amongst that?” Daniela says to ask yourself. “That you have a sense of range where you’re at in the industry. Maybe you still need to work on this until you can up your prices.” 

What’s the best way to keep up with trends? Defer to your client with a reference track, Sefi suggests. “Reference tracks are always a good idea,” he says. “Not only is it helpful, but it also helps you discover new music you wouldn’t have otherwise heard.” He also recommends keeping tabs on new technology like Dolby Atmos and YouTubers who are on the cutting edge of the business. 

Manage your time.

As a mix engineer or producer, you’ll likely juggle multiple projects to stay afloat. It’s important to manage your time and make every artist feel prioritized and attended to. Simple time management methods will be effective here. 

Chris suggests building out a spreadsheet and a calendar. “I could be working on four different projects at the same time. Say you did a draft for an artist, and a second draft is due right when another artist is coming in. You have to juggle being a producer with being a project manager.” 

Sefi keeps a diary for this exact purpose. ““I’d be lost without my diary,” he explains. “I do very, very careful planning and scheduling. It’s important to interact with clients on a personal level too, so I like to schedule [getting] drinks and personal time with artists in my diary as well.” 

Be patient and trust the process.

It’s daunting, stressful, and all-consuming to go full-time with your business. When you’re starting out, juggling clients, getting mixes right, and dealing with the industry side of things can be overwhelming. The most important things, however, are patience and trusting the process. 

“You have to be really patient,” Chris explains. “Really work on your craft.” While trust is important between client and artist, trust is equally important with yourself. “Trust yourself,” he continues. “Growing up I didn’t have a lot of self-esteem but I found my strength was in music. Trust your sound - there’s lost of different sounds out there, but there’s only one you.”

And if you’re just starting out? Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, Daniela adds. “You have to make mistakes because mistakes really elevate you. Get your experience in, and practice, practice, practice.” That foundational experience, Daniela elaborates, will give you the tools you need to master your craft. “Build up those mistakes so you can make the corrections and become the engineer you need to be.”

Ready to go full-time? Your first step: make sure to create a profile on SoundBetter, the platform that’s been critical to the growth of the professionals above, to link with future clients beyond your own personal network, and continue expanding your production roster. Be sure to provide as much info as possible about your signature sound, what sorts of projects you’re looking for, and what you can bring to the track. 

Start here to build your profile, and begin booking projects: https://soundbetter.com/