Show Me The CD...If You Think Your Music’s
Great, Record It!
By Sheena Metal
Throughout the history of modern music, there hasn’t
been a musical artist/band who doesn’t think that their
songs are all #1 hits just waiting to be discovered. Many
of these artists have been correct and have stood by grinning
as their tunes screeched up the charts. This inspires a new
crop of musicians every year to feverishly pen their potential
hits in hopes of making it big.
Musicians write. They rehearse. They play clubs and hope
that one day they’ll encounter that special A&R
guy (or gal) that will, see them, dig them, sign them, and
make them stars. But surprisingly enough, many of these bands
never complete what is probably the most important tool for
any musician signed or unsigned…they never record a
CD.
It cannot be stressed enough that the CD is at the heart
of any musical project. It is the physical embodiment of the
song, the combination of writing and performing. It’s
any musician’s skeleton key for: club gigs, reviews,
and radio play. CDs enable you to draw the attention of fans
and industry at the same time. Whether containing one song
or twenty, the possibilities of the unsigned artist’s
CD are endless. Post them on the web. Get them to the press.
Give them to your friends. Sell them at your shows. Send them
to the record labels. Your CD lets the world know who you
are and what you sound like and gives anyone who digs your
music the opportunity to listen to it again and again.
So, how can you make sure that you’re CD does your
music justice while appealing to fans and industry alike?
While there is not one set way to record a CD, there are certain
key elements that every professional CD should possess.
The following are a few tips that may help you to make sure
that your CD will help your band instead of hindering it:
1.) It’s Not The Size, It’s What You Do With
It---It doesn’t matter how long your CD is, only that
it accurately portrays your sound and vibe. If you don’t
have a lot of time or money to spend in the studio then record
for quality instead of quantity. It’s better to have
one really kick ass tune recorded then a full length CD that
sounds like it was recorded on a boom box in your basement.
But that doesn’t mean that your CD needs to be expensive
or time consuming. The advanced technology of digital recordings
has afforded musicians/bands the opportunity to record in
smaller home studios and still come away with professional
sounding recordings. It’s now all about finding an engineer
with a fantastic ear and the mastery of his/her own gear regardless
of how inexpensive it may be.
2.) Record And Mix For The Song---Remember a song is a collaboration.
Even if you’re the sole musician and engineer of your
CD, recording a song is still an ensemble project. Instruments,
voices and effects must all work together as a team to produce
the best possible finished project. If a guitar line is too
busy, a kick drive is too loud, or a voice is perpetually
off key, the overall quality of the finished product is compromised.
There is a delicate balance of creativity and technology,
of art and electronics that comes together to produce the
wonder that is your CD. Treat that balance with respect. Put
your ego aside and record with the songs as your absolute
priority.
3.) Less Talk And More Action---Certainly there is a great
deal of preparation that is required before recording. Mapping
out the arrangements of your tunes can be an arduous process
usually much more complicated than the live performance of
the song. One guitar part becomes three, or five or ten, a
basic drum part now includes percussion and electronic beats,
two backing tracks can become twenty. Sometimes you feel as
if your brain will certainly explode from the mapping out
of all of the musical and vocal parts required to give your
song a professionally recorded sound. But don’t get
so lost in the charting and practicing of various parts and
forget that time is of the essence here. It’s all well
and good to tell those who inquire that you’re “in
the studio” or “currently recording” but
if a CD does not materialize in a reasonable amount of time
both fans and industry will grow disinterested and move on
to someone who has a finished product.
4.) If It Sounds Good, Make It Look Good---After the time
and energy you’ve spent to make your CD sound amazing,
don’t scribble on it with a blunt sharpie, throw it
in a used envelope and expect a record label to be impressed
with it. If your CD looks unprofessional, it will be dismissed
as such and will probably spend its days unlistened to, lining
the bottom of some A&R intern’s birdcage. Simple
packaging is certainly acceptable but make sure your CD’s
first impression a good one…your graphics are high quality,
your text is neat, your paper stock is professional and all
materials are unused. Even the most poorly recorded CD will
get a listen, if it comes in a pretty package.
Now that you have a professional CD recorded, your possibilities
are endless. Send it to anyone and everyone! Get your name
out there! Make new fans! Grab some press! Get a record deal!
Stand back and grin as your single goes screaming up the charts.
Anything is possible if you have a good CD and can share your
music with the world.
Sheena Metal is a radio host, producer, promoter, music supervisor,
consultant, columnist, journalist and musician. Her syndicated
radio program, Music Highway Radio, airs on over 700 affiliates
to more than 126 million listeners. Her musicians’ assistance
program, Music Highway, boasts over 10,000 members. She currently
promotes numerous live shows weekly in the Los Angeles Area,
where she resides. For more info: http://www.sheena-metal.com.
Past Column's by Sheena
Every Song
Fan Etiquette
To Tour or Not to Tour
Leave Your Drama At Home
Burning Bridges
Radio Play
Opening Acts!
Managers
Show Me the CD
Be Committed
Scandalous Behavior
Create A Buzz
Green Eyed Monster
It's All Good
The Winner Is
