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So you want to record an album


Introduction

The process

Budgets

Computer recording

The great debate

Lead sheets

Demo - Broadcast quality

Copyright



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So You Want to Record an Album ?

How to get started and get the best result for your dollars

Budgets

 Developing a budget for a recording project can be a predictable process if you are aware of all of the costs involved and can accurately predict how long each process will take. The last place you want to find yourself is in the middle of a project costing twice as much as what you thought or having spent the money only to have a product that sounds "amateurish". Remember our original goal - to produce the best recording for the least amount of capital investment.    

Potential Problems

 

1.     It will be cheaper if I hire my friends instead of Professional Musicians

This sounds logical at first, but remember that Professional Musicians work very fast in the studio. You will pay more per hour with Professional Musicians but you will have fewer hours to pay for and a product that will be better than friends can usually do.

2.     I can save by recording at a cheaper studio. After all they have the same equipment as the best studios

You would never hire a carpenter for the tools they use, likewise you should never book a studio strictly for their equipment. Equipment never guarantees a good recording, however a good experienced Engineer can.

3.     I can save a bundle by producing the project myself

The fact is that hiring a producer will usually guarantee that your project will come in on budget and that the end product will be something that you can be proud of for years to come. The reason is simple. A Producer is one who is very experienced in the studio. They know how to get things done, who can do it best and they know how much time it will take to get it. You are paying for the use of their experience and resources as well as their talent. Lack of preparation can be a major budget destroyer. Using an experienced Producer means that all you have to do, as the artist, is to tell them what you want then sit back and enjoy participating in the whole process as it flows smoothly. Recording should not become a nightmare of a unfinished project with no funds to complete it.

A recording Budget has six categories:

1.  Creative

2.  Pre-production

3.  Musicians

4.  Studio

5.  Administrative

6.  Duplication

1. Creative

a)  Leadsheets

It is necessary for the client to provide some form of written music (either chord charts or manuscript) to act as a guide for the Arranger and possibly a cassette of the music as you perform it now. A living room recording will do fine. If you are providing music only in cassette form, then original leadsheets will need to be created before arrangements can be written.

b)  Arranging

A flat fee per song is charged for creating the parts that all of the instruments will play. The fee is based on an average per song to create one fee for the project.

c)  Producing

This is by arrangement with the Producer. It may be on an hourly, by the song or on a project basis.

 

2. Pre-production

An hourly fee is charged for computer recording of synth and sampled parts. This is an opportunity to save money as the sequencing rate is considerably cheaper per hour than the full studio rate.

3. Musicians

a)  Copyist

Obtains copies of all music for Musicians to play. Leadsheets for Artist, Producer and individual parts for each member of the rhythm section, brass section, backing vocalists, etc.

b)  Musicians

Musicians usually receive an hourly rate for time spent in the studio. Depending on how much music can be pre-produced, the number of Musicians can vary. If sequencing is used extensively only a few Musicians will be required. If a project is recorded with "live" Musicians the number could vary from 4 to a full orchestra.

 

4. Studio

a)  Tape

Tape costs include: ½", 1" or 2" tape for the Multitrack machine, ¼" or ½" tape for the 2 track mastering machine and/or DAT tape for the digital DAT recorder and cassettes and/or blank CD’s for the rough mixes and client copies of the final mix.

b)  Hours

Studio time is rented by the hour. Predicting the number of hours for recording and mixing is the most difficult item to predict and the most costly aspect of studio costs.

c)  Editing

Once the project is recorded and mixed, it will need to be edited into the correct order and copied.

5. Administrative

If you are recording songs already published, you will need to obtain a mechanical license from the publisher for each song. You will also have to pay the necessary Royalties (usually a pro rata share of 5.6% of retail selling price). There may also be other small costs such as photocopying, postage, etc.

6. Duplication

Graphic art. Whether your end product will be cassettes or CD’s, you will need "Camera Ready" art created for labels and inserts. Cassette duplication involves Mastering, stamping, imprinting, printing inserts and boxing.

7. Contingency . . .

Always add a figure to your bottom line for those unforeseen circumstances. Generally add 7% of the final figure as a contingency amount.