Mr. Rennefeld, as a music producer you regularly hold workshops for companies. How do music and companies fit together?

“Better than you might think at first glance since they have a lot in common. To be honest, a band and a team are, after all, a collection of talents and personalities that need to be made to perform in harmony. The goal: top performance, an enthusiastic audience, and a group of fans that keeps on growing. Only then will the vitality be visible and able to motivate others. If you compare a band with a project team, for example, you’ll find that both bring together many different characters and personalities. Every band has its loud and quiet members, for instance. Even though the loud ones might get on your nerves, a band needs them to be noticed.”

And what does that mean for someone who runs a band or such a team?

“I like to compare my role with that of a director, a conductor or, in this context, a manager. You need someone who dictates the pace, calls the shots and makes decisions. I don’t need to be able to play every instrument to do that, but I do need to know exactly what function it has in the overall ensemble. I have to consider carefully what I can reasonably demand of my musicians and how I can ensure that they all play together at the right moment.

Rhythm, tempo and dynamics play a key role. If I want to change them, I need to proceed with care and caution. If just one player loses his rhythm, plays at a different tempo or is too loud or too quiet, it can significantly disrupt the overall sound. Clear and transparent communication is essential to prevent that from happening. And I need everyone in the team to achieve that.”

How can the band members do their bit?

“Some may need to play a little more quietly so that other instruments can also be heard. Others, in turn, need to play a little faster so that everyone keeps in time. It’s about listening to one another, but also about each one making their own individual contribution. With their personal interpretation of the songs, the musicians then add a recognizable and unique touch to the overall result. Both the band members and the music producer thus play a key role in making a song a hit.”

And if someone does hit a wrong note?

“It also happens in music that someone occasionally plays a wrong note or there’s unwanted dissonance. It’s then important how we as a band deal with it and, of course, in what situation it occurs. There’s no room for that in a concert, but it’s sometimes even desirable during recording or rehearsals. For me personally, slips like that are always a source of inspiration that give rise to most of my ideas. However, that requires musicians and colleagues who are willing to experiment, take risks and hence also make mistakes. My task as a music producer is to put new songs on the market, which means I also take a risk in a sense. But if the song does then end up being a hit, it’s a success for all of us.”

Musicians live from the applause for a great concert or a successful hit. How can work at a company become a hit?

“Imagine you’re in a sales talk or holding a presentation. Your goal should always be to reach and inspire the audience. That’s also what bands want to do with their songs. But what’s their recipe? To find that out, simply listen to your favorite song. It provides you with all the elements you need to produce a creative presentation or team meeting. It’s usually clear within the first seconds what a song is about. After that, you need to create credibility and keep the listener engaged. That’s achieved by a song’s refrain, in which I repeat the key messages.

A song normally lasts three minutes at the most. There’s a good reason for that. The shorter and catchier a song is, the more likely it is to become a top hit that sticks in everyone’s memory. And the same hopefully goes for your presentation. Your employees and colleagues are then bound to be enthusiastic about what you have to say and will spread your message. After all, one thing is clear: The audience always likes to sing along to a good refrain.”