Why Does It Always Take Longer Than Expected?

If you've spent anytime recording in a studio at all, you've probably noticed that the tracking process takes much longer than anyone on the performance side had anticipated.If you haven’t spent much time in the studio, be prepared, this will inevitably happen no matter how prepared you think you are. This is due to many factors; anything from getting in the studio and finding new sounds to experiment with, not quite being prepared (see last week’s blog on performance), having a picky producer (not necessarily a bad thing), and sometimes, what is commonly referred to as "red-light syndrome."

Experimenting in the studio can be magical when you hit on something special. If you're on a budget, however, it can be death to your wallet. The easiest way to avoid this problem is to get your parts down, do pre-production, and decide between you, your band members, and/or your producer exactly what is going on the album.

Picky producers are a curse and blessing. They are a blessing because they will not settle for, "oh that was good enough," or "no worries, we can fix it in the mix." They will ensure the highest quality of your final product because everything going into it is the best it can be. The curse is that of the bleeding wallet. If you are on an extremely tight budget, being picky about what parts are laid down can cause you to go over what you expected it to take. The reason this pops up more often in the studio is when you closely and accurately record a sound, all the little details come out. That note you're singing barely flat or just too long, or when you hit muted strings while playing your guitar solo. Point being, don't plan on doing things in one take, you'll just set yourself up for disappointment and frustration.

Lastly, we have the dreaded "red-light syndrome." This occurs when you go in, feel like you can play all your parts in your sleep, the recording light comes on, and you start playing like you're two years old. Here's the kicker with this one: It's 100% psychological and the only cure is doing it over and over again to get used to that hot red light shining down on you. What you want to take away from this, is that many artists go through this when they're new to the recording situation. You're not weird, you don't suck, and you're not a failure. You're just learning.

By far the best thing you can do to minimize extra time spent in the studio is to follow everything I talked about in last week’s blog about being prepared for the studio. If you’re concerned about how going over in hours will affect your budget, trust what the engineer and producer say about how long it takes when it comes time to estimate hours for the entire project.As long as they’re charging you accurately and fairly, you won’t have any surprises at the end of recording.

My iPod is still only a quarter full. Go make me some more music!

Kyle

Expand Your Boundaries

I was just reading a blog from Seth Godin entitled Out of Bounds and it got me thinking. Most musicians I know tend to pigeonhole their band unintentionally. They limit the styles of music they listen to by only listening to music that sounds like their band. They are afraid to add new sounds, instruments or arrangements into their music because it doesn't sound like the music they are listening to (an instant catch 22). They won't play at a venue because other bands that they like haven't played there before. I even heard of a band that tried to hand pick their audience by only letting people they thought were "cool" into the venue. These are the same bands that refuse to tell you what genre of music they play. Ask them and they will say it's a "brand new style" or a "little bit of everything", then you listen to their music and they sound exactly like the band on their t-shirt.

I have no problem with artists emulating their idols, this is the natural progression of most every artist. What I find disheartening is the limited amount of variety that a musician is willing to pull influence from.

I started this blog with a link to a non-music blog, go read it, take influence from it. Just because you listen to what a business professional might have to say, doesn't mean that you need to become a businessman. Just because you write a guitar riff after listening to Jerry Reed, doesn't mean that you are country or that you can't incorporate that riff into your bands music.

If you truly wish to create a brand new style then you need to put together a mix of styles that no one has ever heard before. Before you can do that you need to open up your boundaries and let the world in.

Good luck

Altruism & Repertoire - OC Weekly Article May 27, 2009

[SOUND GUY] FULLERTON'S ARTISANS LABEL BRINGS COMPASSION TO AN INDUSTRY TRADITIONALLY LACKING ANY

BY ALBERT CHING/ OC Weekly

Published on May 27, 2009 at 11:30am

• Stephen Dummit

  

  Musicians enjoying the freedom of the ArtiSans Label recording studio

Altruism & Repertoire
Fullerton’s ArtiSans Label brings compassion to an industry traditionally lacking any

It sounds too good to be true. Like one of those e-mail or Craigslist scams—“I resided in this apartment before relocating to Nigeria!”

Their website is full of lovely promises: “You can Release Your MusicT with ArtiSans Label without giving up your profits, copyrights or control!” (Yes, they apparently have “Release Your Music” trademarked.) Learning more about the economics behind it, it’s just as much a savvy, novel business concept as it is an altruistic pursuit. Basically, in lieu of a traditional record label, which signs artists, pays them an advance, and then puts the pressure on them to produce something tailored to their liking, ArtiSans Label (get it, “sans” label?) has acts pay money upfront, and then ArtiSans outsources all of the services a record company would provide to carefully selected third-party vendors.

“I hate saying it this way because it’s not sexy,” says Michael J. Filson, founder/president of the Fullerton-based ArtiSans. “We’re the wedding coordinators of releasing music. It’s the exact same business model. Your wedding coordinator is taking the stress off the bride and groom, but the wedding coordinator is not the one spinning the disc, not the one making the cakes.”

Filson’s compassion is obvious when talking to him. Though he would like his investment—which, given that ArtiSans also includes a full recording studio, is sizable—to pay off, he really does seem genuine about helping out local artists. He started ArtiSans after realizing that his unique perspective as a former struggling musician himself combined with his business experience (he was a business major at Cal Poly Pomona and worked in that department for years) made him an ideal candidate for launching a company like this.

“All of my eggs were in the basket of being an artist,” says Filson, 33, speaking of his time playing guitar in Fullerton band Mojo Filson. “Our last album was released in 2002. We met with all of the big labels—the Capitols, the Elektras. They all passed.”

After 11 years playing music, this was enough for Filson to scrap his own rock-star dreams, though he was always conscious of the effect music business as usual had on his friends.

“I just took a look around, and pursuing that golden carrot of a traditional record deal, even if it works out in the short-term, just ruins people’s lives,” he says. “A traditional label might sign 10 people that year, and then they’ll do some test marketing, and they’ll reallocate the money from eight or nine of the artists and put it behind one or two ponies, and the other artists get shelved or dropped, and it’s the end of their career, getting signed, not the beginning.

“These are my friends in the trenches who we played with for years and years. Losing their health and their relationships and the education that they skipped. That always bothered me. I thought there had to be another way.”

Filson filed the paperwork for ArtiSans three years ago, and the business has been up and running since March 2008 in a surprisingly swank Fullerton office—they’re mired in a seemingly endless morass of ugly, identical office buildings, but their space is full of funky furniture, a full bar, a game room with air-hockey and foosball tables, and that nifty recording studio. They currently have a staff of 12, including full-time employees, part-timers and interns. Filson estimates that they’ve had 38 or 39 clients (including Orange County bands the Living Suns, the Steelwells and Chamber of Echoes, though they draw clients from across Southern California, and a few from Las Vegas), virtually all through word-of-mouth.

Artists look for different things from ArtiSans. Some just want to record there, some are looking for help getting CDs pressed, and some go for the total package—which includes legal representation, press releases, social-media campaigns and even registering music with Gracenote (the database that causes iTunes to recognize CDs when you put them in your computer). But what Filson sees as perhaps the most valuable service is the free consulting provided by him and his staff.

“We’re not going to let you spend money in an irresponsible manner,” he says. “Somebody who, their draw to a show is, like, 60 people, and they play maybe once a week, and they wanted to order, like, 20,000 CDs. Fine, if you force us to, we will put the order through. But maybe, why don’t you spend it on marketing a little bit?

“That’s because this whole thing is altruistic. We desperately, desperately want artists to have a fighting chance.”

Funny thing is, when Filson says things like this, you actually believe him.

Visit ArtiSans label online at www.artisanslabel.com.

aching@ocweekly.com

Your Life Will Return After These Messages

Who out there will admit to the fact that they were raised on TV or used it to help entertain the children? My mom always called it the "boob tube", which I still find entertaining. The phrase was apparently coined back in the late 60's because it was believed that "television programming is foolish, induces foolishness and is only enjoyed by foolish people" (thank you www.dictionary.com). I feel confident in saying that with the dawn of reality TV, that statement applies more now than ever before. I spent as much time in front of the television as possible and always used it as my co-pilot when babysitting so that the kids were easily contained. I do attribute my time spent in front of the television to my own laziness, but my brain just could not stay quiet long enough for me to ingest the History Channel let alone most literature. This is where I have to also thank Cliffs Notes for helping me get through The Iliad.

As much as I hate to say that our entire society has ADD, I think it's a very valid argument to make. Most people can hardly stand sitting through commercials anymore because we just want to get to the point of the show. There are online sites, such as Hulu, that play entire shows with limited commercial interruptions. They even let you know when the interruption is coming and exactly how long you must wait before your show starts again. The commercials are still irritating, but at least we have a time frame and a timer to help us count away the seconds of our lives that we'll never get back. The shows that we would normally watch on TV are no longer an hour, but only 42 glorious minutes. And those extra18 minutes usually gets thrown into another show or five Saturday Night Live parodies (almost all of which involve Justin Timberlake).

Music has taken a step in that direction as well. No longer are full length albums the standard in releasing music. Twelve songs on an album is a great way to lose the interest of the listener. I will admit that it's difficult for me to make it through even ten songs. The fewer songs I listen to, the easier it is for me to decide if I like the music and helps me recognize the band quicker. Shorter albums, or EPs (extended play), are rapidly becoming the best way to keep a fan base's attention. Instead of releasing one album in a year, why not put out two or three smaller ones every few months? This will help keep the fans interested in your progression all year long because you're constantly feeding them new music, which they're always hungry for.

And in my attempt to get my short and to the point ADD argument across, I've managed to talk for longer than most of my generation will read. So if you've made it this far, my fedora is off to you.

Cheers!
Creed

Organization 101c: Technology is Your Friend

I know you have all been eagerly awaiting the last part of my organization series, and here you go. There are ENDLESS amounts of technological resources to help you get organized, and I will covering a mere few.

Cell Phones: Cell phones are one of the best ways to help you get organized. The options and possibilities are much greater if you have a smartphone, but even the most basic cell phone can help you.

• Calendar: Every cell phone has a calendar option (even my parents cell phone, which has no texting capability and is the free phone they got when they signed up 3 years ago). When you schedule an appointment, or have to do something on a specific day, enter it into the calendar on your cell phone. Usually you have an option of setting a reminder for anywhere from days prior, to minutes prior. This is especially helpful if you are against getting a physical planner.
• Alarms: Most cell phones also have an alarm. You can set this to remind you of things you need to do that day/calls you need to make that day.
• Address Book: I don't think I need to explain this. Enter your contact name and phone number and your phone will keep them all in one place.

Smartphones: I am not going to lie - I LOVE MY SMARTPHONE!! There are so many ways it helps me get organized!

• Email: I have email on my smart phone and I use it to remind myself of things. If there is something I see on TV or while I am out, or need to remember I email it to myself. Then when I check my email I am reminded and can put the item on the proper list or on my calendar.
• Notepad: Smartphones have a notepad, where you can jot down notes electronically. I am big on physically writing things down and physically having a list, but for someone who would rather have everything in one place, the notepad on your smartphone is a great option. For those who don't want to type it out, or can't for some reason, many phones also have voice notes. This is like leaving yourself a little voice mail. I am a big fan of the voice notes feature when I am driving and can't type.
• Task List: Yes - a list on my phone! It's lists for the technologically sound! I can set the importance of the task, when it is due, when I'd like to be reminded, and any notes I need within each task I create.
• Address Book: On smartphones, an address book can keep all your information on someone in one place. On my smartphone I have the ability to add multiple phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, spouse name, assistant name, birthday, anniversary, etc.
• Sync Feature: Most smartphones will sync to your computer. This helps sync up your email, calendar, tasks, notes, contacts, etc. This is especially helpful when you lose/break/drop your smartphone, if you have everything backed up, your life won't end up in chaos.
• Applications: All smartphones have applications you can buy either from your provider, or the maker of the cell phone. There are countless applications to help you get organized, and they can help you with your budget, tasks, scheduling, etc. This is especially true of the iphone, which has an app for everything. (Please leave a comment with your favorite organization app for the iphone if you have one!)

Websites: I didn't even know how many websites there were to help you get organized until I googled "get organized". Here are a few:

• Google: Google isn't just for looking up all sorts of information anymore. You can get directions through Google Maps, share and collaborate on documents on google docs, and share and create a calendar with Google Calendar. Just go to Google.com and click on "more" at the top of the page for list of the applications Google offers.
• HassleMe: A website that nags you, consistently or at random, via email, text or IM. It's brilliant. Put in what you want to be reminded, or hassled about, and it'll do it! http://www.hassleme.co.uk/
• Voo2Do: This is basically a virtual planner! Voo2Do is a time management site that is free, and can organize tasks by priority, due date, and time. http://www.voo2do.com/
• webasyst.net: Just another site that can help you organize EVERYTHING in one place. www.webasyst.net/
• Jott: Too busy to email, text, or write down? Call a number to leave your self a note, add something to your calendar, or even have a voicemail transcribed. http://www.jott.com/

So, as you can see, technology can be your friend in your quest to get organized. Hopefully, this Organization series has helped you in you work, life, or as an advocate in the RADAR program. I am off to create an account on Jott, my new favorite organizational tool!

You, ArtiSans Label and the Performance Rights Act

Recently, the House Judiciary Committee approved legislation for something called the Performance Rights Act (H.R. 4789) in a 21-9 vote. The Performance Rights Act would force radio stations to pay artists and/or record labels whenever their recordings are played. As it currently stands, radio stations already pay songwriters whenever their songs are played on the radio, but the people who actually recorded the song (or who own the recordings) don’t get anything. The longstanding broadcasting argument has been that it is okay to not pay out due to the provision of free promotion for the music industry. But U.S. radio stations are just about the only ones who get away with this… As Warner Music Group (WMG) boss Edgar Bronfman Jr. likes to point out, there’s only a handful of other countries that give radio a free ride as the U.S. does, and those include North Korea and Iran.

Another aspect to keep in mind is that all of the internet webcasters already have to pay something and so does Sirius XM Satellite (SIRI). But this is poor representation as a model of pay out success because webcast sites are failing left and right and the satellite systems are billions of dollars in debt even with their merger. Regardless of the above stated issues, the Performance Rights Act comes down to the simple issue of a musician’s rights. Finally the government has noted the huge shift in the music industry and has decided to update its’ music laws.

The financial breakdown per title 17 Copyright law would be as follows: copyright holder (generally record label) would receive 50%, while 45% goes to the performing artist. Here is the kicker, take special note, artists who own their own copyrights benefit the MOST from the bill. They get the artist portion of 45% AND the copyright holder’s portion of 50%. This is just more incentive for musicians to do it yourself. Take heed from Radiohead, Trent Rezner of Nine Inch Nails, and older acts such as Prince and Nancy Sinatra who maintained their copyrights and artist integrity. More and more large scale musicians are dropping the traditional record label and releasing music in their own creative way.

The payout to record labels from radio stations might be a last ditch effort to save their outdated business model. Fortunately the new business model that ArtiSans Label has created allows the artist to keep 100% of their copyrights, royalties and any other generated income. If you are with ArtiSans, you are in good hands and may be seeing more money in the foreseeable future through the Performance Rights Act.

There is still a long ways to go for this bill to be passed. So far it was passed by the House Judiciary Committee; it has to go through the Senate Committee, then back to the Full House of Representatives, back to the Full Senate and then to President Barack Obama’s desk before it becomes law. Keep in mind this bill also has to filter through the large sea of piranhas (Washington lobbyists) before it can go anywhere. So we may see some changes and provisions to the bill, as it has to get through many gauntlets to survive. Industry watcher Glen Peoples has an optimistic view of the potential outcome of all of this. From his Coolfer blog:

One of two outcomes will come from today’s' three-and-a-half hour hearing on the Performance Rights Act: Either the committee will approve the Performance Rights Act or the National Association of Broadcasters and labels will reach their own agreement. It is very clear the committee members understand the promotional value of radio but think it is unfair that only radio stations get to decide the amount of that value. The issue of whether there should or should not be a performance right is all but decided. The issue to now be resolved is the value of the right and the timing of its introduction.

Touché said the salesman. How this might affect the music industry is very debatable and I challenge you (readers) to present different aspects that I did not touch on in this blog. After all, this is a topic that will not dissipate quietly anytime soon.

Studio Efficiency Part Three: Pre-Production and Performance

Howdy, kiddies! Welcome back. Today's installment is part three of my Studio Efficiency series. Its focus will be on the importance of pre-production and performance and how they directly affect studio efficiency, how much money you're spending, and your over all experience.

So I'm going to assume you've read Studio Efficiency Part One: Planning and Part Two: Cost, and now feel you are in a good place to start choosing your studio and potentially your producer. Once you have all that set up and a start date confirmed it's time to turn your focus to the music.

Pre-production is the most important part of the album preparation process. It is the one that has the potential to save you the most money, time and headaches. This is also when you really want to consider pulling a producer in. As I covered in Studio Efficiency Part One: Planning, one of the producers job is to monitor flow of the project. The other part of his job is to help the band/artist through the pre-production and writing period.

During this period you will make final decisions as to what songs are going on the album (LP or EP), and finalizing every single part of them so that the only experimentation going on in the studio is that of the sonic aspect and quality of each instrument. This is also the time when you will perfect your performance of each part. Get down every guitar lick, every drum fill, and every melodica solo. And work out all vocal melodies and harmonies as well as deciding who will play what part.

There are many reasons a producer is highly valuable at this stage (as well as every other stage). One being, he/she is an outside member of the band and therefore has an objective opinion (ideally). The producer can succeed in being objective because the songs weren't written by them and they shouldn't be emotionally attached to any one particular tune. This is important because he/she can be the mediator in any band disagreements and look at it from a "what's the best decision for this record" point of view. The other reason having an outside-the-band perspective is huge is the producer may bring a different musical element to the songs, pushing them in a unique, new, or interesting direction. For a young band/artist, it is even more important to obtain the services of a producer because, ideally, he/she has more song writing and studio experience than the artist and can be a mentor throughout the entire process.

The point is to walk into the studio having a near perfect plan so no time or money is wasted. In the recording industry, it is an expectation of you , the artist, to have your music ready when you come into the studio. As we discussed in Studio Efficiency Part Two: Cost, there are different ways that studios may charge you. If you're getting charged hourly, then the consequence is obvious. The more time you take to figure things out in the studio, the more money you're spending. If the studio is charging you a flat rate for you album with an hour cap, they may get frustrated because you're essentially using your recording time as rehearsal. Both of these are hugely detrimental to your budget, final product, and most imporantly, your experience.

Creating music is a truly magical thing, and getting the opportunity to put that music into a medium that can be treasured for decades to come is far too important to have ruined by something as avoidable as lack of planning and preparation. If you've read all three parts of this series (Planning, Cost, and Pre-Production/Performance), you should be on your way to properly planning for one of the most amazing experiences of your life.

Now go make me some music. You have 120GB to fill up on this damn iPod I just spent a ton of money on...yes this is your responsibility. :-)

Any questions? Hit me up. kyle@artisanslabel.com series.