Pro's & Con's in Producing & Recording your on music

[redbrst]

What are the advantages & disadvantages in producing your on CD?

[Dlivahh]

I believe that, number one, it is a good way to catalog
your tunes in album form. Also, if you are proficient at
recording, you can create a product that you can readily
sell/give away to friends, neighbors, maybe even enemies
(chuckle); it is always a great idea to have product with
you after you play a gig somewhere. I remember one time
long ago, I was asked for a "tape" of my stuff, to which I
had to reply, "Well, it's in the works..." And that was a letdown
for me, and the fan.
Now, if someone else does your CD for you, you will have to
prob shell out more $$$'s for the project, you may or may not
have creative control over the project/music, and it could end
up in great quantities...in your garage. Unless, of course, you
have super distribution, which TODAY, can be a big boom for
you financially, assuming that your music is HOT, and you've
got HITS on your hands!
Again, if you do your own CD, start to finish, you will have to
keep up with the demand, and make sure you have plenty
of copies ready to go. That's assuming once again, you've
got a great mix, and you know what you're doing. There are
companies out there who can take your finished master, give
you incredible artwork and make your project look super
professional (like DiscMakers), and entrust them with the
mastering/duplication process.
Hope this helps.

[Reconsiderate]

i'll second everything Dlivahh just said.

quality control
quantity control

[Dlivahh]

Thanks for your "considerate" words.

[GregK]

Well, as I ventured out looking for studios to record I was SHOCKED to add up some of the figures- you want HOW MUCH and I get HOW LITTLE??
Besides, there's all the driving here and there -and the scheduling thing- you might get a GREAT rate at 4am.. so you really wanna pack up your stuff and drive several towns or cities away to do your BEST WORK AT 4AM..not me!! Another thing is that my inspiration happens at the strangest times- now with a home studio I can just run into my music room and lay down some tracks when the mood strikes me. YES. a lot of the gear adds up a couple hundred on good mics, another hundred on good cables, the digital recording gear alone can set you back.. BUT, for the cds you sell you get MOST of the dough- sure you might have to give some of your dough away- you know..for websites, promotion etc- but what you pay out is minimal and what you get back is good. For me it seems to be worth it!

[1undread]

I would have to spend some serious cash if I was to go to a studio to work on my stuff. I can work on my music until it sounds right at home. It has taken a long time to learn everything but it is more than worth it. and I am happy to pass information on to those that need it so it will take them less time to develop their skills.

[redbrst]

Thanks all so much for the information.

Very good information for Nikki and myself to know.

Always looking for inputs and advice about this music business


Robin

[djsmooth4lyfe]

Well my Cons are:
-ONly use Fruity Loops, dont have any equipment besides my computer

[christineanderson]

Producing Your Own Music

Doing it yourself is the best way to go sometimes. Several years back, when I was a teenager and still pretty green, I thought that having a producer meant I was a "real" recording artist, and I thought the producer knew all the answers, and I dutifully obeyed his directions without question. When he said I would have to play the piano first and then sing second, I did what I was told, but the magic was lost because the single organism I become together with my piano was never captured on tape; it was never summoned.

I didn't realize what was going on (or wasn't going on) until Brian Lewis rescued me and pointed out that my demo didn't sound anything like me. That's when he talked to me about the benefits of recording a live album, and he said that was really what I needed if I was ever going to capture the real me.

And it worked. By making a live recording, and basically producing it myself, I feel like I grew as an artist, and I made an accurate representation of my music, finally, because I finally just got real and did it all by myself. It was like, hey, this is me.

And it was a really good feeling, because I'd never been able to say that before about any of my recordings.

Christine Anderson
www.christineanderson.net

[sivan]

[Reconsiderate]

[brazil_nut]

[Tawanaa]

Hello,

I was checking things out because I'm going through this right now. I started out using local producers in my area that weren't right for me (several reasons & money spent). And I only got one song that I was happy with (recorded about 3 different songs). I then decided to use an awesome producer from Nashville (Funny thing, his hometown's where I live. I didn't know that until I met him). He's awesome & is all the things you'd want for a good producer/artist relationship. But he's expensive (although he's the average cost of a N'ville producer). We started work in January & I'm on the last leg of paying him which I should have him paid in full in the next few weeks to month. However, I do not have my 3 songs "finished" yet. And it'll be a year since we started this once I make my trip "back to Nashville" & then have the 3 songs mixed & mastered (I own the master-I have a contract). I'm looking at doing the 3 songs finished in December/January. During the process (going back to doing things locally & networking and etc...), I've met other musicians in my area. One of them is my drummer & he's actually going above average engineering skills. He's offered to do some recording for me (we know each other so I know he's not going to rip me off). And I've listened to his recording of another local artist. It sounds good. However, I'm alittle concerned if it's going to be in the ballpark of the N'ville producer. But at this point, everyone's telling me I should have "product" by now in the way of a CD. So, I'd like to get enough songs recorded to have my first "CD". If I do the rest of them with the producer, it could be another year before it's finished (the whole process up to this point has been about 3 years). I'm going to give him a demo of the producer that I'm working with so he knows what I'm going for. It'd be nice not to spend a whole lot more to get this done & have it finished in a few months. The musicians I have access to are great so I don't think there'll be any musician quality issues... Anyways, I'm glad that I got to read this.

God Bless--

"Tawana"

[culturebank]

We have been through this, I guess what i learned from the experience is that things take time, to produce something that is of quality has a lot of variables to it and then when it is finished, how to get it out there??
If you want to do it yourself, do a lot of preapration before you go into that studio, make some demo's at first and get some feedback then slowly inmprove on things or find someone that has a digital home recording set up and offe a pecentage on sales in return.
These days , we value live recording, it has immediate results however, thats for people that have a live thing going, we record every gig we do with a nifty digital recording and mixing desk from yamaha, it has an awesome sound quality and built in effects and i personally love the live sound it creates. If this is not your thing, I guess finding a producer is the key to it all and again that is no easy task either, it can get all very complicated and costly. As for getting that CD out there, distribution through a large company is an option but you first will have to ptove that you have a viable fan base for someone to pick you up, we are not signed ourselves but we have been fortunate to tour the theatre scene which is great for CD sales and we get to keep all the revenue, it always boils down to promotion and exposure and there is no easy way out , selling your stuff through the net , I think its very difficult, unless you are a major force, you are just one of the millions out there trying to make a buck, don't want to sound negative but I believe thats the way it is. Still I am all for independance to a certain extent!

Silvana
culturebank/visions of a nomad

[Reconsiderate]