Have you ever wondered who is behind your favorite DJs and artists? The reality is, most artists have a team of producers who assist with a variety of music production tasks to help keep up with busy release schedules, collab requests, remixes and live edits needed to keep their live shows fresh.
Ghost production has been common practice for decades and it has played a significant role in shaping the music industry. While the world of ghost production is littered with rumors and gossip, there are very real people who work behind the scenes creating some of the world’s most recognized hits.
Understanding Ghost Production
As mentioned previously, ghost production is nothing new. It is the well known secret used by the world’s top artists who leverage dozens of creative minds to contribute towards a larger project.
What is Ghost Producing?
Ghost producing is the act of producing music for someone else, often without public credit. Generally speaking, ghost producers are well compensated and often prefer the art of making music than the demands of releasing, marketing, touring and performing.
Why do big artists use ghost producers?
This is not so hard to imagine when you think of the excessive travel demands on touring artists. Imagine traveling 3-4 days per week and being incredibly jetlagged on either side. This leaves you with 1-2 days max to do all of the production work necessary on top of interview requests, social media and anything outside of being an artist.
In short, big artists use ghost producers to keep up with incredibly demanding schedules. Additionally, there is a lot of value in multiple creative minds working together on a project. This is especially true when your next single constantly needs to be a hit.
It is well known that most of the DJ Mag top 100 artists use ghost producers. There are famous examples like Maarten Vorwerk who’s produced chart topping hits like Epic by Quintino & Sandro Silva. Most DJs that tour full time use ghost producers in some capacity whether that is for idea generation or helping finish ideas.
Not all DJs who use ghost producers rely on them fully. More often than not, DJs are involved throughout the process, but aren’t worried about doing everything from start to finish on their own. Instead, they leverage their team.
Maarten Vorwerk is perhaps the most famous ghost producer example. He’s known for pioneering the Big Room House revolution that pushed EDM to the masses. His tracks have been played at festivals worldwide and by nearly every major touring DJ over the last decade.
Some of his biggest works include the track that catapulted big room house – Epic by Quintino & Sandro Silva along with works by Danny Avila, Quintino, Yves V and even Swedish House Mafia.
Niles Hollowell-Dhar
Publicly known as KSHMR, Niles Hollowell-Dhar came up as a ghost producer for some of the biggest acts during the mid-2000’s. Formally a member of the Cataracs and producer of Like a G6 by Far East Movement, Niles has been producing across hip hop, pop and electronic music for multiple decades.
When it comes to EDM, Niles produced one of the most well known songs of the mid-200’s – Tsunami by DVBBS. His fingerprints can be found on a wide number of songs for a plethora of artists.
Niles Hollowell-Dhar now runs his label Dharma Records which gives opportunities to rising producers to showcase unique production. He is perhaps the second most famous ghost producer.
Martin Garrix does use ghost producers, but not in the way some people assume. Most of Martin Garrix’s producers are credited on the tracks he releases.
Tiesto is not a ghost producer. In fact, Tiesto has used ghost producers for decades to maintain a consistent stream of chart topping releases while maintaining an insane tour schedule.
Skrillex has produced for a number of artists including Justin Beiber, Kendrick Lamar, Diplo and many others. He’s known as one of the hardest working producers in the industry and loves to collaborate with an incredible range of different artists in a variety of genres.
Ethical Considerations and Industry Opinions
It is difficult to discuss ghost producing without the debate of whether or not it is ethical to use ghost producers. This is a highly debated topic, but has become much less taboo over the last 10 years. Given how many artists leverage ghost producers, it is not seen as a necessary way to remain relevant as an artist. As long as the artist has some say and influence in the tracks that are created, it should not be seen as unethical.
Does the Use of Ghost Producers Diminish Artistic Integrity?
There are multiple viewpoints on whether or not ghost producing diminishes artistic integrity, but ultimately, this comes down to what the artist is comfortable with. More often than not, DJs and artists have a lot of influence over the creative direction of their music in which case their artistic integrity and vision remain intact. There are many ways to go about the collaborative production process so artists can always find a way to make sure they are comfortable that their artist integrity remains intact.
Ghost producing has been prevalent in Hip Hop, Pop and EDM music for decades and the trend is only growing. With modern artists needing to maintain nearly impossible travel schedules and public appearances, the role of ghost producers has never been more important. Touring artists have to balance the demand for travel and new music so it is only natural they turn to teams of ghost producers who can help them keep on track while maintaining their artist integrity.
