How to Choose a Recording Studio

As an artist, your choice of recording studio to capture your art is a vital decision. There is a fine balance when choosing a recording studio between quality and cost. Use the tips in this guide to find a quality recording studio that will help you get the most for your money

1

Ask around. Networking and talking to other artists is the best place to start when looking for a studio. This will give you an idea of what different studios offer from an artist's perspective. Ask to hear what other artists have recorded at different studios.

2

Listen to some work recorded at different studios. This will give you a good idea of what a studio is capable of producing. Listen to the music in some different systems that you are familiar with, such as your home stereo and your car, and listen for the differences of quality. A good recording should sound good in every system, mono or stereo.

3

Visit the studio to see if you feel comfortable there. One of the most important, and often overlooked, aspects of a recording studio is the vibe you get. If you cannot feel comfortable because the studio is dirty, not well lit or just not to your taste, it is going to be difficult to perform a quality recording. Check out the different rooms in the studio to see if they sound good.

4

Consider the quality of the studio's equipment and personnel. Good equipment will help you get the best possible recording so do your research on the gear that the studio offers. This can include gear like microphones, preamps, interfaces and external processing gear. A good engineer is even more important than the gear. A good engineer can create amazing sounds from average equipment so be sure to consider the quality of the person hitting the buttons and not just the gear the buttons are on.

5

Set a budget. This is the trickiest part of the process. Big, professional studios can offer world-class gear with engineers who have decades of experience with numerous awards, but all of this comes for a price. There is no set price for what recording costs, which means that there is some negotiating room at most studios. Don't try to bite off more than you can pay for though.

Source:  www.ehow.com

How To Get More Sales On iTunes!

How To Get More Sales On iTunes!

You have worked hard on writing and recording your album.  Now it’s time to put it on iTunes.  But what do you do next to make sure that you see some sales? If you want your album to sell, you will have to promote it.  Below is a list of 12 easy things you should do to get more sales on iTunes.  Follow these suggestions and you will be selling more of your music and growing your fan base in no time!

1.       Send Your Album Out For Review:

Send your album out to local newspapers, magazines, and blogs along with a friendly letter asking if they would consider reviewing your album.  Getting reviews is extremely important.  It allows your music and message to be exposed to new audiences.    Hopefully, someone will read the article, like what the author is saying, and go to iTunes to check out and purchase your music.

2.      Print Up Download Cards With A Sample Of Your Music:

Download cards are an affordable, easy way to get some promo for your new album.  I would suggest making up a card and putting 1 or 2 songs from your album on it.  On the card make sure you include your contact info, track name, any band artwork, and of course a message stating that the full album is available on iTunes.

I have found that since these cards are cheap, as little as 1000 cards for $99 through Distrophonix, you can hand them out for free to potential fans and not feel guilty or go broke.

The goal with the download cards is to hand these cards out to as many people as possible.  A great place to hand them out is at local malls, music festivals, and outside venues as shows are letting out.

3.      Create A Banner With A Buy Link: 

Make it easy for fans to buy your music.  One of the best ways to do this is to make a simple banner that can be posted on your site and social networks.  This banner would link directly to your music on iTunes.

4.      Sign up for LastFM: 

This is a great place to get exposure for your music.  LastFM has the power to introduce your music to millions of potential fans.  When you do your distribution through Distrophonix they do this for you automatically.

5.      Get On Your Social Networks: 

Not to overstate the obvious, but getting the word out through social media is an absolute necessity if you hope to have strong sales on iTunes.  Use Facebook, ReverbNation, Twitter, MySpace etc. to let people know that your music is available on iTunes. 

6.      Start A Mailing List: 

Your fans want to stay in touch with you.  One of the best ways to do this is to start a newsletter giving updates about the band and informing them of new shows.  In this newsletter also include a link to your music in iTunes so that your fans can easily find your material.

7.      Offer To Give Something Away For Free For A Good Album Review:

Getting positive album reviews on iTunes is the key to success.  The more album reviews you have, the more exposure you will get in the stores.  A good way to get positive album reviews is to offer your fans free tickets to a show, or some free merch for any review they do.

8.      Tell People You Are On iTunes While On Stage: 

While you are on stage, and have everyone’s attention, make sure that you tell the audience that your music is available on iTunes.  This is really a no brainer, but you would be surprised by how many artists forget to do this. 

9.      Get Help From Your Existing Fans:  Ask your fans to help promote you. It is amazing the impact even one fan can have if they get on Twitter or Facebook and start talking about their favorite band or artist.  Make sure to reward anyone who helps you in this way, and of course let them know how much it is appreciated.

10.  Consider Putting Your Music In The Rock Band Video Game: 

Consider using the power of video games to market and promote your music.  By getting one of your songs in the Rock Band video game, you have the chance to expose your music to an entirely new audience.  If they like the song, you can bet they will buy it on iTunes.  Distrophonix can also assist you with getting your music on Rock Band. 

11.  Do A Facebook Advertising Campaign: 

Facebook can be very powerful because it allows you to specifically target those that may be interested in your music.  For a few cents a click, you can drive a lot of potential fans to your iTunes storefront.  To learn more about this check out the advertising section on Facebook.

12.  Consider Taking Part In A Shared Magazine Ad In A Major Publication:

Advertising in magazines specific to your genre can be very effective, but expensive.  To keep it affordable, consider buying an ad space and splitting up the costs with a few other artists that you are friends with.  That way everyone gets exposure, but at an affordable price.

Written By:

Distrophonix LLC

www.Distrophonix.com

http://www.distrophonix.com/video-game-distribution/

http://www.distrophonix.com/distribution/

http://www.distrophonix.com/download-cards/

Planning A CD Release Show? If So Read This First!

Almost every conversation I have with a band about CD Pressing starts like this:

“We would like to replicate X number of CDs, our CD release is scheduled for…..”

The last thing any band wants to do is to have a CD release without discs.  Also, having a CD release with an album you’re not happy with, or packaged with art that you regret is potentially worse.  CD manufacturing is not a long process (10-12 Business Days in most cases).  However, you have to be ready for the unexpected.  You may have the art files completed, but when you receive the proofs you may notice a typo, or that there is something missing.  Your master may have data issues you may need to address.  You may want to completely change your art, or even your track order.

If you have not booked your CD release, you have all the time you need to fix any issues before you begin the manufacturing process.  I understand the need to share your newly recorded music with the world as soon as you have left the studio, however rushing this final step could completely undo all of the hard work you have put into your album.  Every band wants their CD out as soon as possible, but it's much better to have your CD arrive a month or two early, than one day too late.

So first things first, DO NOT schedule your album release party/show/event while you're still recording.  Once you have your CDs in-hand and you have made sure that you are happy with them, the first thing you should do is begin promoting it.  This is why major studios advertise, give out flyers, have merchandise in kid’s meals, put out hundreds of commercials and put the album/movie/product in your face as many times as possible.  No major studio would ever silently release a CD a week after it was finished mastering and expect anyone to buy it.  Here is some great advice from industry experts:

“Give yourself at minimum three weeks to get the CDs out to local newspapers and magazines in time for them to write a review before or around the same time as the official release date. You can even sell limited signed editions as pre-release copies before the official release. This can help considerably with bringing in a little cash flow to offset all the money you just spent on the recording and production process.”  David Barber – Former President, Colorado Music Association

“Contact local press about your CD release at least one month before the CD release show. Don’t be like every other band when you contact the press either.  Calling on the phone or sending an email is almost the least you can do. Set up a day and time to personally bring an advance copy of your CD to the local entertainment writer(s).  Many writers say very few artists bother doing more than call or email them these days.  Those same writers say that since so few artists actually bother to come to and meet with them personally, they usually write about the artists that do stop in person 100% of the time.”  David Codr – Publisher, The Music Phonebook

“The best advice I can give is to… plan ahead. The biggest mistake is …. I would have to say out of all my orders, 90% of the orders I get from my bands are bands that already have a date for a CD release party, which is usually only a week to three weeks out. They don’t understand that the manufacturing takes three weeks. Every Friday we have bands in our office picking up CDs between sound checks and their CD release party show. When I ask them how much promotion they did for their show, they often say, “None, because we didn’t have any CDs.” And that’s when I say, “There probably won’t be too many people at your CD release party because you didn’t do any pre-releases or proper planning.” Bands tend to think the day they get their CDs should be the day they have their CD release show because they can’t wait. There [is] usually very little planning. There are no reviews in the local newspapers, no Internet reviews. That’s definitely the most common error that I see…  In my experience, bands don’t budget well either. They spend all their money on recording. They’ll spend … as much as $20,000 on recording and then … want the best-looking package on no money. Budgeting and timing always seem to be the biggest issues.” Joe Guyette – Owner, Breakthrough Media

These are the steps you should follow and check off in order:

1.            Recording and Mastering

2.            Graphic Design for Album Art

3.            Replication

4.            PROMOTION

5.            Schedule Your Release

6.            Play Your Show

If you skip any of these, or try to bunch them together, it will not be a smooth ride.  If you run through these in order, you will make more money, be happier with your product and have a stress free process.

Written By:  Aaron Perez