Ottawa might be a quiet city in comparison to its Toronto and Montreal neighbours. However, it's called home to many professional and award winning music producers. Not to mention, songwriters, musicians, and engineers too.

I grew up in Ottawa and played the local club/bar scene in the Byward Market in the early 2010's. I left the Ottawa music scene to live in Toronto and Berlin to pursue my career as a songwriter and producer. Now, I'm back in Ottawa, after a 10 year absence, and I've been able to sink my teeth into the music scene once again. One of my strategies to meet local artists and producers who are pursuing a career in music, is to attend live shows or popular open mics in Ottawa.

Since being back in Ottawa, I've written and produced over 100+ songs from my home studio in the Glebe. You can hear all of my songs on my Spotify profile.

Let's dive into some of my favourite music producers in Ottawa. I've had the opportunity to meet some of these producers face to face and I can speak highly of their professionalism so I suggest you reach out to them if you are curious to learn more.

1. Dean Watson

I had the chance to meet Dean at a live show in Ottawa and got to know what kind of style and music he likes to produce. Dean runs a studio called Buckingham Palace Audio. It's located just outside of Ottawa on the beautiful country side, in a town called Buckingham, could you have guessed that?

I must say, I've had the opportunity to record in the countryside before and it does add to the experience and quality of the music, at least I think so!

Dean has been a household name as a music producer in Ottawa. He's produced Ottawa artists such as Little Stella, Erin Adair, The Escape Society, and Kristine St-Pierre Music.

Dean's studio is fully capable for recording bands or doing live session work too. He's also worked with singer songwriters looking to build their sound up from scratch.

Dean is in the process of redesigning his website and I'm sure he would be open to chatting about your project if you reach out.

2. Charles Cleyn 

Charles Cleyn is a music producer in Ottawa and he's always looking to collaborate with other artists. Yes, that's me. Reach out, I'm happy to hear more about your project to see if we might be a good fit to work together. 

My strengths are producing solo artists or singer songwriters looking to develop their sound. Perhaps you've been dabbling with your own demos for a while but you'd like to level up your sound? I can help you with that. I produce my own music and you can hear it on my Spotify profile or my Apple Music page.

I've also produced dance artists such as Palma and up and coming indie pop band called Strawberry Blonde. I'm open to many styles and I'm more interested in collaborating with the person who is equally passionate about making their music the best it can be.

3. Jost Hart 

Josh is a freelance producer and engineer out of the Audio Valley Recording Studios in Ottawa. Josh has worked with notable artists like Walk Of The Earth and Tyler Shaw. He's also helped produce up and coming Ottawa area artists like Mikayla Menzies.

Having the access to one of Ottawa's top recording studios gives Josh the flexibility to use all of their high end studio analog equipment. I haven't had the opportunity to meet Josh but you can quickly hear the quality of his work on this website.

It looks like Josh also has a home studio where he can likely produce or mix singer songwriters and bands from his home. You can reach out to him on his website if you're interested.

4. Dave Draves

Dave has been a household name in Ottawa as a musician, producer, an engineer for over two decades. He is the owner of Little Bullhorn Studios which was seen artists like Kathleen Edwards and Jim Bryon walk the floors. 

Dave loves to record bands off the floor and capture the raw feeling of a live recording. He talks about this on his studio tour video which is posted on the the Little Bullhorn Studios website.

Dave has built a warm and inspiring atmosphere for bands to record and feel at ease in his studio. If you like tape then this place is for you! Dave gives you the opportunity to record to tape which you don't see much anymore. In general, Dave's rates are very reasonable for his expert experience.

5. Collin Carnegie

Collin Carnegie is a producer, mixer, and musician, with his home studio in the Ottawa Valley.

He's helped produce and develop the sound for Ottawa's own singer songwriter Vicky Brittle. He's also worked with other talented artists like Riley Burns and Service Delay.

Collin has years of experience and you can hear that in the simplicity and quality of his work.

How To Find A Producer In Ottawa?

Most, if not all, of the above mentioned Ottawa based producers would likely be happy to have a conversation with you to talk about your upcoming single, EP, or album.

I encourage you to reach out and speak to a number of producers before making your decision. The relationship between the artist and producer needs to be strong and you should feel a good connection.

You should also consider what style or sound you'd like to have. Do you want a live off the floor sound? Do you want a pop sound? Do you want a folk sound?

Every producer will have their own strengths, likes, and dislikes when it comes to producing music. You should also ask each producer if they're willing to mix your record or not. Some producers, especially nowadays, will produce and mix your record. However, some producers might not want to mix the record they've produced. Find out before hand so you can budget out a mix. Production costs will be more expensive than mix costs.

There are many other producers in Ottawa that aren't listed here too. Do some research online or attend some Ottawa live music events. Whether that's a live show or an open mic. Ottawa is a small city and you're likely only two degrees of separation from a music producer.

How Much Does A Producer Cost In Ottawa?

This is a big question. However, we can usually find a cost per song or day rate. However, this is going to change on the style of production. For instance, a song that includes an acoustic guitar and vocal will take less time than a song that includes a 10 piece band. See what I mean? 

The cost of each producer will come down to the producer you decide to go with and on the style of your production. Have an honest conversation with them about it. For example, when I'm producing an artist, I'll first hear about they're project to see if I'm the right "fit" for them. I want to make sure that I can see myself having a positive relationship working with them and that I'm inspired by the music. After that, we'll discuss my cost to see if it fits with the artist's budget.

For an hourly rate, you can expect to pay anywhere from $65-$100 per hour. However, most producers will charge a song rate and they'll make sure to understand your sound before quoting you. A song rate could be anywhere from $500 to $3000. Most of the time these rates include the 'mix'. Whether that be mixed by the producer or someone else.

Can You Produce Your Own Music?

In short, yes you can. However, it really depends on what quality you're looking to get. For example, yes, you can record yourself in Logic Pro (a digital audio workstation) or GarageBand. Both of these programs are quite intuitive and easy to pick up. The piece that is important to understand is, learning music production takes time and practice. If you're willing to invest the time then in a matter of 1-2 years, you could likely start producing some pretty great stuff.

I teach beginners how to produce their own music from home and I always communicate that my students should not expect results over night. It's a long journey to learn music production and to get good at it. It's a rewarding one though!

I never thought I would be a music producer but I always found it interesting and inspiring to see the producer in action whenever I was recording records in the studio. I thought, "maybe I should learn this? This way I can produce my own music." Fast forward many years and I'm doing exactly that.