Help me record my first real album!
January 2, 2009 10:16 AM
Finally going to record a real album! Now, some questions that need answerin'.
So I'm FINALLY going to get off my butt and record an album, for real. I have a great friend who has a fairly professional recording studio, and who has plenty of recording and engineering know-how, and who is excited. Recording: covered.
However, as neither of us have ever done this on a large scale before (meaning, a whole album), we don't know much about next steps. I read this great thread about distribution, but that's much farther down the line.
So, those of you who have done this or know about it, what are the main basics I need to take care of? Song copyrights? Contracts? I am going to be having a whole slew of guest musicians (mostly good friends) play on various tracks... do I pay them per track, and own the tracks, or do I make contracts for them in the off-chance any money comes of this? Or does it even work that way?
Also, this friend will be the engineer, recordist, and co-producer. What is a typical set-up for this type of person, in terms of contract/payment? I'm not going to be paying him anything up front (wish I could), but we both want to be assured that, officially, he's guaranteed certain potential benefits.
I am looking for advice, tips, resources, horror stories & success stories, and anything else that's relevant from you awesome MeFi musicians. Lay the knowledge on me! As you can tell, I know almost nothing. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
posted by ORthey (9 comments total)
So I'm FINALLY going to get off my butt and record an album, for real. I have a great friend who has a fairly professional recording studio, and who has plenty of recording and engineering know-how, and who is excited. Recording: covered.
However, as neither of us have ever done this on a large scale before (meaning, a whole album), we don't know much about next steps. I read this great thread about distribution, but that's much farther down the line.
So, those of you who have done this or know about it, what are the main basics I need to take care of? Song copyrights? Contracts? I am going to be having a whole slew of guest musicians (mostly good friends) play on various tracks... do I pay them per track, and own the tracks, or do I make contracts for them in the off-chance any money comes of this? Or does it even work that way?
Also, this friend will be the engineer, recordist, and co-producer. What is a typical set-up for this type of person, in terms of contract/payment? I'm not going to be paying him anything up front (wish I could), but we both want to be assured that, officially, he's guaranteed certain potential benefits.
I am looking for advice, tips, resources, horror stories & success stories, and anything else that's relevant from you awesome MeFi musicians. Lay the knowledge on me! As you can tell, I know almost nothing. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Here's my understanding of the compensation scheme for recording. The song writing copyright is the only complicated bit. The holders of the song writing copyright are potentially owed money for all future recordings and performances of their work. If you're the only song writer, then you don't have to worry about paying people for when someone plays your album in some bar. For the other folks like musicians and engineers, what they're doing is work for hire and you can work out whatever kind of compensation seems appropriate. This is usually along the lines of a warm smile and a "thank you", one time payment of money, or percentage points of album sales.
It sounds like you'll want to work out a point based compensation for your engineer. for the other people, ask them what they want and make sure they understand what they're entitled to. you probably don't need contracts, but if you think you might have a hit on your hands you don't want a bunch of musicians pounding on your door asking for a piece of the album sales after they informally agreed to be paid in beer.
posted by mexican at 6:53 PM on January 4, 2009
It sounds like you'll want to work out a point based compensation for your engineer. for the other people, ask them what they want and make sure they understand what they're entitled to. you probably don't need contracts, but if you think you might have a hit on your hands you don't want a bunch of musicians pounding on your door asking for a piece of the album sales after they informally agreed to be paid in beer.
posted by mexican at 6:53 PM on January 4, 2009
What mexican said.
I would also mention that you should give some serious thought to your general plan for releasing and promoting the album before you even start. You'll need to have at least a general idea of what you plan to do next to guide some practical decision-making. (For example, are you going to press 1000 copies on your own and then give away 500 of them on press and radio promotion? Or does it make more sense to go through a short-run press and produce only a limited quantity of CDs to shop around to labels and sell at shows? Or should you forgo physical distribution completely and make it an on-line only release? Every choice in the short term will impact your budget in the long term. Make sure to pace out your spending, and plan how you'll minimize any hit to your wallet at every step. It's easy not to pay attention to this stuff, but I've seen too many good musicians financially troubled because they didn't plan for the long-term, took too many short-term risks, front-loaded their projects with excessive debt, or otherwise shot themselves in the foot due to short-term thinking.)
Don't obsess over these things, because the point is not to plan every detail from the start, but it's a good idea to have at least some general ideas to inform practical decision-making in the short term.
Also, be sure you're very clear about the roles of everyone who works on the album and how they should be credited. A good lawyer will probably insist you get everything in writing; I won't offer you any legal advice though, because I'm not a lawyer. But my understanding is that entertainment law jurisprudence in a lot of cases proscribes certain baseline payment terms.
For example, I think the law provides that anyone formally given "Producer" credits on an album is entitled to collect some statutorily-specified, minimum percentage point share (points) from royalties earned on sales of mechanical reproductions of the album. These standard contractual terms don't necessarily apply to someone credited as an "Engineer." As I understand it (and take this with a grain of salt), the role of "Engineer" is assumed to be work for hire under the law. The Producer's role, meanwhile, is viewed to be closer to that of one of the creators of a sound recording under the law.
The specific terms between you and your Producer/Engineer can be modified in whatever particular agreement you spell out, but if you don't have a formal agreement of some kind in place, the law may, by default, grant the person credited as the producer of your recording with certain royalty sharing rights. So make sure to research those legal issues until they're clear to you.
posted by saulgoodman at 8:12 AM on January 5, 2009
I would also mention that you should give some serious thought to your general plan for releasing and promoting the album before you even start. You'll need to have at least a general idea of what you plan to do next to guide some practical decision-making. (For example, are you going to press 1000 copies on your own and then give away 500 of them on press and radio promotion? Or does it make more sense to go through a short-run press and produce only a limited quantity of CDs to shop around to labels and sell at shows? Or should you forgo physical distribution completely and make it an on-line only release? Every choice in the short term will impact your budget in the long term. Make sure to pace out your spending, and plan how you'll minimize any hit to your wallet at every step. It's easy not to pay attention to this stuff, but I've seen too many good musicians financially troubled because they didn't plan for the long-term, took too many short-term risks, front-loaded their projects with excessive debt, or otherwise shot themselves in the foot due to short-term thinking.)
Don't obsess over these things, because the point is not to plan every detail from the start, but it's a good idea to have at least some general ideas to inform practical decision-making in the short term.
Also, be sure you're very clear about the roles of everyone who works on the album and how they should be credited. A good lawyer will probably insist you get everything in writing; I won't offer you any legal advice though, because I'm not a lawyer. But my understanding is that entertainment law jurisprudence in a lot of cases proscribes certain baseline payment terms.
For example, I think the law provides that anyone formally given "Producer" credits on an album is entitled to collect some statutorily-specified, minimum percentage point share (points) from royalties earned on sales of mechanical reproductions of the album. These standard contractual terms don't necessarily apply to someone credited as an "Engineer." As I understand it (and take this with a grain of salt), the role of "Engineer" is assumed to be work for hire under the law. The Producer's role, meanwhile, is viewed to be closer to that of one of the creators of a sound recording under the law.
The specific terms between you and your Producer/Engineer can be modified in whatever particular agreement you spell out, but if you don't have a formal agreement of some kind in place, the law may, by default, grant the person credited as the producer of your recording with certain royalty sharing rights. So make sure to research those legal issues until they're clear to you.
posted by saulgoodman at 8:12 AM on January 5, 2009
License covers at the Harry Fox Agency.
Bear in mind that distribution != promotion, and that selling records is generally a lot harder than making them. If you have regular gigs that will definitely help.
posted by doubtfulpalace at 7:40 PM on January 5, 2009
Bear in mind that distribution != promotion, and that selling records is generally a lot harder than making them. If you have regular gigs that will definitely help.
posted by doubtfulpalace at 7:40 PM on January 5, 2009
1. Do you actually have a reasonable expectation of making any money? ie Do you seriously thinkg you can sell > say 10,000 CDs?
2. if not then contracts etc really seem like overkill.. (i've released albums on a handshake agreement to split profits after costs are recouped).
If you have written all the songs and parts yourself. then your freinds / session musicians should only expect a 'X played by Y' credit on the sleeve and an upfront payment (or none).
if you are releasing cover versions of other artists songs you technically shodul pay a royalty to the original song owner.
posted by mary8nne at 2:30 AM on January 6, 2009
2. if not then contracts etc really seem like overkill.. (i've released albums on a handshake agreement to split profits after costs are recouped).
If you have written all the songs and parts yourself. then your freinds / session musicians should only expect a 'X played by Y' credit on the sleeve and an upfront payment (or none).
if you are releasing cover versions of other artists songs you technically shodul pay a royalty to the original song owner.
posted by mary8nne at 2:30 AM on January 6, 2009
1. Do you actually have a reasonable expectation of making any money? ie Do you seriously thinkg you can sell > say 10,000 CDs?
2. if not then contracts etc really seem like overkill.. (i've released albums on a handshake agreement to split profits after costs are recouped).
I would second mary8nne here. I've known some smaller but reputable indie labels that work on handshake agreements most of the time. But I'd add one additional point of emphasis (and remember, IANAL):
Make an extra effort to work out the terms of any informal agreements you enter into in as much concrete detail as possible with other parties involved. Think through any issues where potential conflicts/misunderstandings could arise and hammer out precise enough terms to avoid potential confusion. (For instance, if you agree to share points on the mechanical royalties from CD sales with someone, will their royalty share be calculated after per unit costs are deducted (they usually are)? What will the per unit costs used for royalty calculation purposes be, etc.?)
Just be sure that you and anyone you work with have clear expectations from the start, and things will probably be fine.
posted by saulgoodman at 11:40 AM on January 6, 2009
2. if not then contracts etc really seem like overkill.. (i've released albums on a handshake agreement to split profits after costs are recouped).
I would second mary8nne here. I've known some smaller but reputable indie labels that work on handshake agreements most of the time. But I'd add one additional point of emphasis (and remember, IANAL):
Make an extra effort to work out the terms of any informal agreements you enter into in as much concrete detail as possible with other parties involved. Think through any issues where potential conflicts/misunderstandings could arise and hammer out precise enough terms to avoid potential confusion. (For instance, if you agree to share points on the mechanical royalties from CD sales with someone, will their royalty share be calculated after per unit costs are deducted (they usually are)? What will the per unit costs used for royalty calculation purposes be, etc.?)
Just be sure that you and anyone you work with have clear expectations from the start, and things will probably be fine.
posted by saulgoodman at 11:40 AM on January 6, 2009
Definitely points for your engineer friend.
I too am working on my first official release. I've been doing some website work for the label and have been learning a whole bunch about online distribution. The owner tells me Billboard is his most helpful source for news.
Doing an online only release through Iota (what we use) or any other of the outlets like Tunecore or CD Baby are pretty low overhead and returns are easy to manage.
Consider releasing in waves. A digital release is web content and online exposure corresponds with frequency of updates. Five songs is a good number for a release. Do more if you are feeling very prolific. I know there is magic in that LP length masterpiece but the market is what it is.
Consider making one or a few tracks free as incentive (if they hit they'll just get shared anyway).
Lastly, and you may not consider this applicable to your music, talk with a working club DJ about beats. The most prolific consumers of music are DJ's who buy tracks to mix. Learning things like 180bpm is jungle, 80 is hip-hop, how long is the bridge should last can make a track more marketable to this focused demographic.
Of course, I just want to rock so I try to forget all this when hunkering down to be creative.
mind-wipe in three... two...
posted by dagosto at 6:34 PM on January 8, 2009
I too am working on my first official release. I've been doing some website work for the label and have been learning a whole bunch about online distribution. The owner tells me Billboard is his most helpful source for news.
Doing an online only release through Iota (what we use) or any other of the outlets like Tunecore or CD Baby are pretty low overhead and returns are easy to manage.
Consider releasing in waves. A digital release is web content and online exposure corresponds with frequency of updates. Five songs is a good number for a release. Do more if you are feeling very prolific. I know there is magic in that LP length masterpiece but the market is what it is.
Consider making one or a few tracks free as incentive (if they hit they'll just get shared anyway).
Lastly, and you may not consider this applicable to your music, talk with a working club DJ about beats. The most prolific consumers of music are DJ's who buy tracks to mix. Learning things like 180bpm is jungle, 80 is hip-hop, how long is the bridge should last can make a track more marketable to this focused demographic.
Of course, I just want to rock so I try to forget all this when hunkering down to be creative.
mind-wipe in three... two...
posted by dagosto at 6:34 PM on January 8, 2009
I can't wait, consider me a big fan. When this is done, if you'd send a copy to...
Radio Free Lexington
c/o Bjorn Westergard
777 University Station
Lexington, KY 40506-0025
I'll spin it and encourage others to do so (we're in the bluegrass, so your style is likely to find sympathetic ears here). Please come up with some way for people to buy an album online too!
posted by phrontist at 12:28 PM on January 10, 2009
Radio Free Lexington
c/o Bjorn Westergard
777 University Station
Lexington, KY 40506-0025
I'll spin it and encourage others to do so (we're in the bluegrass, so your style is likely to find sympathetic ears here). Please come up with some way for people to buy an album online too!
posted by phrontist at 12:28 PM on January 10, 2009
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Well, actually, here's something: I've only had friends help me on recordings a couple different times, but I found that I could get quite frustrated when things didn't go right, which is how I am when I record by myself. I had to step back and realize that I'm not recording by myself right now, and these people have volunteered to help me, so I should really not be so unpleasant. It's much easier to come back to a half finished recording when it's only you, then a half finished recording and a room full of suddenly unenthusiastic helpers. Just be patient with others.
But I'm quite sure you know that, already.
posted by Corduroy at 2:56 PM on January 4, 2009