Definition

Producer (n.): In EDM, a producer is a person who creates electronic music. Unlike in other genres, such as pop and hip-hop, in which producers (i.e. “record producers”) oversee the process of making music on many levels, in dance music a producer refers to the artist who creates, or “produces”, the music. Producer is a distinct term from DJ, although producers often are DJs.

Description

A DJ is someone who plays recorded music onstage using decks; the term makes no claim about his or her ability to create music. A producer is the person who creates electronic music; the term makes no claim about his or her ability to play that music, or incorporate it into sets onstage.

Some producers, such as Nigel Good and Mikkas, are not DJs (or at least choose not to DJ), and many DJs are not producers. It is generally acknowledged that producing requires a much larger and more technical skill set than DJing.

These days, most producers are expected to DJ, and, increasingly, in order to get booked at decent gigs, DJs are expected to be producers. Because of this, almost every big-name DJ in the electronic music scene doubles as a DJ and producer. If a DJ is incapable of producing but still wants to achieve fame, he or she may hire a “ghost producer.”