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Comment by paulpauper | Hacker News Reader

I wonder how much of this success can be explained by survivorship bias? I am sure there are/were plenty of producers equally or more brilliant but who never got a chance, couldn't sign the Beastie Boys or Run-DMC, or worse timing. it is easier to be a legendary producer when you happen to get all the best most talented acts ,too. There were so many producers in the early 80s hip hop scene.

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He was there at the beginning with Run DMC then the Beastie Boys, the latter was a punk rock band until he started to push them and as a member.

There really are talented people in this world. A bitter lesson.

That doesn't pass the smell test. He's still producing hit records. If it was just survivorship bias, certainly we'd be talking about him in the past tense given how notoriously difficult it is to stay alive and relevant in the entertainment industry.

it is easier to produce hits when you already established yourself, because then you get the top talent and have more money and media attention for subsequent records . they are not totally mutually independent events.

>how notoriously difficult it is to stay alive and relevant in the entertainment industry.

This smells really bad: the entertainment industry is notoriously hard for the majority of artists to gain a foothold, but there are just as many notable cases of sub-par artists getting ahead through nepotism etc. And that's only discussing the talent, the business end of the music industry has that issue to reductio-ad-absurdum levels.

I would "yes, and" that. I hear you on the right place, right time. Successful producers have an ability to identify and cultivate talent. Early demos they hear are raw and undeveloped among a vast sea of those that don't make it.

This downvoting is ridiculous, your comment is entirely reasonable, objective as can be, and should serve as a starting point (for those already versed in Rubin's career and careerism) for this entire debate.

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