Lazy Rich has remixed for Lady Gaga, Steve Aoki, Fatboy Slim and more. He’s also the force behind Label Engine and Big Fish Recordings.

As he points out, time is of the essence nowadays— From the impact of the mixdown to the theory of the drop. The reality is that you only really get 5 seconds.

Rich’s philosophy on producing music can be applied to any creative undertaking.

ARRANGEMENT IS EVERYTHING

Rich constantly assesses and reworks songs in his head.

“Every time I listen to a track I think: ‘how did they make that sound?’. When I receive demos for the label – I listen for something unique.You’re always analyzing.'”

When you’re deep in the studio mindset making tracks for the club – it’s gotta move you. If they stop dancing…it’s not right:

“You’re usually just producing 10 seconds. The most important part of the track is when the beat kicks in, when it drops….When it’s enjoyable to listen to it over and over and over, you know it works.”

5 SECONDS TO IMPACT

You only get one chance to make a first impression. If you’re looking to sign to a label, or get noticed online  – heed Rich’s advice:

“The power of a track comes to the mixdown. You can tell within 5 seconds if it’s been produced well. You need to get that impact. People have no attention spans for music right now.

If a track has that impact—and you perk up and think—‘this is different…this will resonate with our audience’, then you know it’s a winner.”

Rich notes that LANDR is a great tool to help artists make sure they give themselves a fighting chance in the attention wars:

“It’s so important to have your track mastered properly to send to labels. If your track is half the volume of every other track that I’m listening to, then I’m not going to give you the time of day. If your track sounds professionally mastered, and it has impact, then the label will at least take the time to listen to it.”

REMIXING IS A ‘WEAPON OF CHOICE’

Rich’s stars aligned for a big breakthrough—a call to remix Fatboy Slim’s ‘Weapon of Choice’. Chart-topping sales and accolades roll in. It all came from a huge love of reworking songs:

“I love doing remixes. I really do. My skill set really lies in taking the building blocks of a song, and rearranging them in a different way.”

And then the phone starts ringing off the hook. Lady Gaga, Aviici, Deadmau5, Steve Aoki…the list goes on.  No matter the source material, Lazy Rich’s philosophy and approach remains consistent:

“I like remixes that make a statement. Adding a line or melody that I think will improve a track I enjoy is a great feeling.

“I comb through [a stems folder] and remove the parts that I don’t like. Most of the tracks I remix are vocal tracks. I’ll listen to the vocal over and over at the keyboard, until something cool comes up.”

LABELS: KEEP YOUR POCKETS FAT, NOT FLAT

Rich’s experience helping over 1000 labels through his company Label Engine helps him fight major challenges facing labels today – a switch of focus from downloads to streaming.

If you run a label, the biggest consideration is your bottom line:

“You may only make a couple hundred dollars back in sales off a release. With Big Fish, we keep our expenses down to rock bottom. That allows us to pass the profits back to the artists.”

“I’ve had releases that have been Top 10 songs that I’ve not been paid for – because promo costs were so high, and promo costs ultimately come out of the artist’s pocket.”

Quality music does have a fighting chance to cut through the noise:

“At the end of the day – if they track is good, it will sell. People will hear about it, they will buy it. If it’s not a good track, no matter how much money you spend on it, it won’t work.”

Read the LANDR Guide to How to Start A Record Label here 

For more info on Label Engine, visit their website.

Check out Lazy Rich’s music on SoundCloud.

Studio photos by Evan Mason