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In Part one we talk about making it in the music business with someone who should know! In Part 2 Maurice shares some his secrets about the actual music making process.

Maurice Steenbergen started out as a platinum awarded music producer and AES certified audio engineer, who’s breaktrough global hitsingle “Poing” is still concidered to be one of the most influential dance tracks of the 1990′s. With a double entry in the UK Guiness Book of Hit Records and credited by 2 Unlimited for being the inspiration for their largest international hit to date: “No Limits”.

Maurice got recognised in Los Angeles by superproducer Rick Rubin in 1993 as a promising new record producer of the harder styles in music. Since 1991, Maurice produced over 100 tracks and his work got compiled on over 170 different compilation albums, selling millions of units worldwide. Played many legendary venues worldwide including The LimeLight (NYC), Scorpia (Barcelona), Number One (Italy) and Parkzicht (Rotterdam).

Maurice got into producing, directing and editing music videos in the mid 90′s, creating many hit videos for several artists worldwide. He still is one of the most booked music video directors in The Netherlands. Currently Maurice Steenbergen is the executive producer of many music and film projects and is the CEO of several entertainment businesses worldwide.

Can you tell us a little bit about how you got into DJing/Producing and the whole scene etc?

I grew up in the 1980s listening to mixmasters like Ben Liebrand and as a big fan of producers like Trevor Horn and Rick Rubin, I made my mix tapes compiled from radio shows that played mixes and 12-inch versions, that was my earliest inspiration. I must have been around 11, 12 years old then (1984-1985).

When I was 13 years old my cousin Raymond taught me how to beat-mix with two turntables. He was a DJ at an illegal radio station, all my basic knowledge came from him, we used to jam a lot on guitar and keyboards too. He passed in 2003, but he’s never forgotten as a major influence.

When I was 15 we moved into another town and my mother urged me to go do something social, so I signed up as a volunteer at a youth centre. Those were my first DJ gigs in front of a (small) crowd. By the age of 16 I had three regular DJ gigs a week in various spots around town.

The mixing / remixing bit remained with me, so with my first job as a graphic designer at 18 I purchased my first gear: AtarI 1040 STFM and an AkaI S950 sampler with a whoppin’ 2.25 MB Ram (45 seconds of mono sample time at 32Khz).

So far what are your top achievements as a DJ/Producer?

A good friend at the youth centre (Danny Scholte) took me to a rave in late 1991, the “bouncing” motion of the people dancing there inspired me to create “Poing”, my first single in 1992. It went gold and platinum, sold over 5 million copies and is featured on over 170 compilations. It also got me a mention in the UK Guinness book of hit records.

What for you were the key moments/things that got you from bedroom/amateur artist to professional/full timer/where you are now?

Having a global hit record builds your network and you should utilize that as much as you can. Your network is your net worth! Also, besides music production I’ve always been an audio engineer helping other artists out with problems, and building their studios. Besides the music bit I am a trained graphic designer and I started producing music videos in the mid-1990′s, that expanded my name even further in that scene. Deejay tours also help a lot to meet people from other countries, again: networking is key.

What do you think is more important to getting on in the business, raw talent, or ‘getting to know’ people/having the right contacts?

You obviously need some kind of talent and feel for the music, but technique is just that, and can be hired where you need it. I’ve been an engineer and co-producer on numerous records, often not even credited because the artist doesn’t want people to know they’ve had help. Nowadays it’s way more important to have the right contacts. Maybe it’s easy for me because I know so many people and I can’t imagine how things would be without those contacts. I come across good bedroom producers all the time, and their records never see the light of day, that should really be the evidence that you need to get to know people to get things done.

New artists should really learn the proper ways to reach labels, after a while they get frustrated by rejection and they start their own. People who think they can create hit records on their own will be disappointed. Sure, nowadays you don’t need a label to get on Itunes and Beatport, but that’s just distribution. There’s way more marketing involved that you can’t handle by yourself. The successful artists that run their own labels now have started out on some other label and picked up the tricks of the trade there.

What one thing do you think is key when trying to get noticed/gigs/etc?

Be nice! There are so many arrogant artists out there, if you get a gig most of the time it’s because they like you, not because of your skills. There are millions of good bedroom artists that are as good as you, or probably even better. If you get a gig, you should accept it as a gift, as an opportunity to reach the people you normally don’t. Give it all you can, so there’s a buzz around your performance, the promoters don’t really care about what you play most of the time, they care if your brand (your name is a brand), is attracting people to the venue. If the promoter feels your name on the poster is not adding more visitors to the party then you won’t get booked next time. You really need a steady network of promoters that book you regularly. Parties are brands too, and people become fans of that particular brand and associate you with it, respect that and you’ll be rewarded.

Do you think technology has caused an increase in throw away music?

Well, back in the day you needed about EUR 10,000 to build a nice studio, nowadays people make music on their EUR 500 laptop with downloaded software and plug-ins they don’t even buy half the time. They sign with small labels or setup their own, so thousands of records are released daily. That being said, back in the day there were shitty labels too, it just was harder to get on them. The amount of throw away music is not the problem, the problem is the consumer accepting this crap as a standard, and therefore getting the feeling they can do it too. As an audio engineer I’m really disappointed by the sound quality of most records, people don’t bother with proper mixes or mastering. Some do, and they’re my clients, and I try to educate them as much as possible, one at a time, to improve the overall sound quality of music again. Also fighting the entire loudness war, I’m not putting out tracks louder than -9dB RMS, which is loud enough to not sound soft between other records, but also retaining some dynamics to punch you in the stomach on the dance floor.

This combined with digital distribution, what effect do you see this having on record sales, quality and the whole scene?

Record sales are so slim nowadays, you make your money with your live performance and your merchandise. Those are things people can’t download. You can’t download the experience of being at a great party or a concert; neither can you download a t-shirt or other merchandise. Artists and record labels should realize by now that the music by itself is promotion only. It’s better to give away your music free and build a fan base that comes to your shows, than to sell 500 downloads a year and have no gigs.

With this in mind, and the general ‘noise’ via the internet & self promotion tools out there, do you think that it’s easier, or harder now to make it as a DJ/Producer/band in this electronic age?

It’s easier if you don’t follow the path of the common self promotion tools, now more than ever it pays to be an original. I’ve come up with a very interesting business model that could work really well. I’m still looking for a co-writer to help me write this book, since I’d rather be working on my music, music videos and documentaries than be writing all day. I’m planning on launching this business model with my contacts at major international labels.

Do you think the current scene is sustainable with the number of new artist coming through, competition for gigs, current state of record sales etc?

Every scene is sustainable, but sometimes it goes back underground for a while to filter all the non-originals. The best and purest stuff is always produced underground. It’s like sports: you can have 100 teams competing, if you have an original strategy you’ll catch them all off-guard, so really there’s no competition. Besides that I’m getting kinda tired of the scene being described as a competition, people should write and produce music because they want to, music from their hearts, not music for their wallets. I mean, there’s always been commercial music, but the ones that accidentally become hits that originally came from the heart (and the underground) are always labelled the greatest hits in history. The best records ever were never intended to be such a thing.

Top 5 common mistakes?

1. Getting a manager before you actually need one. Most managers are common thieves or failed artists themselves.
2. Arrogance. Be nice and you’ll be granted more opportunities
3. Going too fast: educate yourself, make a good record even if it takes months.
4. Following trends: be an original, don’t believe the hype, don’t be a sequel.
5. Don’t sign with the first available label that wants you, consider your options.

Top 5 MUST do things?

1. Network, become friends with other artists, labels and radio stations, blogs etc.
2. Exchange remixes with other artists, no-cure-no-pay you’ll learn much from working with take-outs from other artists
3. Once again: educate yourself! Know your gear and your software, a carpenter knows his tools too, so should you
4. Be your own biggest fan and biggest critic
5. Listen to music, not just today’s but go back to the 60s, 70s and 80s too, much inspiration there. Read about the artists, producers and engineers that made those precious gems! They are your teachers.

What would you have done differently if you had a second chance?

Money wise: I would’ve hired a lawyer to screen my contracts, that has cost me a lot of money back in the day, possibly millions!
Additionally I would’ve hired a good accountant, that has also cost me a lot of money back in the day.

Creatively: I would’ve tried to produce more music styles at an earlier age, it’s not until later that I also started to produce rap, metal and pop music besides house music.

If there was one thing you wish you knew when you started out?

Just my general knowledge of everything business and technique, I would’ve been way up the scale today!

Don’t forget to check out Part 2 here.

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