Richard Monroe
Well-known member
I guess this is a little advice for those who are doing it, or those who plan to. It's also a philosophical statement about dealing with a rapidly changing industry, and doing what's right, for *your own* good. I notice that the biggest successes on this board rarely show up on this forum. They often expend more effort telling some clueless newb how to make a good recording than what to do with it.
First, my spin on the rapidly changing industry, and how it affects me and you:
Old school- You play in local bands until you can draw a pretty good sized crowd at any club. A recruiter from a major label decides you could be a product. He lies to you, gets you laid, makes sure you have plenty of whatever recreational substances you use, and gets you to sign a userous recording contract. You are handed over to producers and engineers who make an album that usually has very little to do with what you would have done if you were in control. Aside from your signing bonus, if any, you get 3-5% of *net*, so if the album doesn't make money, in the end you get less than minimum wage for your life's work.
Then you are booked on a tour, playing lead-on, if you are lucky, for a major act. It involves way too many performances, and way too much travel. You get laid and stoned some more. You also get a significant portion of the gate, more if you *are* the major act, and you actually make some money, if you are smart enough not to waste it. Of course, you probably collapse from exhaustion, and wind up in the Betty Ford clinic for drug rehab and treatment for your STD's. The record label really doesn't make a lot of money off this. The point is- The record exists to make money for the label, and to promote your live tour. The tour exists to make money for you, and to promote *the labels* record. This worked because no one could *make* a record without a ton of money, and no one could *get* a record without spending money. If you were lucky, you could make enough money to become your own label, of form a collective, like Asylum.
In between-the tribulations: Fast forward a few years- Common use of cassettes make it possible to duplicate the music on your own, with high-speed dubbing, and hand it to a friend. The record company hates it. Fortunately for them, vinyl records still sound better, on good equipment, and soon, digital recording becomes a standard, and the CD comes into common use. The status quo is maintained. Nobody can make a good CD without a ton of money, and you have to buy it, if you want to own it. And then, OH NO!, the CD-R is born, and the CD-ROM drive becomes something a regular Joe can afford. The transfer of digital audio data becomes commonplace, leading to WAV., MP3, file sharing, with widespread copyright infringement. Meanwhile, something else happens. The equipment for digital recording, based on the same technology as any computer, becomes affordable for the masses. This creates everything from phones that download MP3 files, to high-end digital recording consoles. The DAW is born. A demand grows for cheaper replacements for essential analog front end equipment. Soon cheaper mics and preamps become available. many based on cheaper modern electronics, and built on the cheap by the Chinese. Now the record label is *really* screwed, 'cause they can't close Pandora's box. Indie recording grows, mostly leading to the death or restructuring of major labels, flooding the internet with poor quality, badly produced independent MP3 downloads, and the industry scrambles to find a way to make somebody pay for the expenses of making good recordings. Their attempts at marketing MP3 downloads, and looking for ways to copy-protect digital audio files mostly fails.
Of course, a few of those indies figure out haw to produce good recordings, and some that didn't still gain a following, and manage to make a ton of money on line. (the Arctic Monkeys, for example). Net result- more money is spent than made, both by the labels and the indies. Good studios with high standards go belly-up, and labels produce assembly-line formula schlock on the cheap.
New school-I am the recording artist, the producer, the label, and the recording studio. All the money is mine, after expenses, residuals, mechanical royalties, etc., *if* I can get anybody to pay for the end product. If I could sell 10,000 copies of my CD, I could make more money than Paul McCartney made off of Rubber Soul! But of course, I can't sell 10,000 copies. Eventually the indie runs into the same problem as the big labels. Making high quality recordings takes time, experience, and money, lots of it, albeit less than it used to take.
How does this affect *me*, the independent recording artist? Well first, it places me, the rebel, indie, outsider, in the position of having to promote my baby, that I've sweated over for 2 1/2 years, as *a product*. It's like trying to sell the family dog! You figure out early on that you only have so many buddies, co-workers, and family members, and that selling a CD or download to somebody you don't know is better than selling 10 to your mother.
My CD, "Reunion" was released in 2004, and is now in the second run of production. It has paid for itself, and a goodly chunk of the studio that was built to record it. Current net is a loss, except I get to own the studio. The second album, "Horsefeathers", is now in the guide track stage, and will be a hell of a lot cheaper to produce, given that I don't have to build a studio to do it. And it will be better, because I have better gear and 5 years of experience tracking.
So what can I do to improve the quality of music recording and the economic outlook for the worldwide music industry? First, be the cream that rises to the top. Learn to make better recordings, and continue to improve my engineering skills. Build a better room, track a better performer. This is just what those old-school experts at the major studios did. Secondly, I can promote a mind set that acknowledges that good recordings cost money to produce. If we think that all music should be downloaded and the files shared for free, then we have to ask whose money will be used to make the next Sgt. Peppers. Most importantly, we have to support the work of other independent recording artists by paying good money for their products. I am proud to say that I own 2 CD's by true-eurt, just as an example. It didn't hurt that much, I paid by Visa. If we, independent recording artists and home producers, never buy anybody's CD, why on Earth do we believe that anybody is going to buy ours?
Among my greatest marketing victories- I sold a copy of "Reunion" to the toll taker on the Massachusetts Turnpike *at the tollbooth*! I sold a copy to the waiter in my favorite Chinese restaurant. I have records of everybody who has ever bought my CD, so I can send them the release announcement when "Horsefeathers" is released. When people ask me, "How can I ever repay you?". I say, "Buy my album. It rocks". Instead of looking for payment or services for things I've done, all I ask is that folks consider giving me a fair price for a product that took me thousands of dollars and countless hours to produce. Ha! Want to find me? I'm probably on Homerecording.com, helping some clueless newb to make better recordings...or at:
www.bardwire.com
Richie
First, my spin on the rapidly changing industry, and how it affects me and you:
Old school- You play in local bands until you can draw a pretty good sized crowd at any club. A recruiter from a major label decides you could be a product. He lies to you, gets you laid, makes sure you have plenty of whatever recreational substances you use, and gets you to sign a userous recording contract. You are handed over to producers and engineers who make an album that usually has very little to do with what you would have done if you were in control. Aside from your signing bonus, if any, you get 3-5% of *net*, so if the album doesn't make money, in the end you get less than minimum wage for your life's work.
Then you are booked on a tour, playing lead-on, if you are lucky, for a major act. It involves way too many performances, and way too much travel. You get laid and stoned some more. You also get a significant portion of the gate, more if you *are* the major act, and you actually make some money, if you are smart enough not to waste it. Of course, you probably collapse from exhaustion, and wind up in the Betty Ford clinic for drug rehab and treatment for your STD's. The record label really doesn't make a lot of money off this. The point is- The record exists to make money for the label, and to promote your live tour. The tour exists to make money for you, and to promote *the labels* record. This worked because no one could *make* a record without a ton of money, and no one could *get* a record without spending money. If you were lucky, you could make enough money to become your own label, of form a collective, like Asylum.
In between-the tribulations: Fast forward a few years- Common use of cassettes make it possible to duplicate the music on your own, with high-speed dubbing, and hand it to a friend. The record company hates it. Fortunately for them, vinyl records still sound better, on good equipment, and soon, digital recording becomes a standard, and the CD comes into common use. The status quo is maintained. Nobody can make a good CD without a ton of money, and you have to buy it, if you want to own it. And then, OH NO!, the CD-R is born, and the CD-ROM drive becomes something a regular Joe can afford. The transfer of digital audio data becomes commonplace, leading to WAV., MP3, file sharing, with widespread copyright infringement. Meanwhile, something else happens. The equipment for digital recording, based on the same technology as any computer, becomes affordable for the masses. This creates everything from phones that download MP3 files, to high-end digital recording consoles. The DAW is born. A demand grows for cheaper replacements for essential analog front end equipment. Soon cheaper mics and preamps become available. many based on cheaper modern electronics, and built on the cheap by the Chinese. Now the record label is *really* screwed, 'cause they can't close Pandora's box. Indie recording grows, mostly leading to the death or restructuring of major labels, flooding the internet with poor quality, badly produced independent MP3 downloads, and the industry scrambles to find a way to make somebody pay for the expenses of making good recordings. Their attempts at marketing MP3 downloads, and looking for ways to copy-protect digital audio files mostly fails.
Of course, a few of those indies figure out haw to produce good recordings, and some that didn't still gain a following, and manage to make a ton of money on line. (the Arctic Monkeys, for example). Net result- more money is spent than made, both by the labels and the indies. Good studios with high standards go belly-up, and labels produce assembly-line formula schlock on the cheap.
New school-I am the recording artist, the producer, the label, and the recording studio. All the money is mine, after expenses, residuals, mechanical royalties, etc., *if* I can get anybody to pay for the end product. If I could sell 10,000 copies of my CD, I could make more money than Paul McCartney made off of Rubber Soul! But of course, I can't sell 10,000 copies. Eventually the indie runs into the same problem as the big labels. Making high quality recordings takes time, experience, and money, lots of it, albeit less than it used to take.
How does this affect *me*, the independent recording artist? Well first, it places me, the rebel, indie, outsider, in the position of having to promote my baby, that I've sweated over for 2 1/2 years, as *a product*. It's like trying to sell the family dog! You figure out early on that you only have so many buddies, co-workers, and family members, and that selling a CD or download to somebody you don't know is better than selling 10 to your mother.
My CD, "Reunion" was released in 2004, and is now in the second run of production. It has paid for itself, and a goodly chunk of the studio that was built to record it. Current net is a loss, except I get to own the studio. The second album, "Horsefeathers", is now in the guide track stage, and will be a hell of a lot cheaper to produce, given that I don't have to build a studio to do it. And it will be better, because I have better gear and 5 years of experience tracking.
So what can I do to improve the quality of music recording and the economic outlook for the worldwide music industry? First, be the cream that rises to the top. Learn to make better recordings, and continue to improve my engineering skills. Build a better room, track a better performer. This is just what those old-school experts at the major studios did. Secondly, I can promote a mind set that acknowledges that good recordings cost money to produce. If we think that all music should be downloaded and the files shared for free, then we have to ask whose money will be used to make the next Sgt. Peppers. Most importantly, we have to support the work of other independent recording artists by paying good money for their products. I am proud to say that I own 2 CD's by true-eurt, just as an example. It didn't hurt that much, I paid by Visa. If we, independent recording artists and home producers, never buy anybody's CD, why on Earth do we believe that anybody is going to buy ours?
Among my greatest marketing victories- I sold a copy of "Reunion" to the toll taker on the Massachusetts Turnpike *at the tollbooth*! I sold a copy to the waiter in my favorite Chinese restaurant. I have records of everybody who has ever bought my CD, so I can send them the release announcement when "Horsefeathers" is released. When people ask me, "How can I ever repay you?". I say, "Buy my album. It rocks". Instead of looking for payment or services for things I've done, all I ask is that folks consider giving me a fair price for a product that took me thousands of dollars and countless hours to produce. Ha! Want to find me? I'm probably on Homerecording.com, helping some clueless newb to make better recordings...or at:
www.bardwire.com
Richie
