What do you want me to do? My definitions of an audio engineer and producer

These roles are often confused and sometimes overlooked. Every recording project needs an engineer and producer/s.    Roles: An engineer's job is to capture and recreate the musical performance through the speakers. He must take into consideration the sound that the producer is looking for. Mic choice and placement, and the creative use of technical gear are primary jobs of the engineer to deliver a good signal to the recording medium and out of the speakers. A producer on the other hand, is a leader who drives the session and shapes the artist's performance with a specific end goal in mind (like the director of a film). A producer brings experience to the project. He is sometimes found within the band or is the band as a unit but often times an outside producer is hired to manage the time and performances in the studio. Someone steps into the role as a producer as soon as he mentions that a musician is out of tune. A producer must have an understanding of the musicians to know how far to push them in order to get the best performance out of them. As well, the musician must be willing to listen and try the producer's ideas (that is why they pay him). He may suggest bringing in guest musicians to record on a son, depending on the project. A producer must also be knowledgeable of the recording process in order to communicate with the engineer about the desired goals of the sound. If an artist is lucky enough he/she will have an executive producer who manages the artist's money and makes sure deadlines are met. Pay: An engineer gets paid by the hour or project. A producer may get paid hourly or on the front side of a project, but he usually enjoys a residual percentage of the total earnings of the project.