I’ll admit that “must” might be a strong word, but I promise you’ll learn something important from every one of these books, and the knowledge that you’ll gain (if put into practice) will make you more creative, more productive, and more successful. A bold claim perhaps, but read on…

Productivity

I don’t know about you, but this is a constant battle for me. I’m always trying to work out how to wring the most out of my time in the studio so that I actually get my ‘to do list’ finished for once! Building the right working habits and structuring my day for maximum efficiency are things that I’m always working on, and these two books are immensely helpful if either of those topics interest you.

‘When’ by Daniel Pink

This book was written after years of research into everything to do with time and timing. The bit that really helps us is where he gets into how to structure your day based on when you need to do deep & concentrated work, when it’s best to do editing work etc. He makes you look at your workday in a whole different way. But there’s loads more in this book too, from how to make a project work over time so you’re not panicking at the end (don’t pretend you haven’t done that), to the fallacy of the ‘mid-life crisis’ - anything to do with people’s relationship with time. Really eye-opening stuff.

‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear

This is a great book to help you actually get things done. One of the ideas that I love in here is the recommendation to avoid emphasis on goal-setting. Goals are fine, but instead of focussing on some long-distant dream, focus on the process. Who do you need to be to get what you want, and what does that person do on a daily basis? Clear uses the adjective ‘atomic’ because he breaks down big changes into smaller and smaller chunks until they are manageable, and then works on the repetition of these to bring about the big changes that you’re looking for. It’s sounds simple, and in theory it is, but putting these habits into practice can be hard, and this book lays out how to make that work. If you ever want to achieve more, and push your own boundaries, this book will give you the tools to do that. 

Creativity

Having more control over your own creativity is an obvious asset to anyone in the ‘creative industries’, but let’s not pretend we are the only people who require creativity in their work - everyone does. Once thought to be an ephemeral ‘gift from the Gods’ recent research has shown that there is actually quite a lot we can do to harness our creativity, and to allow that part of our brains to flourish.

‘Why We Sleep’ by Matthew Walker

This book changed my life. Everyone else I know who has read it says it changed their life too. If that isn’t a recommendation, then I don’t know what is. Walker is a neuroscience and psychology professor who has studied sleep and it’s effects for decades and the revelations will make you completely re-evaluate it’s purpose in your life. The key aspect of the book that’s interesting to producers though, is the creative brain. When you sleep your brain is just as active as when you are awake, but it’s working on different tasks. Your subconscious mind is processing, problem-solving, and looking for creative solutions to issues that are still kicking around your head. If you’ve ever had a difficult decision and decided to ‘sleep on it’ then you’ve taken advantage of this night-time processing. Your subconscious beavers away, and when it’s come up with a viable solution it throws that back into your conscious brain like a creative hand-grenade. Ever had a flash of inspiration or sudden insight? That’s one of these grenades going off. The more quality sleep you can get, the more you are allowing this side of your brain to work.

‘Rest’ by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang

This book takes the lessons learnt in ‘Why We Sleep’ and extends them to areas of your waking life as well. Although it could fit quite comfortably in the productivity section of this article, the fact that this book is split into two sections “Stimulating Creativity” and “Sustaining Creativity” tells you where the focus lies. There are many areas of your life that ‘Rest’ suggests can be tweaked and reshaped to make you a more creative person, but as the title suggests, it’s not by working longer and harder. “The Grind” is a nonsense. The best way to get great work done is to limit your working hours and allow your brain time to rest and play.

Business

A large number of jobs in sound, music - and the entertainment business generally - are for freelancers. If you work in this sector, then there’s a good chance that you’ll be self-employed at some point in your life. You’ll probably become what the book I’m about the recommend calls an ‘accidental business owner’, but the sooner you realise that’s what you are then the easier the journey becomes. So you need to know something about owning and running a business.

‘The Book My Dad Told Me Not To Write’ by Russ Hughes

Full disclosure - I’ve known the author of this book for a while. As the ‘accidental’ CEO of two successful businesses in the audio industry he knows quite a lot about starting small companies in our sector and getting them to grow, and he’s always ready with a good bit of advice or solid anecdote on how to address whatever business problem I might be facing (often drawing from his dad’s razor-sharp business acumen, which is kind of the inspiration for the title). I’ve read quite a lot of books on business since I accepted that as a freelance producer and engineer, I’m also a small business owner, and this one has the most useful, actionable and practical advice for people like us. Since I’ve been putting Russ’ advice into practice my business income has tripled… in a less than a year. This stuff works. Find out more and read more reviews here.

If you’re looking to start a Silicon Valley or Fortune 500 company and need deep advice on Series A, B and C funding then there are all sorts of books that will cover that, but if you just want to know how to run your own small business/career better, then this is by far the best book I’ve found for that. 

Inspiration

As the book ‘Rest’ will tell you, you can’t be learning and working on your craft all the time, so an inspiring book is a good way to finish off this list. And I’m going to be controversial with this one. That’s because I’m going to recommend a biography of perhaps the greatest producer of all time, but it’s a man who is now serving time in an American prison for murder.

‘Tearing Down the Wall Of Sound. The Rise and Fall Of Phil Spector’ by Mick Brown

I was first introduced to the music of Phil Spector when I was about twelve years old, as a cool uncle of mine explained that he was the first producer who had fans in his own right. He established his own sound, and people would buy records just because Spector had produced them, regardless of the artist or songs. This fascinated me, and was possibly the early seed that grew into my own career. I should state now that I’m no apologist for Phil Spector - he committed a terrible crime and is rightful being severely punished for it, but to separate the person from his work (which we often have to do with art unfortunately), his work was truly spectacular. Over a period of little more than a decade he re-defined western pop music. Going through the list of songs that he not only produced but also wrote (River Deep, Mountain High / You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ / Then He Kissed Me / Be My Baby) as well as producing records for The Beatles, The Ronettes, The Righteous Brothers etc etc, it’s staggering how brightly his light shined, and then how quickly it went out. 

What About You?

This has been a difficult list to compile as there are so many more books that I could have put in. If you get through all of these and want to know more then get in touch with me and I’ll fire you over some more recommendations!

More Recording Resources From Dom Morley

Dom is the founder of the Mix Consultancy, a zero risk (money back guarantee) way to get notes on your tracks to help improve the sound. Whether you're an artist who likes to mix all their own work, a composer putting together a pitch on a limited budget, or an engineer who wants a discreet second opinion before sending a mix off to a client - we're here to help.

“I just completed a mix with the help of Dom Morley & The Mix Consultancy. The mix we turned over was qualitatively better than the one I would have gone with on my own.

It's been said that "a mix is never done, it's just abandoned", but the truth is, you *really* do feel a sense of completion and closure having worked with Dom because you know in your heart that you did everything you possibly could to get the best result possible for the client.

The beauty behind the process is that not only do you get a better mix for your client, but Dom's advice contains all kinds of gold that you can borrow and deploy in future mixes.”

Geoff Manchester

From engineering tips to production advice, EQ and compression basics to mix specifics, we’ll give you the information and guidance that you need to take your mixes to the next level. Find out more here

In addition to the one-to-one advice Dom has produced some excellent online courses;

• Everything You Need To Know About Recording Vocals
  Preproduction, DAW set-up, preparing the studio, psychology, equipment. Literally everything you need to know.

• Mixing 101

  This is a short, free, mini-course on the four things that you really need to know in order to get great mixes, and the four things that you really don't!