Disrupted Flow in the Studio

For many popular music records, the creative process of production has traditionally involved the collective input of songwriters, musicians, and producers. This paper considers how the confluence of recording and songwriting practices, known as studiobased songwriting, has disrupted some of the established flows associated with the role of songwriters, musicians, and producers in the production of popular music recordings. It examines historical examples of studio-based songwriting practices, specifically the Bee Gees and Michael Jackson. These examples provide a historical context in which studio roles are self-contained and coherent, but, as this paper argues, newly-affordable recording technologies have disrupted these notions. The analytical scope of this research concerns solo artists, duos, and small vocal groups where most of the non-vocal instruments are played by session musicians who generally do not contribute to the songwriting and production decisions.