Approaching sound: a sonicological examination of the producer’s role in popular music.

This study examines the producer’s role and contribution to the overall sound of the popular recorded song. A literature review has revealed that the producer’s role is a particularly under- researched area within academic studies of popular music, therefore, the thesis offers a definition of the role within the dual parameters of contractual obligations and creative recording approaches. The producer’s contribution to the sound of a recording is highlighted by adopting a new approach titled sonicology. Sonicology offers an investigative tool that is superior to that of a musicological or textual analysis of the recorded song. The study identifies the link between the producer and the final sound of the recording by means of research within several fields, including acoustics, sound engineering and cultural theory. Case studies are used to evidence this link as well as trace the evolution of the role itself, and serve to confirm the studies typology of creative approaches to recording. By defining the producer’s role and contribution to the sound of the popular recorded song, the study has succeeded in highlighting the importance of the role within popular music and redressed this gap within academic research