Ghost Production Brief: Template for Your Custom Track
A ghost production brief should explain the record you want, its intended use and the files you need delivered. Include reference tracks with listening notes, essential creative choices, your budget and your preferred schedule. Separate those requests from details the producer still needs to confirm. Use the copyable worksheet below to prepare your brief, then check the fictional tech-house example for ways to turn a broad idea into audible decisions.
What a ghost production brief should achieve
Write towards a record someone can start making. Instead of stopping at "dark tech house for my next release," describe a rolling bass groove, a restrained lead, short vocal phrases and an outro you can mix out of without the hook competing with the next record.
Start with the track''s job. Are you asking for a club tool, a vocal-led single or a connecting track for your DJ sets? Explain which matters most. If you want sustained movement more than a dramatic breakdown, make that a creative priority.
Keep requests separate from commitments. Treat your budget, preferred delivery date, revision expectations and requested files as points for the proposal to address. Mark each as pending until you have an agreed answer.
For choosing who should make the record, use the hiring guide to evaluate producers and proposals. Here, concentrate on what you want them to make.
Copy this ghost production brief template
Copy this worksheet into your document and replace each instruction with your answer. Leave unresolved decisions explicitly marked as undecided, with a question for the producer. The instructions are writing prompts, not specifications for your track.
Use these statuses throughout: required for an essential request, flexible for a preference, undecided for an open creative choice and awaiting producer confirmation for scope or terms needing agreement. A required request still needs the producer''s acceptance.
Artist context: Name your artist project and describe its direction. Add a relevant release or mix if you want it considered.
Release use: Explain where you intend to use the track and what role it should play.
Existing material: List any demo, rough mix, vocal or MIDI you will supply. Distinguish listening references from material you want incorporated. State explicitly if you have none.
Genre and mood: Name the style, emotional tone and most important audible quality. Mark essential features as required.
Tempo and key: Give your preferences and identify any fixed constraints. Mark open choices as undecided and ask for a proposal.
References: Add track links, relevant timestamps and a listening note for each. Explain which reference takes priority if their directions conflict.
Arrangement: Describe the intro, hook placement, breakdown, main return and outro. Separate required features from flexible lengths or structures.
Vocals: Describe delivery, phrase density and prominence, or request an instrumental. Mark sourcing, recording and editing requests as awaiting producer confirmation.
Exclusions: Name sounds, treatments or arrangement choices you want avoided.
Files and versions: List every requested version and file type. Include your software setup if you need an editable project. Mark inclusion and compatibility as awaiting producer confirmation.
Budget: Give your working range or ceiling with its currency. Ask the proposal to confirm the total and included work.
Schedule: State your desired release date and any fixed commitments. Request confirmation of production dates, review milestones and final delivery.
Review process: Name the person consolidating feedback. Ask what each preview covers and what revision scope is included.
Documentation: List requested rights-transfer and confidentiality documents, alongside unresolved questions about supplied material.
Do not invent a technical preference just to complete a field. "Key undecided; please propose it after reviewing the vocal" gives the producer a clear next step. Before sending, check that your essential requests are easy to find.
Explain your sound through useful reference notes
Give each reference a job. One might describe bass movement; another might explain vocal placement. Sonarworks describes using references for different purposes and explains why arrangement, instrumentation and genre matter when choosing useful comparisons.
Use this table to plan your listening notes, then add your chosen links and timestamps to the brief.
| Reference purpose | Section to identify | Desired quality | Elements to avoid | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groove | Main section with kick and bass | Bass movement around a clear kick pulse | Busy fills between every phrase | Required |
| Vocal placement | Vocal entry and following phrase | Short phrases with space afterwards | Continuous vocal layers | Flexible |
| Arrangement contrast | Break into the main return | A forceful return of the full groove | A long breakdown | Flexible |
Replace "make it bigger" with the change you want to hear. Try "pull the bass out before the return" or "leave a gap after the vocal before the lead answers." Ask for contrast, movement or placement without prescribing a processing chain.
Compare previews and commercial references at similar playback levels. iZotope recommends matching playback levels so loudness differences do not mislead your assessment of tone or compression. In your notes, distinguish a stronger musical return from a balance change or louder playback.
Keep the comparison specific to your material. References offer benchmarks for qualities such as balance, stereo width and low end, but their mix characteristics cannot simply be copied onto a different arrangement, as Sound On Sound explains in its reference-track guidance.
Specify arrangement, vocals and creative boundaries
Describe how you want to enter and leave the record in a set. Request drums alone at the start if that matters to you. Explain when you want the bass to arrive and whether the final mixing section should remove the vocal and lead. If you have no preferred lengths, ask the producer to propose them.
For the breakdown, describe how much movement you want to retain. "Keep a rhythmic cue under the vocal" and "strip the break to voice and atmosphere" describe different creative directions. Identify where you want the hook introduced and where it should step back.
Give vocals their own notes: spoken or sung, sparse or busy, dry or effect-heavy, foreground or supporting texture. Label supplied recordings as references or material intended for use. Flag sourcing questions and check supplied samples and vocals before settling the plan.
Leave room for proposals where you want them. For example: "Required: space after each vocal phrase. Flexible: suggest a percussion response in those gaps." Use that same distinction when reviewing the preview.
State the files, budget and schedule you need confirmed
List custom track deliverables individually instead of asking for "all files." Request the master, stems, MIDI and editable project you need, then ask which are included in the proposal. For audio files, state any format, sample-rate or bit-depth requirements you already have; otherwise, request a recommendation.
Ask how stems will be grouped and whether effects will be included. If you need an editable session, provide your DAW name and version, then confirm DAW and plugin compatibility before agreeing the scope.
Name alternate versions now: extended mix, shorter edit, instrumental or another variation. Describe the actual difference you want. If an instrumental should include new lead phrases where the vocal was, request that arrangement work explicitly.
State whether your budget is a ceiling or a working range. Consult custom production packages and starting prices, then ask for a proposal covering your particular requests. Keep optional work separately identified.
Separate your desired release date from the agreed delivery date. Request review milestones and allow for your own release preparation. Keep any proposed dates marked as awaiting confirmation until the schedule is agreed.
Request written confirmation of the rights arrangements and documentation you need. If confidentiality matters, agree confidentiality before sharing material. Record unresolved questions without trying to settle them through a description of the sound.
Worked example: a tech-house commission
This is a fictional briefing example, not a SoundHaus project. It shows how to express musical direction while leaving unresolved decisions visible. It is ready for a scope discussion; it is not a confirmed production order.
Artist context: I play groove-led club sets. I want a track that connects busier vocal records while maintaining movement.
Release use, required: A club-focused release that I can test in my sets.
Existing material: No demo, vocal or MIDI supplied.
Genre and mood, required: Tech house with a rolling groove, restrained lead and tense but playful feel. Prioritise bass movement over melodic density.
Tempo and key, undecided: Please suggest a tempo for this direction. Propose the key once we have discussed the vocal approach.
References, undecided: I have not selected tracks yet. I will send a groove reference and a vocal-spacing reference with listening notes before approving the direction.
Arrangement, required: A clear mixing intro, contrast at the main return and a mixable outro without the central hook. Lengths are flexible; please propose a structure that maintains momentum.
Vocals, flexible: Short spoken phrases with gaps for the groove. Exact approach is undecided. Sourcing options and associated costs await producer confirmation.
Exclusions, required: Avoid a dominant melodic lead, continuous vocal layers and a long cinematic breakdown.
Requested files, awaiting producer confirmation: Extended master, instrumental version, stems and MIDI. Please recommend audio specifications. An editable project is optional; I need to confirm my intended software setup first.
Budget, undecided: Please identify the proposed scope and price, with optional work listed separately. I will confirm my spending limit before authorising production.
Schedule, awaiting producer confirmation: No release date is booked. Please propose preview and final delivery dates for discussion.
Review process: I will consolidate feedback. My requested first review covers groove and vocal spacing. Preview stages and revision scope await producer confirmation.
Documentation, awaiting producer confirmation: Please specify the proposed rights arrangements, delivery documents and vocal-sourcing details. I would like to discuss confidentiality before sharing unreleased artist material.
Use the example''s musical priorities as review questions: does the bass provide the movement, does the lead stay restrained and does the vocal leave gaps? Resolve the open budget, reference and schedule decisions before treating the brief as agreed.
Turn the brief into a proposal and review checklist
Ask for a response to each essential request. Record accepted details alongside anything still open, using the agreed proposal as the basis for review.
| Request | Current status | Review method |
|---|---|---|
| Rolling groove with restrained lead | Awaiting agreement | Assess bass movement and lead prominence in the direction preview |
| Space around vocal phrases | Vocal approach undecided | Listen for gaps in the main section |
| Mixable outro without central hook | Length awaiting agreement | Try a transition with the full arrangement |
| Instrumental version | Scope awaiting confirmation | Compare with the agreed version description |
| Final handover | Files and date awaiting confirmation | Check the agreed delivery list and documents |
Ask what each preview is intended to establish. Focus early feedback on the direction being presented; assess the full arrangement when that is available for review.
Consolidate feedback into a message with the version name and timestamps. Preserve what works: "Keep the bass rhythm; reduce the lead during the vocal." End with a clear status, such as "groove approved; vocal spacing needs adjustment." If you change direction, ask how that affects scope and timing.
FAQ
How detailed should a custom production brief be?
Include details that affect your requested production: intended use, essential musical features, exclusions, files and timing. Mark open choices explicitly. Leave processing decisions to the producer unless you have a specific requirement.
Should I include reference tracks in the brief?
Include references that clarify your direction. Explain each track''s purpose, add relevant timestamps and identify elements to avoid. Rank conflicting references instead of sending an unexplained playlist.
What if I need several versions of the track?
List each version before agreeing scope and price. Describe differences in length, vocals or arrangement, and ask the proposal to confirm which versions are included.
Can I provide a demo or reference track?
Include it in your brief with listening notes. For a demo, mark parts you want kept, developed or replaced. Distinguish listening references from material intended for incorporation, and ask the producer to confirm how supplied files will be handled.
With your musical priorities and open questions recorded, submit your custom production brief to SoundHaus, the team behind the track, to start discussing your custom production.