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Dublin, engineered by Trevor and produced by Gerry O’Beirne,” Sarah McQuaid reveals. “The first album was mastered by Frank McNamara at Park House Studios in Ireland and the second and third were mastered by Sander van der Heide at Saint Of Sound in the Netherlands.”
None of that comes cheaply, but the figures McQuaid kindly provides for her latest album are instructive, as they show what a professional label will routinely invest :- Musicians £1,253; Engineering £7,851; Production £5,544; Mastering £792. Recording total: £15,442.
That’s before design, manufacture and marketing. “It’s important for me to know that I’ve made the best album I can possibly make,” McQuaid justifies. “I work hard at my music and I don’t want to let myself down on any level.”
Chris Foster agrees that choosing good professionals is money well spent. “My first CD effort was recorded in a local studio in Burton on Trent where I was liv- ing at the time. I chose it because I’d worked on some other projects there and got to know and respect the engineer.”
For those on tighter budgets, a mix ’n’ match approach is possible. Katie Rose records at home using free Mac applica- tion Garageband, then takes her work to Scott Turner at Spiritual Studio. “Together we tighten up the levels and EQs, add a few extra sparkly bits, then master it on Logic [a pro audio editor].”
Mastering after the recording and mixing process is finished is an important but often overlooked part of the chain, sorting out overall levels and sound, pac- ing, general impact and the aforemen- tioned “sparkly bits”. You can spend four figure sums or do it yourself (see panel) but best advice is to go to a specialist. On a tighter budget, Peter Philipson (
peter.philipson@
gmail.com) and Mark Beazley at
tracerecordings.com come well recommended, whilst those with deeper pockets could consider the excel- lent Duncan Cowell at Ace Records’ stu- dio Sound Mastering.
Digital
If you want to sell downloads only, then all you need do is upload the files to the web. There are a number of players that dis- tribute to all the major download resellers, such as iTunes, for a fee. US-based CD Baby
charges a one-off fee for worldwide digi- tal distribution and also offers barcodes and ISRCs for those that need them. Under this model, even very slow sellers can turn a profit over time. Competitors include Tunecore, ReverbNation and Ditto Music.
Bandcamp is a delivery platform for online music sales, aimed squarely at DIY artists, which allows you to sell downloads, CDs and merchandise direct to your audi- ence online, bypassing iTunes and other resellers, or in addition to them. Band- camp takes only 15 percent of each sale, a much better return than from the down- load retailers, and encouraging a direct relationship with your audience.
Ian Smith declares himself a fan. “It’s
very user-friendly. All our albums are downloadable there. I use ReverbNation too, but not so much.”
“I have used CD Baby and Sounds Orange and I’m just now venturing into Bandcamp,” Katie Rose says. “Fortunately, so far I have not been ripped off.”
“Bandcamp are absolutely brilliant,” Sarah McQuaid attests. “I use their music player widgets on my website for both music and sales.”
Buyer beware: You may want to avoid those digital distributors who charge repeat subscription fees. One of the bene- fits of DIY is that you can operate a ‘long- tail’ model. Put another way, as a DIY artist you can promote your backlist forever, so with a rapid break-even and multiple releases over time, your profit can grow exponentially. If you have a loyal following, releasing several albums a year and making money is a possibility. Renewal fees can seri- ously damage this model, upping the cost of doing business with each release to the point where it becomes uneconomical to keep backlist titles available.
Download or streaming
Spotify, Deezer and Last FM don’t sell downloads but instead stream your music over the web. Listeners can enjoy a limit- ed service for free or subscribe for unlim- ited access. These players offer a very low royalty (around US$ 0.005) per play. There is debate as to the value of such services: some argue that it’s akin to radio play and leads to better recognition. Others opine that it’s closer to daylight robbery. Your digital distributor will allow you to opt out if you want.
Innovative pack for Katie Rose from WeWow The kings (and queen) of DIY - Show Of Hands
“I don’t use Spotify,” Ian Smith says. “The artists don’t seem to get any revenue from it. On Bandcamp you can stream, with an option to buy direct from the artist.”
Andrew Cronshaw favours a compro- mise. “I’ve allowed just one track per album to the streaming services, so that there’s a taster on there.”
I CDs
f you want to make CDs, be realistic about how many you can sell. The market for CDs in general is dimin- ishing, but some genres and demo- graphics – like folk – are holding their own for the time being.
Katie Rose certifies that CDs are still a
must for gigs. “I find most sales come at live performance where people have enjoyed an experience and want to take the CD home with them. Manufacturing companies I have used are Amstore, Key Productions and We-Wow. All are good, but I was super impressed with the effi- ciency of We-Wow, their eco-policy and their innovative designs.” Sophie Parkes recommends London-based Disc Wizards, and many put in good words for Scot- land’s Birnam CD.
However, Katie learned some things
the hard way. “Always make sure you schedule your manufacturing to be com- pleted way ahead of release date and allow for time slippage. Do not plan to have your CDs arrive the day before the launch. Don’t rush and do double check everything – from the music file format, to every ‘i‘ and ‘t’ – get a friend with eagle eyes to proof-read.”
Under 500 units, duplication on CD-R can be a quick and cheap manufacturing solution. This helps cash flow as you can always order more if you run out. There are various short-run specialists in the UK – Technovisual is a favourite of mine – who offer duplication, printing and packaging. Above 500 units, replication (pressing) via a glass master is more cost-effective and the product more universally reliable.
In case Sarah McQuaid’s figures scared you, we recently found that 1000 replicated copies of a home-recorded and designed album of original material in a plastic-free eco-friendly gatefold digipak can be had for under £800 from We-Wow, or if you’re happy with just jewel box, 10th Planet Digi- tal Media are quoting under £500.
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