Anyone out there know of an ingenious way of funding the recording of a cd?? As is common here in Ireland, few musicians earn enough to record their own cd. And unless you're one of the better known musicians, most of the cd's will end up under the bed; therefore one would have to be willing to forfeit the costs as a 'bad debt' type thing....
While it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to record a CD, if you don't expect to sell enough to retrieve the money you put into making it, don't fool yourself into thinking it's worth the effort.
In the US, many folk musicians in the early stages of their "careers" put together a small group of "angels" - family, friends, and fans who give or lend (for little or no interest) what they can afford to make the recording possible. There's usually the understanding that the musician will make every effort to sell enough to pay back those who lend the money.
I've made a dozen or so such loans over the past 15 years. Some required extra time to pay it off, but only one defaulted, and that's because he died tragically in a flood.
Other musicians have tried pre-selling the disc to their fan base, but that requires having a fan base, which normally requires having previous CDs out. If a performer has a mailing list of, say 10,000 people, and they offer a signed, advance copy for $25, and 200 people respond, that's just about enough to do a simple recording.
There's also, in Ireland, the possibility of grant money from whatever they call the arts council. There's a website somewhere that lists the various projects that they've funded recently and the amounts. I think these include Breda Keville's brilliant "Hop Down", the Junior Crehan discs, and the MacNamaras great "Open Hearth". I suspect they favor projects that have historical interest.
There are so many more options now, thanks to computer and other related technology. Do you want to go the whole hog, rent a studio, record a "full-length" album (say 10 tracks or more) have it mixed and mastered, then pay for duplicating and packaging the CD? If so, you may need the "angels" Gary referred to.
Or would you be willing to go a bit lean, just in the interest of having some kind of recording sample you can send to concert or festival organizers and which you can sell at gigs or through the mail? So maybe you find a studio, lay down about a half-dozen tracks, forgo the post-production stuff, then take the master disc home and duplicate it on your own computer; if you use CD-Rs with Lightscribe you can even make your own label. Run off about 25-30 copies, reserve about 10 complimentaries for family and friends, another several for auditions, and make the rest available for sale.
And if some day you want to do something more elaborate, you can either re-record what you've done, or use the master as a basis for mixing and mastering, and add whatever else you want. (Then you can tout the product as "remixed and remastered," just to pull in those hard-core fans.)
Disclaimer: I've never actually tried this route myself, but I know of a few people who have and/or who recommend it.
We have recorded before on a home type studio set up using computer software and a very quiet setting. The end product is not the greatest quality as in a full bore studio product but it is commercially viable at a fraction of the cost. Ours turned out to be a fairly good representation to pub owners as the sound quality on the disc was simillar to live sound quality. Therefore no surprises at the pub when we "don't sound like the lads who were on the digitally mastered cd you gave us last month." It's one option to consider.
If you go in really well prepared and practiced, you may find a reasonable studio to do it in a few sessions. The will give you a decently finished master (check w/ others who have used them first as to quality of sound etc.)
If you get a printer with a CD tray (mine is great at just under $100) and have a shiny, glossy four page booklet printed up cheaply you can burn them yourself and print the title or a photo, so it's nice looking and get jewel cases and package them yourself.
This way you can sell them as you go, at places you play. You can even get a bar code online these days reasonably cheaply, which will be required for many stores to carry it.
We do the session recordings at IAANJ just this way. It's kind of a pain, but you don't have to lay out a lot of money and commit to the usual 500 minimum.
If you're really adventurous and don't mind a bit of an ongoing learning curve (which I am finding is going to likely be forever, but a lot of fun too!) get a little portastudio or computer interface, find a good spot in your house and learrn to record yourself rather than spend the money on the studio. A few decent mikes, they don't have to be real pricey either. Music stores or engineers can advise you. Maybe you can find some used gear too. I love my Fostex MRHD, it's under $400 and has the ability to record four tracks at once and you can pretty much add something like up to 64 tracks total if you want an orchestra!
It takes a lot of experimenting as to mike placement, each room is different so there is no set formula, you just try the mikes everywhere. What's great is you can put your tracks down by yourself, and add other musicians later on another track.
There are free good programs like Audacity that are pretty straightforward. I use that for all the session CDs. The porta studios generally have mastering effects you can add later. You can get them with or without a CD burner in them. The files are easily loaded onto a computer after and you can edit and burn from there, the editing is a lot easier on a big screen.
If inspiration hits any particular day, you can just go and record a few tunes, without having to book studio time too. Lots of people, even some pretty well known professionals I know record themselves at home all the time and produce their masters that way and it's totally accepted by their record labels.
Ask around among musician friends - you never know who's dabbling in home recording, and already has part of the setup. Naturally, you still owe some fee, and probably some beer, but not as much as renting a pro studio.
Where I am (NW US) a lot of the universities have recording studios, and audio students have to get a quota of hours studio time, so they're occasionally looking for someone to fill it up. When I was at school I knew a few audio students doing recording out of their basements for $15-30/hour - quite a bit cheaper than a pro studio.
It's really not that big a deal recording an album. I played with a band called Óige when I was a wee bit younger, and we recorded 3 albums with the band. The first album was a studio album, the second was a live album, and third was another studio album. Many of the tracks were borrowed for various compilation albums.
My best advice is just to know what you want before you go into a studio, to cut down on the studio time and costs. The tighter you are together as a band, the greater the likelyhood will be that you won't have to do multiple re-takes... Mistakes are inevitable, so this will happen, so prepare yourself for such studio clichés as: "Ok, take it from the top... again" lol.
Live albums have pros and cons. Plus sides are that if you have an excellent sound engineer, you can have a live album made through the desk there and then, no horrible, painful mixing, mastering etc afterwards... Last album I recorded was back in 1996 I think and they should still be on sale from: http://www.tradcentre.com/oige
That's over 10 years ago, and they are still selling to my knowledge. Good luck on it anyhow, and hope that advice helps.
I've recorded in two set-ups. One cheap version and the expensive type.. It's really worth the extra money if you're putting in the hard work.. If the studio has spent tens of thousands on the equipment you really hear it in the finished product..
But I agree with Murrough be really organised in the studio, think about set ups so you minimise swapping instruments and microphone set -up time.. And how you want to record , do you want to separate out voices and instruments etc
We didn't do that and it took us longer.. It was bloody hard work especially the mixing but so worth it..
Have fun and good luck
Bring plenty chocolate and patience!
Depends on the quality you aspire to. Nowadays you can digitally record almost anywhere using a PC, a mike and some software. Obviously a professional studio will have a number of advantages but you will pay much more for it.
My advice would be to rehearse your stuff until you can perform it flawlessly, otherewise you will waste a huge amount of studio time doing takes and re-takes. Rehearsals are much cheaper......
If you just plan to record a CD to sell at gigs, someone's home studio will work out fine. If you use a professional quality system such as ProTools, you can take the recorded tracks to a better studio for final polishing and mastering if you like!!
So if you plan it properly it may not cost as much as you think. A friend of mine has produced two CDs himself in his spare room at home.
Some of the magazines such as Sound on Sound, give away free software every month.You can usually pick up second hand software on Ebay.Some financial help may be available from your local arts trust, or some cultural department of your council, depending on where you stay.
Recording a cd
Recording a cd
Anyone out there know of an ingenious way of funding the recording of a cd?? As is common here in Ireland, few musicians earn enough to record their own cd. And unless you're one of the better known musicians, most of the cd's will end up under the bed; therefore one would have to be willing to forfeit the costs as a 'bad debt' type thing....
# Posted on September 12th 2006 by maryp
Re: Recording a cd
Beg borrow or... no, just beg or borrow the kit to do it yourself.
# Posted on September 12th 2006 by NeilC
Re: Recording a cd
While it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to record a CD, if you don't expect to sell enough to retrieve the money you put into making it, don't fool yourself into thinking it's worth the effort.
# Posted on September 12th 2006 by kilfarboy
Re: Recording a cd
In the US, many folk musicians in the early stages of their "careers" put together a small group of "angels" - family, friends, and fans who give or lend (for little or no interest) what they can afford to make the recording possible. There's usually the understanding that the musician will make every effort to sell enough to pay back those who lend the money.
I've made a dozen or so such loans over the past 15 years. Some required extra time to pay it off, but only one defaulted, and that's because he died tragically in a flood.
Other musicians have tried pre-selling the disc to their fan base, but that requires having a fan base, which normally requires having previous CDs out. If a performer has a mailing list of, say 10,000 people, and they offer a signed, advance copy for $25, and 200 people respond, that's just about enough to do a simple recording.
There's also, in Ireland, the possibility of grant money from whatever they call the arts council. There's a website somewhere that lists the various projects that they've funded recently and the amounts. I think these include Breda Keville's brilliant "Hop Down", the Junior Crehan discs, and the MacNamaras great "Open Hearth". I suspect they favor projects that have historical interest.
Good luck.
# Posted on September 12th 2006 by GaryAMartin
Re: Recording a cd
There are so many more options now, thanks to computer and other related technology. Do you want to go the whole hog, rent a studio, record a "full-length" album (say 10 tracks or more) have it mixed and mastered, then pay for duplicating and packaging the CD? If so, you may need the "angels" Gary referred to.
Or would you be willing to go a bit lean, just in the interest of having some kind of recording sample you can send to concert or festival organizers and which you can sell at gigs or through the mail? So maybe you find a studio, lay down about a half-dozen tracks, forgo the post-production stuff, then take the master disc home and duplicate it on your own computer; if you use CD-Rs with Lightscribe you can even make your own label. Run off about 25-30 copies, reserve about 10 complimentaries for family and friends, another several for auditions, and make the rest available for sale.
And if some day you want to do something more elaborate, you can either re-record what you've done, or use the master as a basis for mixing and mastering, and add whatever else you want. (Then you can tout the product as "remixed and remastered," just to pull in those hard-core fans.)
Disclaimer: I've never actually tried this route myself, but I know of a few people who have and/or who recommend it.
# Posted on September 12th 2006 by sts
Re: Recording a cd
We have recorded before on a home type studio set up using computer software and a very quiet setting. The end product is not the greatest quality as in a full bore studio product but it is commercially viable at a fraction of the cost. Ours turned out to be a fairly good representation to pub owners as the sound quality on the disc was simillar to live sound quality. Therefore no surprises at the pub when we "don't sound like the lads who were on the digitally mastered cd you gave us last month." It's one option to consider.
# Posted on September 12th 2006 by newfie percussionist
Re: Recording a cd
If you go in really well prepared and practiced, you may find a reasonable studio to do it in a few sessions. The will give you a decently finished master (check w/ others who have used them first as to quality of sound etc.)
If you get a printer with a CD tray (mine is great at just under $100) and have a shiny, glossy four page booklet printed up cheaply you can burn them yourself and print the title or a photo, so it's nice looking and get jewel cases and package them yourself.
This way you can sell them as you go, at places you play. You can even get a bar code online these days reasonably cheaply, which will be required for many stores to carry it.
We do the session recordings at IAANJ just this way. It's kind of a pain, but you don't have to lay out a lot of money and commit to the usual 500 minimum.
If you're really adventurous and don't mind a bit of an ongoing learning curve (which I am finding is going to likely be forever, but a lot of fun too!) get a little portastudio or computer interface, find a good spot in your house and learrn to record yourself rather than spend the money on the studio. A few decent mikes, they don't have to be real pricey either. Music stores or engineers can advise you. Maybe you can find some used gear too. I love my Fostex MRHD, it's under $400 and has the ability to record four tracks at once and you can pretty much add something like up to 64 tracks total if you want an orchestra!
It takes a lot of experimenting as to mike placement, each room is different so there is no set formula, you just try the mikes everywhere. What's great is you can put your tracks down by yourself, and add other musicians later on another track.
There are free good programs like Audacity that are pretty straightforward. I use that for all the session CDs. The porta studios generally have mastering effects you can add later. You can get them with or without a CD burner in them. The files are easily loaded onto a computer after and you can edit and burn from there, the editing is a lot easier on a big screen.
If inspiration hits any particular day, you can just go and record a few tunes, without having to book studio time too. Lots of people, even some pretty well known professionals I know record themselves at home all the time and produce their masters that way and it's totally accepted by their record labels.
# Posted on September 12th 2006 by irisnevins
Re: Recording a cd
Ask around among musician friends - you never know who's dabbling in home recording, and already has part of the setup. Naturally, you still owe some fee, and probably some beer, but not as much as renting a pro studio.
Where I am (NW US) a lot of the universities have recording studios, and audio students have to get a quota of hours studio time, so they're occasionally looking for someone to fill it up. When I was at school I knew a few audio students doing recording out of their basements for $15-30/hour - quite a bit cheaper than a pro studio.
# Posted on September 12th 2006 by skellington
Re: Recording a cd
It's really not that big a deal recording an album. I played with a band called Óige when I was a wee bit younger, and we recorded 3 albums with the band. The first album was a studio album, the second was a live album, and third was another studio album. Many of the tracks were borrowed for various compilation albums.
My best advice is just to know what you want before you go into a studio, to cut down on the studio time and costs. The tighter you are together as a band, the greater the likelyhood will be that you won't have to do multiple re-takes... Mistakes are inevitable, so this will happen, so prepare yourself for such studio clichés as: "Ok, take it from the top... again" lol.
Live albums have pros and cons. Plus sides are that if you have an excellent sound engineer, you can have a live album made through the desk there and then, no horrible, painful mixing, mastering etc afterwards... Last album I recorded was back in 1996 I think and they should still be on sale from: http://www.tradcentre.com/oige
That's over 10 years ago, and they are still selling to my knowledge. Good luck on it anyhow, and hope that advice helps.
# Posted on September 12th 2006 by Murrough
Re: Recording a cd
Whoa..there's alot of knowledge out there! Lots of ideas for me to chew over. Thanks
# Posted on September 13th 2006 by maryp
Re: Recording a cd
I've recorded in two set-ups. One cheap version and the expensive type.. It's really worth the extra money if you're putting in the hard work.. If the studio has spent tens of thousands on the equipment you really hear it in the finished product..
But I agree with Murrough be really organised in the studio, think about set ups so you minimise swapping instruments and microphone set -up time.. And how you want to record , do you want to separate out voices and instruments etc
We didn't do that and it took us longer.. It was bloody hard work especially the mixing but so worth it..
Have fun and good luck
Bring plenty chocolate and patience!
# Posted on September 14th 2006 by oreganem
Re: Recording a cd
Depends on the quality you aspire to. Nowadays you can digitally record almost anywhere using a PC, a mike and some software. Obviously a professional studio will have a number of advantages but you will pay much more for it.
My advice would be to rehearse your stuff until you can perform it flawlessly, otherewise you will waste a huge amount of studio time doing takes and re-takes. Rehearsals are much cheaper......
If you just plan to record a CD to sell at gigs, someone's home studio will work out fine. If you use a professional quality system such as ProTools, you can take the recorded tracks to a better studio for final polishing and mastering if you like!!
So if you plan it properly it may not cost as much as you think. A friend of mine has produced two CDs himself in his spare room at home.
# Posted on September 14th 2006 by lysaghtm
Re: Recording a cd
is their any software available to download from the internet for free that lets u record tracks?
# Posted on September 17th 2006 by Wannabe-piper
Re: Recording a cd
Some of the magazines such as Sound on Sound, give away free software every month.You can usually pick up second hand software on Ebay.Some financial help may be available from your local arts trust, or some cultural department of your council, depending on where you stay.
# Posted on September 17th 2006 by tirvaluk