INTRODUCTION
Planning your album A - Z is a check list to help you plan your next album, to get it distributed, heard, publicized and win fans world wide.
If you're sitting down to tackle making an album, there is a lot to think about; from clearing the rights for your cover songs, to converting the cover art to the right format. These issues can trip you up, or cause the album to take a lot longer than you planned. Some musicians get so lost in handling the technical production of the album that they forget generating publicity and buzz
about a new release.
This checklist organizes everything that goes into making an album from beginning to end,
to help you plan everything ahead of time, so there are no surprises. Planning ahead will not only help you make the album as good as it can be, it will let you focus on promoting your album to maximize your sales. Think of it as your checklist before heading out on a long trip. You don't need to do everything that is listed below, but the goal here is to list out everything you may want to do so you're reminded of what you should tackle and when.
The checklist may be a bit overwhelming at first since it lists everything. But, keep in mind that doing it yourself does not mean do it all yourself. As Derek Sivers, the founder of CD Baby, likes to say whatever excites you, go do it yourself; but if something drains you, find someone else who enjoys it and get them to do it for you. The good news is that there are a lot of paces where you can get help in this book, your city or town from others. So work with your fans, friends, and family to help you succeed so you can focus on the music.
HERE IS THE CHECKLIST: it's been divided into three phases:
-Preparing for the Album Release
-Making Your Album
-The Album Release Show and Post-Release
I. MAKING YOUR ALBUM
A. PRE-RECORDING & PLANNING
STEPS
1. Decide what you are making,
single album or an album series
2. Choose your song
3. Record at home or at a
professional studio
4. Rehearse
5. Fine tune your gear &
instruments
B. RECORDING STEPS
1. Make mixes, listen, get
feedback and repeat
2. Make final mixes
C. MASTERING AND
POST-PRODUCTION STEPS
1. Choose a mastering house
2. Have the right formats and ask
what files they need
3. Decide the order of the songs
on the album
4. Decide on the amount of space
between the songs
D. LEGAL STEPS
1. Document who owns the song
and sound recording
2. Get permission to record any
cover songs, samples, or
loops
3. Clear the lega status of all the
artwork
4. Clear the legal status for all
the text
5. Get permission for guest
musicians (if needed)
E. REPLICATION AND DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION STEPS
1. REPLICATING AND
DUPLICATING CDs
a. Determine how many CDs to
make and the costs
b. Decide on type of packaging
(jewel case, sleeve, etc.) and
what type of booklet (1 panel,
2 panel or multiple panel)
c. Get artwork design templates
from the CD Manufacturer or
use their online design services
d. Determine formats required for
album art and text,
CD art and text, etc., and use
this format
2. PRINT YOUR OWN DISCS
3. DIGITAL DOWNLOAD CARDS
F. ARTWORK AND DESIGNS
1. Choose a name for the album
2. Get UPC barcode
3. Work on the artwork
4. Replicate the CD
a. Send/mail the mastered album along with the artwork.
b. Proof artwork
c. Sign copyright release and
grant approval
II. PREPARING FOR THE ALBUM
RELEASE
A. PICK A RELEASE DATE
B. Prepare for online sales
1. Pick your CD/digital
distributor and sign up
2. Create your album profile and
upload your album artwork
C. PREPARE AUDIO FOR
PROMOTION PURPOSES
1. Make Mp3 from mastered
waves
2. TAG AND NAME Mp3s
CORRECTLY
D. PLAN YOUR RELEASE SHOW,
LISTENING PARTY AND/OR
TOUR DATE
E. GET YOUR ALBUM
MERCHANDIZE AND
PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS
1. Album-related Tshirts and
merchandise
2. Promotional materials:
posters, postcards, stickers,
flyers
F. PLAN AND PREPARE THE
PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN
1. Plan PR campaign
2. Set up Google Alerts with your
new album name and song
titles
3. Update your "Music Resume"
documents (Part I)
4. Prepare PR documents such
as press releases
5. Compile your target PR lists
G. START YOUR PUBLICITY
CAMPAIGN (Part I: Your own
network)
1. Work with your street team and
fans
2. Update your website (Part I)
3. Update your web presence
(Part I)
4. Write your mailing list
H. START YOUR PUBLICITY
CAMPAIGN (Part II: Involving
the outside world)
1. Set up a tracking system
2. Send out your CDs, MP3s, and
press releases
3. Put up posters and flyers
4. Follow up
5. Update your "Music Resume"
documents (Part II)
III. THE ALBUM RELEASE and
POST-RELEASE
A. SUBMIT CD FOR ON-LINE
SALES
B. ADD YOUR CD TO GRACE NOTE
AND FREEDB
C. LEGAL (Part II)
D. UPDATE YOUR WEBSITE AND
WEB PRESENCE (Part II)
IV. REPEAT
A. PRE-RECORDING & PLANNING STEPS: Before you hit up the studio to record there are few things you should consider.
1. Decide what you are making, single album or an album series: When it comes to increasing sales for you music, this formula turns on quantity. It's take a lot of time and energy to covert a person into a fan that is willing to purchase your music, but it takes less time and energy to getting a fan who already purchased some of your music to purchase additional music from you, this is where a back catalog to sell comes in.
Instead of confusing all your time, money and energy on one album, think of it as a collection that can be packaged and released multiple times. For instance, set out to make one main album and a series of additional album or EPs ( A short album or approximately four songs ) with materials base on the on the main album. That way, while you'll focus on the main publicity efforts on creating awareness of the main album, you can also build your discography and back catalog with a series of EPs such as:
-Songs that didn't make the cut (outtakes and b-sides).
-Live versions of some of the songs found on the man album.
-Original demos of the songs found on the album.
-Remixes of some of the songs on the main album.
-A "commentary" album where you talk about the music much like a director talks over the movie on a DVD.
2. Choose your song
It should go without saying that your album should contain your very best music. This is where the concept of producing an album series becomes helpful. It is easier to cut the songs that are not the best but still give them a home or another release that is part of the series (outtake and b-sides)
In addition, you need to decide if you're recording all original songs or if you're including cover songs.
If one or more of the songs are covers, then you will need to clear the rights so you can record it. If they're original songs, then you'll still need to keep track of who wrote and who owns the sound recordings as recommended in "Legal (Part I)."
3. Record at home or at a professional studio: Professional studios cost money, but they have the know-how and talent to make your recording sound "radio-quality." However, time is a factor since studios typically charge by the hour spent. Recording at home costs money up front, but pays off over time the more you record. Of course, one of the hidden dangers of recording at home is you can spend months or years
"perfecting" just one song!
4. Rehearse
If you choose to record at a professional studio, rehearse and arrange the songs before you step into the studio. This will save you time and money.Some musicians write out parts using sheet music, while others record their practices or preproduction demos as guides they can refer to later while at the studio.
5. Fine Tune Your Gear and Instruments
Whether you're recording at home or at a professional studio, make sure your gear is up to the task. You don't want to use instruments or cables that crackle or cut out or amps and speakers that play right "most of the time." If you play drums, make sure you have fresh heads. Put new strings on your guitar a few days before your recording section if you're recording at a studio, bring extras of everything as time is money, and
always make sure you have fresh batteries! At a recording studio, the meter will be running while you're running to the store for supplies. Get them ahead of time.
Involve your street team (your die hard fans), let them get behind the scenes on early mixes and get their feedback on your music. They'll identify the best song and maybe even suggest the running order or album tittle. Not only will this continue to develop the relationship between you and your fans (and make your street team feel special), it will also generate buzz within your fans base as to what you're working on and start the Promotion ball rolling,
B. RECORDING STEPS
Recording is part science and part art. There's no right
way to record but many have an opinion about it. We'll
stay out of the debate and keep our tips here simple:
1. Make Mixes, Listen, Get Feedback, and Repeat
Record your parts, listen, get ideas, and make decisions on
what to change, add, or re-record. When filming movies, directors get copies of what was filmed that day (called "dailies"). You'll want to get mixes of
what you recorded so you can get feedback, get new ideas, make any necessary changes, and
make sure you're on track. Get others to listen to your tracks and elicit feedback.
2. Make Final Mixes
When the time comes, you'll produce the final mix. Listen to the final mixes on many speakers
to hear how it sounds. Mastering your album after mixdown is highly recommended, and if
you plan to do this, make a full mix, as well as one with instruments only and vocals only.
The mastering house can use these to make your vocals stand out. Keep in mind that while
mastering can make good mixes sound great, it can't always make a bad mix sound good.
C. MASTERING and POST-PRODUCTION STEPS
Mastering is frequently misunderstood by musicians.
Often it's seen as an extra step that's not necessary.
This misconception can be easily dispelled when you hear
what a mastering studio can do for your music. Getting
your album mastered will (among other things) equalize
the entire album, edit minor flaws, eliminate hum and hiss,
apply noise reduction, adjust stereo width, adjust volumes,
and add dynamic expansion and compression. Mastering
can help with licensing, and can get your album noticed and
played by radio, the web, and other media outlets where
the quality of the sound can mean almost as much as the
quality of the song.
With more and more musicians recording at home, professional mastering can make even more of an impact. As
Brian Lipski, senior mastering engineer at the SoundLab,
at Disc Makers says, "If you're recording and mixing in a
small project studio, with less than ideal acoustics and only
a small set of near field monitors, be aware that certain
frequency ranges (particularly the low end) may not be
reproduced accurately. Over the course of many days or
weeks working in this environment, your ears will become
used to this inaccurate sound and you will tend to over mix
or EQ those frequencies to compensate. The result may be
a mix that sounds severely unbalanced when played back
on systems outside of the studio." Given the tools and
experience mastering engineers have, they can identify
the problem areas of a mix and "fix it" so as to help
you achieve a balanced mix — one that sounds great
regardless of the system it's playing on
HEAR WHAT MASTERING
CAN DO FOR YOUR MUSIC
Writing about mastering is like
cooking about ballet. It needs to be
heard to be understood. You can
check out before-and-after samples
of Disc Makers' mastering house,
the SoundLab, online here.
Better yet, they'll send you a free
CD comparing before-and-after
samples so you can hear it on your
home sound system. But don't just
listen to the CD on your best system
— challenge it. Compare the before-
and-after sound quality in your car,
through your TV, on a boom box,
and over headphones with a
portable CD player. Put it through
the test. You'll hear the difference
in each of these settings and come
away with a better understanding
of what mastering is and how it can
really put the polish on your music.
To get a free CD demonstrating the
differences between a non-mastered
track and a mastered one, head here.
https://www.discmakers.com/request/Special_soundlab.aspx
1. Choose a mastering house
Although you need to record somewhere local to you, you are not tied to home for mastering.
Mastering houses are only as good as the specialists they employ. When looking for a quality
mastering house, you'll want to hear examples of their work and determine if it's the right sound
for you. For example, Disc Makers has their SoundLab mastering house, which has been used
by a variety of artists ranging from Eminem, Jason Newsted of Metallica, and the Roots
2. Have the right formats and ask what files they need
Confirm with the mastering house which format they require for your music (i.e. wav file,
CD, but never MP3.). For instance, the SoundLab at Disc Makers will accept your music on CD,
data disc (CD or DVD), analog reel, or DAT.
Most musicians think mastering houses work with only your final mix, however some will ask
you to prepare two separate mixes — one with a mix of just the music and another with just the
vocals. This allows them to adjust the vocals in the mix so they're not too loud or buried in the
mix. It also allows them to make "radio edits" by dropping obscenities so radio can play the
song over the airwaves.
3. Decide the order of the songs on the album
This can be one of the hardest parts (especially if you're in a band as everyone has an opinion!),
but determine your preferred song running order for the album ahead of time so you don't
waste time on the clock debating your song order.
4. Decide on the amount of "space" between songs
A mastering house usually helps with this as the space between the songs helps set the pace of
the album. Sometimes you'll want the next tune to kick in immediately, other times you'll need
to give a song some time to breathe before launching into the next song
D. LEGAL STEPS
Before you can ask Disc Makers to mass produce copies of your disc, there are a few legal
issues to clear first. You are required to sign a release form declaring that all the music on your
album is original and "owned" by you. If all your music is original, you'll check that box and
move on. However, if you record any cover songs or incorporate any copyrighted samples or
loops, you have to provide proof that you received the proper permissions. That's where the
next steps come in.
1. Document who owns the songs and sound recordings
If you're in a band or collaborating, co-writing, and co-recording your music with another
person, you should document who wrote what while you're making it.
Items you should document include:
• Who owns the copyright in the song and/or how writing is split among the songwriters.
• Who owns the sound recording(s).
Additionally, you should document who the publisher is.
2. Get permission to record any cover songs, samples, or loops
Cover songs are any songs that you or your band members did not write. For instance, if you
decide to record your own version of "Freebird," you need to get permission from the copy-
right owner and pay a license fee to duplicate it. All CD manufacturers will ask you to guarantee
that you've done this before printing any copies of your disc. This is true even if you have no
intention of selling your version of the cover song. It's the duplication of it that makes it a
"copy" under the law, not selling it.
Additionally, any samples and loops you incorporate into your music need to be cleared as well.
One way around this is to use samples and loops that are already pre-cleared and royalty-free.
Most sample libraries or discs sold at music retail stores and sites are royalty-free. Also, some
musicians create and release their own pre-cleared and royalty-free samples and loops licensed
under Creative Commons. For example, ccmixter is one such resource
3. Clear the legal status of all the artwork
Just like you need permission to use cover songs, you'll need permission to use any graphics,
fonts, or photographs you don't own. One way around this is to use pre-cleared and royalty-
free artwork.
4. Clear the legal status of all the text
If you intend to print the lyrics to a cover song you got permission to record, this needs a
separate license. It's one thing to get permission to record the cover song, it's another to
type out the lyrics. Under the law, there are actually two different things that you're copying.
As a result, you'll need to get permission to copy the lyrics to the liner notes of your album.
If you don't, it's best to leave them off. (And, yes, technically you need permission from the
songwriters of your original songs to reprint their lyrics!)
5. Get permission for guest musicians (if needed)
Ever see a sentence in a CD's liner notes that reads: "So-and-so guest musician appears
courtesy of so-and-so label?" This is usually due to exclusivity clauses in the label's contract
that bind the musician to the label. To the extent you collaborate or work with a musician
signed to a label, you'll need the label's permission for them to participate. You'll want to
ask the guest musician if this is something that needs to be done.
involve your street team (your
most die-hard fans). Let them
get behind the scenes on early
mixes and get their feedback
They’ll identify
the “best” songs and maybe
even start suggesting a running
order or album title. Not only
will this continue to develop the
relationship between you and
your fans (and make your street
team feel special), it will gener-
ate buzz within your fan base as
to what you’re working on and
start the promotion ball rolling.
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