Posted by Daryl (long reply) on February 25, 2003 at 23:29:34:
In Reply to: Producing your own CD posted by jimmy on February 25, 2003 at 21:49:17:
Before you do ANYTHING, decide what your goal is in making the CD. Recording a CD is EXPENSIVE to do right, and if you don't have a clear plan in place to market and sell your CD's, chances are you are basically throwing that money down the toilet. If you want a vanity project to give to friends and family and impress girls (don't laugh - lots of people do) then save yourself some time and money and do it yourself. Rent or borrow a nice stereo mic or a few nice condenser mics and a good recording deck and mixer, clear out a weekend, throw down 100 bucks to get the local piano whiz to grind out the accompaniments and have a good time with the process. If you have commercial aspirations for your CD (I want to sell X number of CDs so that I can make X amount of money), that's a WHOLE different kettle of fish. If you want to go that route, you need to research, research, and research. Who is going to buy this CD? Why are they going to buy this CD? What will they get when they buy this CD? How are they going to buy this CD? If you don't have an answer that you're happy with for all of these questions, DON'T make a CD!!!!!!!! I know far too many people with a thousand CD's in their garage and a 10,000 dollar debt in their financial record because they didn't. Don't let your CD become a door stop in your garage!! If you're not scared yet, then....
1. Pick unusual repetiore.
Take a look at as many solo tuba CD's as you can and make a list of every piece on them. Try your best not to program those pieces on your CD - how many recordings of the Hindemith Sonata for Tuba does the world REALLY need? If you do double up on a previously recorded piece, make sure you bring an unusual spin on it, or play it better than ever before. And under NO circumstances record Carnival of Venice - it's been done......WAY done.
2. Play it until you bleed it.
The best thing I've ever heard on this subject came from legendary session guitarist Dean Parks in reference to playing with Steely Dan;
"We didn't JUST play them until they were perfect - we played them until they went past the point of perfection, until they became natural. Then we were able to make it sound effortless, as if it had been improvised."
Do recitals - LOTS of recitals. Perform these things until you can do them standing on your head in a blizzard with fire ants in your shoes. Uphill. Both ways....you get the idea.
3. Find the best accompanist you can get/afford.
Every time you do a recital, get a different accompanist. Find one that is as close to the yin to your yang as you can get. Then give them anything it takes to do the CD with you. Most people will do it just because it's a CD, but be prepared to pay and pay fairly.
4. Find a competant engineer and producer.
No, they are absolutely NOT the same thing. The engineer is resposible for the equipment and technical end of the recording; selecting the mics and the preamps, picking the optimal micing patterns, etc. The producer is responsible for the overall artistic vision of the project. I would highly recommend not producing yourself - it's too easy to let yourself slide on something because you're tired, in pain, etc. A producer wears the proverbial golden boot to kick you in the a$$ when you run out of steam. Once again, be prepared to pay and pay fairly. You might be able to give your CD noteriety if you can coerce a "name" musician to produce (for example, Sam Pilafian on the Pat Sheridan records) but you will need to pay. The good news is that you can get a big guy to produce your CD. The bad news is that it will cost - BIG time. But, it may be worth the cost if you make it back in sales because "so and so" is involved in your project.
5. Spare no time in the recording.
Another great quote, this time from the movie "American Movie";
"No one ever paid eight bucks to see a movie with a sign on it that said 'Here's what you would have seen if we were presented with *this* set of circumstances.......'"
Do NOT let a track on your CD go out with even a slight audible mistake, clam, what have you. If that means you have to do three hundred takes over seven weeks of the same piece, DO IT. Most recitals are free for a reason - catch my drift? This is where the producer comes in really handy - they will tell you when you have clams so you can fix them, and they won't let you go on until you do.
6. Spare no time in the packaging.
Cd's are product, plain and simple, just like toothpaste and soda pop and Britney Spears. Would you buy a tube of toothpaste that had a label on it that was obviously printed on a home inkjet printer? NO WAY! Neither will anyone buy your CD with a cheap, Do-it-yourself jacket or sleeve except friends and family. And guess what - no one ever has enough friends or family to sell all your CD's, you're going to have to fool some poor unassuming suckers into buying it. Which brings me to my next tip;
7. Now what?
You made the CD's...they look great.....they sound great....surely people are going to flock in droves to buy it, right?
No. You have to convince them to buy it. And there is only one time tested, proven way to do it - PLAY. Play everywhere you can. There's a great method in a workshop I took called "Doing Music and Nothing Else" that works great for this. Take out a map of your home state and pick a distance - 25 miles to start maybe. Draw a circle on your map that is 25 miles from where you are in all directions. Write down every town and city in the 25 mile radius. Call every civic association, library, college, school, etc. and ask, beg, plead, grovel to play there. Take pay if they offer it - ask them to let you sell CD's if they don't. Play either way. Do it until you have played as many places as you possibly can - then repeat the process but make it 50 miles this time. Then 75, then 100.....etc. Before long, you will not only have sold all your CD's, you'll be on your third pressing. Press is nice, but it doesn't sell as many CD's as in person appearances. Having your CD in all the local bookstores is nice, but it doesn't sell as many CD's as in person appearances. And make sure, for the love of GOD, that you ALWAYS have CD's. My friend Dave, who is a singer/songwriter that does music for children will give copies away to the libraries he plays at - because he sells 10 more than he gives.
Be aware - the recording industry is chock full of second rate, half assed vanity CD's that no one buys except the artist who made them. Some because they're poorly promoted, some because they weren't able to support it with live performance, most because they just plain SUCK. Don't be that statistic - do your homework and never accept less than the best from yourself or the people you work with. It will be hard - and it might even not seem worth it...that is, until you are using that CD box to pack up old books instead of being a 10,000 dollar doorstop. Best of luck to you.
Daryl