Legendary US music producer Phil Spector has been found guilty of second degree murder in the death of an actress at his mansion in Los Angeles six years ago.

Spector, 69, who created the famed "Wall of Sound" recording technique during the 1960s when he worked with some of the biggest names in music, stared glumly as the verdict was read out.

The diminutive producer, who arrived in court to hear the verdict in a trademark long jacket bearing a lapel badge reading "Barack Obama Rocks!" could face up to 18 years in prison when he is sentenced on May 29.

Despite protests from defense attorneys, Judge Larry Paul Fidler remanded Spector in custody until his sentencing hearing, stating that "public safety and public protection are paramount".

The six-man, six-woman jury began deliberating on March 26 after a five-month court case following his first trial in 2007 that ended deadlocked with jurors unable to reach a unanimous verdict.

Prosecutors said Spector had shot dead former B-movie actress Lana Clarkson at his home in the early hours of February 3, 2003 after meeting her only a few hours before at the Hollywood nightclub where she worked.

Defense lawyers said the 40-year-old Clarkson, best known for her role in Roger Corman's 1985 cult classic The Barbarian Queen but whose career had stalled at the time of her death, killed herself.