Meet Stefan Konstantopoulos

Today we’d like to introduce you to record producer and artist consultant Stefan Konstantopoulos.

Hi Stefan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I’m told that I was drawn to music at a very young age. When I was about 10 years old, my older brother and uncle — a career jazz musician — each began showing me all kinds of music outside the scope of FM radio. I then wanted to dig deeper and understand how those artists created their sounds.

In my mid-teens, I spent a lot of time at record stores and pro-audio stores, absorbing knowledge and insights. Those experiences solidified my resolve to pursue a career in music. A few years later, I began an audio-engineering internship at a commercial studio in my hometown of Portland, Oregon. I studied there for a year. After some research, I composed a 43-page business plan to help me secure funding for my own recording studio. However, I let go of that ambition a year later.

I took up bass guitar as a hobby and started working as a freelance writer for a small publisher of several musician-focused magazines. I was then approached by an executive from PreSonus Audio who wanted me to help the company create a new artist-relations program. I ran that for a year and got excited about working in audio production again but I couldn’t find my niche in the DIY music scene of Portland.

So, in an effort to distinguish myself, I invested in some high-end recording tools to attract more serious talent. I leveraged my credibility to secure a few unpaid gigs: recording some established bands such as The Helio Sequence at their live shows. I hoped the connections would lead to studio work and they did not. I then began producing demos for emerging artists and was left feeling unfulfilled.

In 2009, I packed up everything and moved from Oregon to Kentucky, to be near family and rethink my life. I then moved across state lines twice more after that. During that time, I collaborated remotely with a friend and created music for TV and film sync. After our first placement, more opportunities followed but our business model was ultimately unsustainable.

In 2014, I finally settled in Nashville. Ironically, that is also when I considered a different career path. In 2018, I was introduced to a music-industry consultant — most known for managing Taylor Swift — who heard my story and helped me recalibrate my career pursuit. Six months later, I realized that I had finally found my place in the music business, here in Music City.

I first started working as a remote technical consultant for artists recording and mixing their own music at home. It was everything from advice on what to buy to best practices and troubleshooting. At a certain point, I began to offer my services in mixing when it was clear that my clients were overwhelmed by the task.

My client base has grown quite a bit since then. I currently work as a production consultant, audio engineer, and producer for artists in multiple genres. In addition to working with clients in my home studio, I serve artists around the country and around the world. I also write tutorials for an audio-equipment manufacturer in England called Audient as well as articles for my own website blog.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No. It has not been an easy road for me. I had no meaningful support from friends and family when I began pursuing a career in music. Perhaps their concerns were informed by the strained relationship between art and commerce in the city where I grew up.

I started out chasing a loosely-defined dream, then refined it by trying to live it out 100 different ways. When I migrated south to start over, a whole new set of challenges arose but as John Lydon once wrote: “Character is lost and found on unfamiliar playing ground.”

It was never simply a case of “wrong place, wrong time” for me. Looking back, I can more clearly see how difficult it was for me to navigate the music business and establish myself as a professional in the field of audio production, without a mentor or advocate.

We’ve been impressed with your work, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The primary scope of my work is managing the record-making process for my clients. It includes pre-production planning through recording, mixing, and mastering. I may also be asked to add new instrument parts to a song, offer music business advice, or even resolve conflicts among bandmates.

As a student of vintage and contemporary pop as well as a number of other esoteric musical genres, I can draw ideas from a deep well for my clients. As a musician, I understand the songwriting process and sometimes approach my work in a fun and creative, less analytical way.

Because I have training as an audio engineer and have extensive experience with a wide variety of studio tools, I also offer remote consulting services to artists who record and/or mix their own music at home. My consulting clients can be found all over the United States and in 5 other countries.

My clients often tell me that others who offer recording and mixing services are typically uninterested in the back story of a client’s song or album in the making. They are also unlikely to invest the extra time and care to make every detail the best it can be, in alignment with the client’s creative vision. In contrast, I am known for digging into the stories and making every effort to bring song ideas to life.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Of course. First, find and join Facebook groups or other online communities comprised of emerging and established professionals in your field. Listen, try to learn something from everyone, and bring value to the community. If someone stands out to you as a potential mentor, send them a message and offer to work for them on a volunteer basis but be clear about your intentions. Groups that merely function as platforms for self-promotion are a waste of your time.