James Blake has revealed that the vast majority of his work as a music producer never resulted in payment, estimating that around “95 per cent” of his production efforts brought in no money.
The Grammy Award winning musician released his seventh studio album ‘Trying Times’ on Friday (March 13). The record follows his 2023 project ‘Playing Robots Into Heaven’ and also marks his first release since becoming an independent artist after parting ways with Republic Records. Blake has said the album is “my favourite record I’ve ever made”.
Alongside his own releases, Blake has built a strong reputation as a producer. His credits include major albums such as Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’, Frank Ocean’s ‘Blonde’, Jay Z’s ‘4:44’ and Rosalía’s ‘Motomami’.
During a recent conversation with Rolling Stone, he spoke candidly about what life is like working as a producer, explaining: “I’d say 99, not 99… 95 per cent of the work I’ve done was unpaid.”
When asked to explain further, he said: “Well, because as a producer, you’re just throwing paint, you’re throwing stuff at a wall and seeing what sticks.”
“I’d say the 10,000 hours that we talk about arriving at some kind of mastery of something, I probably spent that just doing things that never came out, which is nuts really.”
He made it clear that he was not expressing frustration, but instead describing how the business typically works. According to Blake, producers are rarely paid based on time spent, meaning countless hours can go into songs that may never be released if an artist decides to change creative direction.
“And that can happen with me too. I can just wake up one day and just realize, ‘Oh shit, we’ve been going in the wrong direction.’ And then five to 10 songs just disappear.”
Blake added that the music business operates very differently from most industries when it comes to compensation and valuing time. He suggested that succeeding in that kind of environment requires genuine passion for making music, calling it an “unusual industry for sure in terms of the way things are re-enumerated, the way time is rewarded. I think to come up against that kind of numbers game, I think you have to have a really true obsession with create, making music.”
Blake has also confirmed plans for a UK and European tour later this year. The run will begin with a headline concert at London’s O2 Academy Brixton on September 29. Fans can check the full schedule of tour dates, with general ticket sales starting at 10am local time on Friday (March 20), while a pre sale will begin at 11am on Tuesday (March 17) for those who register in advance.
He is also preparing for a North American tour in support of ‘Trying Times’ (with remaining tickets still available). In addition, Blake is scheduled to perform at Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Sunderland this May.
Leave a comment