The Pressure of working on Grammy Nominated Songs | Chris Gehringer Interview

TL;DR

Chris Gehringer handles the pressure of working on Grammy-nominated songs by staying focused, pushing through, and treating every project as a service with no room for error. He also judges hit potential partly by whether the lyrics create an emotional connection, though even records he considered poor have reached number one. Read on for his views on famous artists, feedback, production problems, and recognizing hits.

Transcript

so being that you've worked on so many Grammy award-winning or nominated and just massive hits can you tell when a song comes on you know you get sent the song from any artist you're like this is gonna be a hit or can it is still sometimes surprise you the way the music industry works a lot of times like if I work with like a decent artist or like ... Read More

Key Insights

• 💩 Predicting hit songs is not foolproof and can be surprising, as even bad records can become successful.
• 💩 Emotional connection to lyrics is a crucial factor in identifying potential hits.
• 💦 Working with famous artists adds pressure to deliver exceptional work in the music industry.
• 🧑‍🎨 Feedback and concerns about the production and artist's direction can impact the quality of a record.
• 🤪 Pressure never goes away in the industry, but pushing through and remaining focused is essential for success.

Questions & Answers

Q: How does Chris Gehringer handle the pressure of working on Grammy-nominated songs?

He pushes through the pressure and stays focused on giving the artist the best possible record. Because he views music work as a service, he believes there is no room to excuse mistakes by saying he had a bad day.

Q: Can Chris Gehringer reliably predict whether a song will become a hit?

Not always, although he says experience has given him a pretty good barometer for potential hits. He has considered some records the worst he had heard, only to see them reach number one for a long time.

Q: What is a strong sign that a song could become a hit?

For Gehringer, a dead giveaway is becoming lost in the lyrics and emotionally attached to what they are saying. He sees that emotional response as a good sign regardless of who the artist is.

Q: What happened when Chris Gehringer worked on a Halsey song?

Although he did not consider himself an obvious Halsey fan, one song’s lyrics pulled him in emotionally while he worked. That experience illustrated how a song can connect with him independently of the artist’s popularity.

Q: Why does working with a famous artist create additional pressure?

Gehringer wants to make major artists happy and knows their records may receive significant attention. He therefore feels responsible for focusing closely and delivering the strongest record possible without errors.

Q: Why can feedback from a less familiar collaborator cause concern?

Gehringer feels confident when working with established mixers such as Serban, Manny, Tony Maserati, or Josh Goodwin because he expects a strong mix. With someone he has never heard of who is getting a first chance with a major artist, he worries about what their feedback will ask him to change.

Q: What can make a major artist’s record fall short of expectations?

Gehringer says a record may not sound good because of the production or the artist’s new direction rather than the mixer. In that situation, he feels he must add something extra to help the record sound good.

Q: Does the pressure of working with iconic artists ever disappear?

No, Gehringer says the pressure never goes away. Even after working with Madonna multiple times, her arrival still feels significant because she is an international artist who has sold millions and millions of records and attracts people waiting outside to see her.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The producer can sometimes predict a hit song based on working with famous artists, but there are cases where a seemingly bad record becomes a number one hit.

• A dead giveaway for a potential hit song is when the producer emotionally connects with the lyrics, regardless of the artist's popularity.

• Working with big artists increases pressure to deliver the best record, but the producer also worries about feedback from unknown artists working with famous artists for the first time.