Individual Production for the Musical Artist
Posted by Michael on February 13, 2010 under Recording Tips | 
Be the First to Comment
The Myth of “Almost Zero” Recording Costs – MTT – Music Think Tank.
Why do you need to hire people to work on your recording? I couldn’t have said it any better than this thoughtful article from Music Think Tank… a GREAT site for information on Music… promoting, building a career, etc…
Posted by Michael on November 13, 2009 under Misc, Recording Tips | 2 Comments to Read
The Death Of Mistakes Means The Death Of Rock – Monitor Mix Blog : NPR.
This article is a must-read! But I have to state, just because we CAN make things *perfect* doesn’t mean we HAVE to. I believe I find a good balance in my recordings of cleaning up what needs to, but leaving in the imperfections that help make the heart of a recording! This goes for ALL genres, not JUST rock!
Posted by Michael on June 9, 2009 under Recording Tips | Be the First to Comment
Here’s a great article about what the mix really does for your song and why you should really budget for it. Of course, when you work with me you get a package price and no surprises!
Give the engineer some « Loren Weisman’s Blog.
Posted by Michael on March 18, 2009 under Misc, Recording Tips | Read the First Comment
Adam Lambert has sure been a polarizing performer on American Idol. Most people are ranking him as a top contender to win the contest, but I actually hope he doesn’t.
I think he will be a bigger star if he doesn’t win.
Why?
The best, most memorable artists of all time did their own thing. They didn’t worry about the people that DIDN’T like their music. They made it for themselves and for the many people who LOVED what they were doing.
Plenty of people hated Queen, David Bowie, Culture Club, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, Nine Inch Nails, U2 etc… but that didn’t stop them from selling millions. But I doubt any of them would have sold more if they tried to “play it safe” and appeal to more people. Because then all of the people who felt so passionately about the artist would have been much less compelled to run out and buy their product. Read more of this article »
Posted by Michael on March 13, 2009 under Articles, Recording Tips | Read the First Comment
I know that everyone works in a slightly different manner. So for those of you new to the recording process, or for those of you who want an idea of how I work, I thought I would walk through the whole process, step-by-step, of recording a song.
This article is geared toward artists who don’t use a lot of live musicians, i.e. predominantly pop/r&b/dance music. Singer/Songwriters who want me to put together a track without a lot of live instruments will also see a very similar process. I will do another walk through for bands, and another one for solo artists who DO want to use predominantly live musicians in other articles.
I also work quickly. Depending on the Client’s availability, I can usually move through all the steps to completion in a week or less. Things move even faster (per song) when working on more than one as I can work in parallel on the songs.
I am a song-based producer. What that means is I don’t have hundreds of pre done “beats” or tracks lying around. I like to craft the musical arrangement to work perfectly for each song that my clients bring in. So what this means… I listen to the client sing “or play” the song… Then I find the tempo, put in a temporary, unchanging drum beat, and start figuring out the song. We will lay a temporary piano or guitar line that is meant for just figuring out the chord structure of the song. Once this is laid down, the client will lay down a “scratch” vocal for me to use as reference. I don’t spend much time at all on the scratch vocal. (The only people who will ever hear it are myself and the client!) The scratch vocal serves three purposes… Hearing it over and over I can get to know the song better. I will get to know the singers idiosyncrasies and get some ideas of how to coach out an amazing vocal performance later. Most importantly, I can see how the voice fits in the track so I can choose instrumentation that will sound good with and support the most important element of the song. Then I am ready to move on. Read more of this article »
Posted by Michael on February 16, 2009 under Articles, Recording Tips | Be the First to Comment
I find it amazing that the first question most people ask when talking to me about recording is, “What Are Your Rates?”
I understand this is important to most people, but the correct question should be “What is This Going to COST Me?”
1. People who work on hourly rates work at different speeds and capabilities. Someone whose hourly rates are half of someone else’s could still easily end up COSTING you a lot more for the finished end project.
2. Producers like me, who work on a package price for the whole project, need much more information before we can truly answer that question. (Which is why I offer a free consultation to prospective clients.) Read more of this article »
Posted by Michael on November 29, 2008 under Misc, Recording Tips | Be the First to Comment
Indies might actually have a real chance at sales and radio play when it no longer makes sense for the majors to spend MILLIONS promoting a single song to radio.
And judging from the list of best selling albums of 2008, that time might not be too far off.
When even the HITS aren’t selling a whole lot, the majors are going to have to rethink their strategies… hey, they might have to release GOOD music to get radio play instead of pay-for-play!
Lil Wayne may be #1 for the year, but at 2.7 million, it ain’t a lot to crow about. And with Madonna, 3 Doors Down and Katy Perry all WELL under a million… well lets say the general major label policy of the HITS helping cover the costs of the flops is coming to a close REAL soon.
Posted by Michael on September 29, 2008 under Articles, Recording Tips | Read the First Comment
Many artists and musicians think they don’t need a producer. They have the artistic vision, why should they hire someone else?
There are many jobs a true music producer does, many of which have little to do with the actual creative output of the music. So why should you use a Real Producer?
1. Do you know which studio to book? Do you know if they will really have what you need to accomplish your goals? Real Producers know this. Many have their own studios as well, so the price isn’t much more, and if their studio isn’t up to the job, they’ll be able to take the portion of the project that needs another space and coordinate everything.
2. Do you know how long it will take to record all the pieces? Not guessing… really know? Producers know how long everything will take, and can schedule everything with you to make sure you are getting the most efficient use of your time. Read more of this article »
Posted by Michael on August 18, 2008 under Articles, Recording Tips | 4 Comments to Read
There are some musicians who seem to think that they can find a producer/engineer who will be willing to work with them for free (“On Spec”). Or they may have heard that if they are “good enough” they shouldn’t have to pay for recording… someone will front them.
While in a few number of cases that can be true, as I’m sure someone has told you, “Nothing is EVER free.”
I’ll walk you through a few common scenarios, and explain where the hidden “costs” are… should you actually find someone willing to work with you on Spec.
1. Established producers will “cost”: The truest form of a spec deal is with an established producer who actually has industry contacts and is producing you because they feel they can possibly get a deal for you. However, getting their attention is difficult. Unless you have an inside connection to them in the first place, you will need a very good quality demo to get them interested in the first place. Then if you DO get the deal,YOU WILL NEED TO HIRE AN EXPERIENCE MUSIC ATTORNEY. This will cost you quite a bit, but you need to protect yourself, because the well connected producer is certainly protecting himself. The last thing you want is a scenario where the demos he produces don’t secure you a deal and/or aren’t stylistically where you want to go musically… and then you find yourself lucky enough to actually land a deal later on (not having anything to do with his demos) and have him suing you for earnings.
2. Inexperienced producers will waste your time (and time is money!): Many newcomers will work on spec, but if they don’t have the skills in the first place, you may spend a lot of time working on recordings that never showcase you well in the first place. You can find yourself running months (or years) behind your goals for yourself.
Of course there are all sorts of producers in between, but with ALL of them, including the categories above, these are some of the other hidden costs. Read more of this article »
Posted by Michael on August 16, 2008 under Articles, Recording Tips | 4 Comments to Read
In most areas, it holds true that You Get What You Pay For. Spend more money you get better quality. Unfortunately for many reasons, that just doesn’t hold true in the recording business. In fact there is very little rhyme or reason whatsoever when searching for Producers – studios – engineers.
This makes it difficult to find the right person to deliver your musical vision, and I truly feel sorry for the musician searching for the right production quality in a market where the product just isn’t concrete.
If you are looking for recording, there are three categories where most producer/engineers will fall. I will list why each could be good or bad… with the most common outcomes first. Read more of this article »
