MONEY Vs. TIME… What’s more important? The short version…

So right now I feel like this is an important subject because I have worked with a lot of musicians and money seems to be the biggest problem that musicians THINK they have. This is the short version of the article… I get to the point a lot quicker…

           

So I have meet a lot of musicians that think if they had enough money they could make it in the music industry. Well only a couple of these bands had the actual musicianship, talent, dedication and work ethic it actually takes to be successful.

There is something else that can compensate for lack of money… its called TIME! Instead of trying to invest more money in to your project try investing more time! Yes, Everything is expensive, bands always need better instruments, better recordings and better gigs. All that stuff takes money but if your focused on what’s really important you will find that hard work and spending more time on your music will help you be more successful.

Here is the break down. So you need better instruments to sound good? That’s not true, YOU should make the instrument sound good, not the other way around. Take a poor sounding guitar and make it sound good, so when you do get a good guitar it will sound great! Take the TIME to practice more and get better at your craft, no one else can do that for you!

            Recordings cost a lot and you need them to get gigs…It goes back to practicing… If you play your song better, your recordings are going to sound better. The gear and place doesn’t matter as much as time and work! You can fart in to a $10,000 mic going to a million dollar mixing board… its still a fart at the end of the day. Same thing goes for your music. If your music is shit you can polish it up all you want, its still a piece of crap. But you will still need a recording to get live gigs and now of days promoters want musicians to play a crap load of MONEY just to play a show. (or sell a bunch of tickets to that show)

            Think about it, why would you want to play a show? To get new fans? If your music is actually good then there are many ways to get new fans. I rarely see or hear of musicians taking the TIME to really promote their own music the right way. A label doesn’t just promote their artist’s music to anyone and everyone. Indie musicians shouldn’t ether. Yet I see musicians trying to add friend after friend on MySpace, people who don’t even give a shit about the bands music. What’s the point of having 10,000 friends on MySpace if non of those people like or listen to your music. Promote and focus on people who like your type of music, not just anyone. If you do hit 10,000 friends it will mean a lot more, trust me. Give your music out for FREE!!! Go to shows and hand out cds in person, talk to people. Be social in real life, not just on the computer! If you take the TIME to write and make good music, then take the TIME to promote it and build a fan base. You could play gigs and get paid for it. If your bringing people to the shows the promoter is going to want you there!

Some people say its not so easy… Well no, its not easy! If being a successful musician was easy, you would see a lot more people doing it. If you put in the work and people like your songs, you will be successful. If people don’t like your songs… work on writing better music, work even harder and don’t keep pushing the same stuff that people don’t want to hear. If that doesn’t work…well… Don’t quit your day job and do music as a hobby… that’s the harsh reality.

Home Studio Vs. Big Commercial Studio… Time Vs. Gear

So every musician should know that the most obvious difference between a home studio and commercial studio is the cost. A home studio can cost hundreds maybe thousands of dollars to put together while a big commercial studio can cost hundreds an hour maybe thousands of dollars per day. But the most important difference is experience. You can take a producer or engineer with the experience of regularly working in a commercial studio, put him/ her in your home studio and you will get a great sounding recording. On the other hand you can take some one who has only worked on one or two projects in a home studio and put them in a million dollar facility, he or she will probably not get the best recording from the equipment available. They probably won’t even know where to plug the mic in and get a signal to tell you the truth.

When picking a studio the first thing is to know what your budget is going to be when starting a project. If you want to record 16 songs and only have a $1000 dollars you’re not going to get that done in a big studio. (maybe at a project studio) The second thing is to know what kind of quality you want. (Demo, Okay, Good, Very Good or Best Possible) Do you want 3 great sounding songs? Or 10 demo quality songs? The price can end up being the same, depending on the quality. I would go with 3 better sounding songs, quality over quantity! Do you really want your fans to hear bad quality recordings of your songs? Once you figure out what quality and budget works best for you, then you are ready to pick a studio.

Each type of studio serves a purpose. Home Studios are great! They don’t always have the best quality but that’s fine. Get a cheap audio interface, a couple of cheap mics, some headphones, speakers and you have yourself a home studio. Record demos of your songs so that you can hear them back. When practicing a song “live” musicians don’t normally hear the songs. They are concentrating on playing and hearing themselves in the moment. When you listen to the recordings you can hear how everything sounds together. You can then hear the changes that need to be made to the structure and sound of you music! You can also record scratch tracks to a metronome at your home studio so that you’re ready to go when you do get to the commercial studio. Save time, be prepared if you are going to record at a different studio.

Big Studios are awesome! They tend to have the best gear, best acoustics, best engineers and its best to go there if you have a lot of money! Some advice… You don’t want to go to a big studio and spend a ton of money to record for one day. (unless your doing one song or one instrument and you are very prepared) You still need to spend the time recording parts right in order for your recording to sound good. Just because your recording though a $10,000 mic and a $5,000 preamp on to a $30,000 Protools rig doesn’t mean you are going to sound good! That stuff is not going to help you sing in tune, or help you hit the right note on the guitar or help you hit your drums harder. It takes talent to sound good, talent comes from hard work and taking the TIME to practice. You will be better off spending that money and recording more songs yourself or at a project studio. Even artists that are signed don’t go to a big studio unless they have done preproduction and they know exactly what they are going to record. There is no time or money to experiment. That’s all done ahead of time. This is where project studios come in to play. They are more affordable with an engineer that normally has more experience recording then the average musician.

Project studios like Small City are popping up everywhere now of days. The main thing to know is that YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!! Don’t go to a project studio that charges $50 a song and expect it to sound really good, Its Not. But it is better to go to a project studio if you have $1000 and want to record for a few days instead of one day at a big studio. Look at the experience of the producer or engineer before picking a project studio. I recommend taking a tour before you go in to record, see if you feel comfortable in the studios environment.

Small City Studios is a private recording studio with a productive environment. I have some really good gear with a lot of experience. I have worked with over 200 bands in about 6 years. I love working with dedicated musicians. If you willing to work to get the best performance possible, I’m going work with you to get the mix and master possible. I can also work at bigger studios if your budget allows. We can also rent better gear/ instruments to get you the best recording possible for your budget!

Check out smallcitystudios.com to get a quote on your project or to set up a tour.

Protools? To fix or not to fix...

I just remembered a funny quote I read on someones facebook status... it read...

"Neither the Beatles, nor Stevie Wonder had Protools.... maybe you just suck."

Just think about that the next time you "fix" one of your tracks using protools. Maybe you should just try it again instead of using protools to fix every other take. How good are you going to sound live if your punching in every word , replacing every drum hit, copying and pasting every guitar strum.

Performance is everything. If your making mistakes every two bars maybe you should practice some more instead of fixing it. And on the other hand if you can perform your whole song well with minimal punch ins...keep doing what your doing. Use the extra time to get creative with harmony tracks or double parts if needed. What ever works for the song!  


Oh, and if Protools was available back when the Beatles or Stevie where first making music... I'm sure they would have found some way to make it better. Remember back when they were recording they had a limited number of tracks but some how found a way to make it work. The Beatles would use two tape machines together to get more tracks or bounce tracks to free up more room. What ever worked... they were creative! Ahead of their time!

Are You Serious About Your Music?

So you say you're a serious musician and you want to make it big? Guess what, so does every other musician out there. It's one thing to SAY you want to make it... And it's another thing to DO it. I have meet and/or worked with hundreds maybe more then a thousand different musicians. I don't think I have ever meet one saying they want to fail at making music. The point is, most, if not all musicians want to make it big but not to many are willing to put in the work it takes to be successful. I see musicians willing to pay $60 for a video game or hundreds for the system but they complain when they have to pitch in $50 for their band to record. Video games is just an example, there are other material things that musicians spend their money on instead of their music.

If you are really dedicated to your music then music is what you should spend you time and money on. Time is more important then money! but money does help. (My next blog will be about that) If you spend time on WRITING the best songs you can, PRACTICING to prefect your performance then you won't have to spend a ton of money to sound good. Get out there and play shows! Play pretty much any show you can at first, just get the practice of playing in front of people. If the crowd likes you promote your cd and website to anyone who is interested. If they are not really feeling you, ask your self why!

One of the biggest mistakes I see bands make is that they are not open minded. You have to be willing to change and make improvements. Musicians love good positive feedback, but once they hear anything that sounds close to negative feedback their ego gets in the way. Yes, maybe you can come up with a cool melody, riff or vocal line... Maybe you can put it all together and your song sounds good but your way isn't the only way to arrange a song. Your way might not be the best way ether. Most really good music is written by more then one person. Because these musicians/ producers are so open minded and creative, they have no limit to their success.

The main point is if your serious don't just sit their... do something! Write more music, if you find your self writing the same old stuff then you might need to work on your theory and practice your instrument more. If you have music that you think represents you well then promote it... get it to your listeners! Play shows, pass out cds, give out free downloads just get your music to your fans. Its doesn't mater how they hear your music! All that matters is that they like it and continue to listen. Don't be lazy! Yes, playing music is suppose to be fun but you will find that when you are trying to get to the next level it is a lot of work. The fun part is having people enjoy the music that you created and creating the music is now work. If you truly love your music then all the time and work you put in to it won't seem like work at all. It will end up being a great experience and time well spent.

I help bands! Hire me as a music consultant if your looking for honest, constructive feedback on your music and performance. Take your music to the next level. I'm not expensive and if you feel that I am not helping you, I make it up by giving you free studio time. So there is nothing to loose! If I see a band that is working hard and improving, I am more willing to lower my price and help out. After all I shouldn't care more about your music then you! And I doubt that you will find another producer who will.
Click here for more info if you would like me as your music consultant