Producer Stephen Street: Producing music is as much about managing egos as recording sounds

The producer's job is largely "getting the best out of an artist" by "making them feel special" - Stephen Street, the producer of records by The Smiths, Blur, The Cranberries, who is about to receive Music Producers Guild Awards, told the BBC about the essence of his job. He says how recording music is a lot about dealing with egos - "I have definitely been sent some slightly difficult people to work with", but sometimes "you do have to put your foot down but hopefully you're doing it in such a way that you're not making enemies... And there's other points where you just sit back and let them get on with it, because a good band will always sort out their natural balance".