The question today is: Has production become more important than songwriting in today’s music? It’s not a new question, but it’s important to revisit from time to time. I actually saw a discussion of this on Reddit and it got me to thinking about it again.
Let’s first separate production from arrangement. Arrangement involves the musical part of the song; who plays what where and for how long, whereas the production is the more technical aspect; volume, effects, mastering and everything in between.