About the Music Producer Challenge...
Music production is a creative process that can involve isolation, whether solo or as a group, we immerse ourselves in a bubble to extract all those creative juices! But at one moment or another, some of that work must be presented to the public.
It’s easy to get caught up and think your production is top-notch until you press play in a room full of big players… Or maybe you’ve been too isolated and never got a chance to see people screw their faces up as they nod their head to the banging beat you created in your bedroom!
That is where competition comes in!
Art is subjective, so not being number one doesn’t mean your work isn’t valuable, there are plenty of different tastes and niches for everybody but it helps to gauge your level on the field!
At MPC, the team has had the chance to not only witness the evolution of Music Production and beat-making events but also participate in and win some competitions (We won’t tell you who, when, or what!). Still, from Beat Society to iStandard or Redbull Beat Battles, we had to fly overseas to participate and experience this kind of vibe. We knew this wasn’t possible for everybody, therefore we wanted to create our own version of these events, here in Paris France.
And so the Music Producer Challenge was born. Our goal was to have well-respected judges present to truly validate the results based on the opinions of active producers. And involve some renowned brands to add concrete advantages and prizes for the winners. We also wanted to add more value by starting the event with a conference. And finally, we wanted it to be a real interactive show, with DJs and live beat-making showcases. In our opinion, producers deserved to be in the limelight!
We found a venue and contacted all the brands and companies we could find or were already connected with. Brands are not easy to convince and sponsorships are even harder to secure. But with time and perseverance, we were able to onboard our first partners. Since then, we’ve worked with a good portion of the most renowned brands and companies in the space. We thank them all for believing in us and enabling you, our community, to not only discover and access new tools but also for the winners to go home with thousands of dollars worth of equipment, software, and hardware.
But back to the beat battle in itself! As you know by now, we pride ourselves on receiving some of the most prolific and talented producers in the game for our masterclasses, workshops, conferences, and debates. This means challengers also get access to the best judges ever!
Imagine having Dj Khalil, Tony Dofat, Tarik Azzouz and STREETRUNNER, Mike & Keys, My Guy Mars, Rockwilder, or Scoop Deville not only judging your beats but also telling you why they like them, or not and giving you concrete feedback, or well respected A&R’s giving you advice…
See the complete list of our previous speakers on our website.
So are you ready to accept the challenge?
On the night of the battle, 16 challengers are allowed on stage to compete to win the title! But before that, they must go through a selection process by submitting 3 beats online. The deadline is always announced a few months in advance to give producers a chance to present their best work.
Once the submission period is closed, a selection is made on these criteria:
Quality, Complexity, Impact, and Originality. (More info on selection criteria at the bottom of the page*)
Ask, a then 13-year-old producer, “Young Kiddy”, who came in 3rd place in 2019, how he feels about his experience, having the crowd and legends in the game give him a standing ovation!
We went from participants from France and surrounding countries in 2017, to hundreds of beatmakers from 18 countries who signed up for the battle in 2019.
We are proud to have put 48 challengers under the spotlights since 2017. Whether they made it to the podium or not, some of them ended up signing deals and getting placement opportunities. Not to mention each year, thousands of dollars worth of prizes are awarded to the finalists of the Music Producer Challenge: 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place, and a Booster prize.
Competing in the Music Producer Challenge takes some active preparation. You need to have a bunch of solid material to make sure you can last 5 rounds with no fillers! Who knows when you could get taken out! Some rounds may take 3 tracks to come to a deliberation… So we suggest challengers have at least 15 to 20 beats ready to go.
We also ask that production be original and unreleased material, meaning previous placements with vocals are not authorized. Full Vocals are not accepted either since the goal is to truly focus on the production.
Remember, this is a battle, so challengers must edit their production accordingly. The time limit is one minute per beat, so the intro and outro if any, drops, transitions, and bridges must come in at the right moment to get the crowd going as well! Some challengers even choose to switch beats completely during their set… All is fair in love and beats, as long as it doesn’t last more than one minute!
To make the experience complete, it was important for us to host the event in a real concert venue with good sound and lights. Music Producer Challenge is a truly interactive show, where the public is invited to participate and enjoy the festivities!
We encourage everyone to bring their friends! We plan marketing campaigns to spread the word and usually end up with a full house partying till the crack of dawn! But we also make sure we spread the word throughout the industry, so you never know who is in there listening…
At the beginning of the event, we usually host a conference to discuss the actual state of music production and business, so those who couldn’t attend the convention can at least get a glimpse of knowledge before the show.
Another important aspect for us is live beat-making, so each year, we invite a talented performer to show us just how far a beat machine can go beyond simple programming in the studio behind the boards. So far we’re proud to have received the terribly creative RHINO from ASM and Jukebox Champions, the impressive Pedro Le Kraken, and the amazing lady finger drummer GNARLY.
During intermissions, you’ll be rocking to DJ sets by super-talented Redbull Threestyle Champs such as DJ Stresh or Akila Be Water, and local household names like DJ Idem, Baba Flex or Dj Mac Teal.
And finally, every year, we bring out a comedian or charismatic speaker from the culture to present the event and host the show.
You guessed it, all in all, we are very proud of this event and we know how much it means to our participants! This is the highlight of the Music Producer Convention! The place where we all get together to celebrate our common passion for beats and music production. If you never got a chance to participate and witness this in person, you need to make arrangements and find a way this year, because we’re coming back better and stronger this time!
If you haven’t done so by now, please sign up for our newsletter and follow us on social media to be the first to know as soon as we open up submissions for this year's event.
Looking forward to seeing you all there in person this year!
*Selection criteria for the Music Producer Challenge (More details and deadline coming soon)
All tracks are presented anonymously to a panel of 6 professionals who thoroughly listen to all the submissions before grading the beats and comparing their scores to come to a consensus. As mentioned earlier, only 16 producers and 4 reserves were selected to participate in the battle.
We also make sure we give competitors plenty of time to make plans to be present during the event. As well as craft their best bangers to create a set capable of taking them to the final rounds!
It is important to note that this competition is made for electronic and urban music producers. Not that we don’t like live music or other genres, far from it, it’s just better to adapt your submissions and prepare for the battle accordingly.
Music Producer Challenge is also open to all individuals regardless of age or country of residence. The only thing is, participating producers residing in a foreign country must be authorized to travel to the European Union. Due to international covid regulations as well, it is important to make sure you can abide by international travel restrictions. Participating producers under the age of 18 must have a signed authorization from their legal representative and a parent or legal representative must be physically present during the competition. Any underage participant will lose his qualification if he cannot present a signed authorization on the day of the battle.