Benny Benassi: A DJ Who Uses A Ghost Producer and Doesn’t Hide It
A big problem that critics of ghost production have with its use in EDM is that the artists are often seen to be ‘cheating‘ somehow by not crediting the ghost producer on their records.
One DJ who has been frank about his use of a family member as his ghost producer is the Italian Benny Benassi, famous for hits such as Satisfaction, Bring The Noise (Remix), and Beautiful People (by Chris Brown).
Benassi sees no shame in disclosing that his cousin Alle has played a pivotal part in the production process for his tracks. In fact, according to ASCAP, an American performance-rights organization, Alle is credited on at least 45 songs performed by Benny. The likes of mega hits such as Satisfaction and I Wanna Touch Your Soul list Alle as the writer, not Benny. In other tracks, Benny calls Alle his “producer and studio partner.”
Whatever Alle’s actual role in these tracks, it’s evident that Benny Benassi sees absolutely nothing wrong with the fact that he has received a helping hand from his cousin in the past. According to this article, the sole credit is now given to Benny even though Alle ghost produces many tracks to this day.
This system seems to work for both men, with Benny embracing the limelight and Alle perhaps more comfortable spending more time doing what he does best–working mostly in the studio to produce innovative new electronic dance music.
Benassi’s revelation of his cousin Alle as his ghost producer (by crediting him on his previous tracks) is about as transparent as it gets. He is essentially saying, “yep, my cousin Alle helped produce my music, and I don’t care what anyone thinks about me for it.”
This honesty by Benassi is similar to the way in which Dimitri Vega & Like Mike credited Maarten Vorwerk on their previous tracks and frankly admitted that Vorwerk helped them out a few times.
Despite the stigma that exists around ghost production, mostly by misinformed critics, top DJs such as Benny Benassi are positive and open about the practice. Dj Chuckie has also previously admitted ghost producing tracks for other artists, and he didn’t even want the credit for it. Some people just love to get paid to do what they do, and ghost production allows that.
The cold hard truth that cynics of ghost production need to realize is that it’s nothing to be ashamed of; it is an arrangement that just works for certain people, including Benny Benassi and his cousin.
In this case it allows two family members who love electronic music to work together to produce memorable songs. Without ghost production, tunes like Satisfaction and Let It Be never would’ve seen the light of day. We’re sure you’ll agree what a shame that would have been. With the prevalence of ghost production as high as it is, think of all the other tracks that never would’ve made it. Would electronic music really be better off without many of the high-quality tracks that define the genre?
