We were lucky to catch up with Billy Hume recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Billy, thanks for joining us today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your career and how did you resolve those issues?

The first big unexpected problem I encountered in my career was the change from analog to digital recording. Without going into too much technical detail I will say that doing this forced me to change how I initially recorded any instrument or singer – from the EQ/tone sound to the recording levels to understanding the impact of using hard drives.It also made me change the work flow with the artists. When we were recording to analog tape there was time during rewinding of the reels to make comments to the performer and let them catch their breath or maybe tape a sip of a drink. But on a digital system there is no rewind and you can immediately go back to the beginning of a song or section you are working on. This may seem like a good thing as far as efficiency is concerned but it can lead to burnout, stress and less communication. So I had to build in a lot of micro breaks. I also had to learn a whole new technology which has continued to evolve. Many of my peers just didn’t want to do that and dropped out of the business but my goal has always been to create art and I just did what I needed to do.

I knew that moving to recording on a computer was eventually going to be the norm so I jumped in earlier than most of my peers. This caused a lot of fiction with many of them because people can often be ideological things like that and many thought the sound of digital was ‘thin’ compared to analog. It took a while for people to understand that they need to change their recording techniques to get the full advantage of digital.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started my music career as a band leader, singer and songwriter. I spent a few years playing in cover bands performing whatever was popular at the time in everything from bowling alleys, motel lounges to seedy bars. Since my love was always recording and creating new music I got a loan and bought recording gear to put in my basement studio. I did this at a time when no one took home studios seriously but I never liked being in professional studios because it never seemed personal and sometimes there are people around that negatively affect the creative vibe. I continued to perform with my bands and as a solo singer/songwriter while also recording local artists as well as my own music. After years of doing this I had a random air conditioner repairman over at my basement studio (which is called The Zone) who insisted that I was the wave of the future and that rap music would be huge someday. I thought he was a little crazy but I appreciated his passion and he had a lot of good ideas about music. He kept bugging me about working on rap music which was something I didn’t know anything about but I finally gave in and had him bring over some of the people he knew. I instantly connected with these young rappers and we decided to make a compilation album featuring up and coming rappers from Atlanta. The album didn’t make any money but everyone around town heard it – the quality of my work, the new sound we were creating and my reputation as a hard worker. I became lifelong friends with many of the artists on that album and I started getting bookings from many other new artists, not only rap artists but other genres because the community in Atlanta was very close back then. I started having hit records that I had recorded, mixed, played guitar and bass on as well as occasional production work. This opened the doors to working on rock, country and bluegrass records eventually winning a Grammy for producing.

I think I’ve been successful because I do good work but also will outwork anyone and won’t rest until I’ve done the absolute best job I’m capable of. But mostly I think it’s because my clients realize that I’m dedicated to help their dreams come true and I’m a straight shooter.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Pay them.

Music has become mostly free. There is very little protection of intellectual property and this needs to be resolved.

There also needs to be better education about running a business. Most artists are terrible at this and thus miss opportunities or get taken advantage of.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

In the old days of the music business it was important to limit access to the artist and music. The artist’s image and brand was carefully sculpted and managed. Today it’s the opposite and it’s taken me a long time to get used to the idea of inviting the public into a realm that was off limits and hidden for so long. Now I livestream recording session that I do with artists on new songs that haven’t been released yet. People can see our process, our mistakes and such. This would never have been allowed or accepted years ago but now there is a lot of value in it and the public really wants to see.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.billyhume.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billyhume/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/billyhumeproducer
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/freakingoutwithbillyhume
• Other: Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/billy_hume