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Producer vs freelance producer

The differences between producers and freelance producers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a producer and a freelance producer. Additionally, a producer has an average salary of $72,202, which is higher than the $62,218 average annual salary of a freelance producer.

The top three skills for a producer include work ethic, video production and client relationships. The most important skills for a freelance producer are music videos, news stories, and video content.

Producer vs freelance producer overview

ProducerFreelance Producer
Yearly salary$72,202$62,218
Hourly rate$34.71$29.91
Growth rate8%8%
Number of jobs10,6109,703
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 79%Bachelor's Degree, 80%
Average age4040
Years of experience1212

What does a producer do?

A producer is an individual who is responsible for providing infrastructure, resources, and logistics in making a movie, television show, or stage production. Producers hire production staff such as director, crew, and sometimes actors to coordinate their activities throughout the production process. They support the creative team by conducting meetings to discuss the production's progress and ensure adherence to deadlines. Producers also travel often either to film on location for a movie or to tour with a theatre production.

What does a freelance producer do?

The responsibilities of a freelance producer are so broad that they can be tricky to define. Broadly, a freelance producer is responsible for finding, launching, and completing a project. They primarily handle logistics pertaining to the creation of various pieces of content. This content may include television shows, advertisements, or audio/video presentations. They also manage finances, keep the production within the allocated budget, and hire all key staff, crew members, and post-production teams. They may also have to scout for shoot locations.

Producer vs freelance producer salary

Producers and freelance producers have different pay scales, as shown below.

ProducerFreelance Producer
Average salary$72,202$62,218
Salary rangeBetween $43,000 And $120,000Between $33,000 And $113,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CA-
Highest paying stateNevada-
Best paying companyMeta-
Best paying industry--

Differences between producer and freelance producer education

There are a few differences between a producer and a freelance producer in terms of educational background:

ProducerFreelance Producer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 79%Bachelor's Degree, 80%
Most common majorCommunicationPhotography
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityHarvard University

Producer vs freelance producer demographics

Here are the differences between producers' and freelance producers' demographics:

ProducerFreelance Producer
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 58.2% Female, 41.8%Male, 58.7% Female, 41.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 6.3% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 6.3% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage14%14%

Differences between producer and freelance producer duties and responsibilities

Producer example responsibilities.

  • Manage and augment existing budget with EP.
  • Manage production of a Sony HD motion graphics internal sales video.
  • Manage all union matters including, IASTE, DGA and AFTRA.
  • Prospect and generate new business through telemarketing leads, referrals, networking and cold leads.
  • Lead the creation of key titles including high profile X360 launch title and new NFL brand IP.
  • Manage and guide guest bloggers through the editing process, copy edit blogs and produce content in HTML.
  • Show more

Freelance producer example responsibilities.

  • Drive engagement by managing the brand's YouTube channel, as well as all other social media outlets.
  • Manage production shoots for image campaigns and monthly communications meetings for CNN newsroom and internal in-house creative services department.
  • Manage creative release process working closely with site merchandising, content engineering, release engineering, QA, buyers and marketing.
  • Manage the QA process including test/debug cycles and platform compliance/compatibility testing.
  • Produce for Chubb s website, YouTube, Facebook and on DVD.
  • Help maintain social media presence on Facebook and Instagram.
  • Show more

Producer vs freelance producer skills

Common producer skills
  • Work Ethic, 9%
  • Video Production, 6%
  • Client Relationships, 6%
  • Project Management, 6%
  • Cross-Selling, 6%
  • News Stories, 4%
Common freelance producer skills
  • Music Videos, 20%
  • News Stories, 6%
  • Video Content, 5%
  • Video Production, 4%
  • Live Events, 4%
  • Photography, 4%

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