If you are a musician, the days of renting out expensive studios to record your music are over. With the advances in home computers, the amazing hardware and software available, and the flexibility of the digital format, recording your own music at home has never been easier. Wondering how to get started?? Read on for a few pointers….

1. Get a high-quality computer with enough memory to run the hardware and software you need.
2. Invest in a back-up hard drive. You won’t want anything to happen to these precious files while you’re working on them, or once they’re completed.
3. Research the various software that’s available. Remember, free doesn’t always equal best!
4. Invest in excellent speakers. If there’s one area that you should splurge, this is it. Replaying your recordings and trying to hear the intricacies over your tiny computer speakers is nearly impossible.
5. Learn at least the basics of MIDI and digital audio, and how they work together.
6. If you want to make your own CDs, you will need a CD burner.
7. Know how and when to use EQ—sometimes less is more!
8. Take advantage of the many online Music Forums available; follow the advice of those who have done this before.
9. Plan your budget carefully, this equipment can really add up.
10. Patience matters. Knowledge and experience will follow.

Whether you are an aspiring musician, have a fun garage band, or you’re a seasoned industry vet, learn production techniques and consider using your home computer to make your music. Why pay someone else to do it for you when it’s become so easy to do it yourself? And remember, it’s easy with the help of our friends, why not join the Music Community today, its free!

When I first began on this journey of making music, I always saw in music forums that people got in heated debates on hardware versus software. The hardware lovers would look down upon the Fruity Loops users ( FL Studio), saying things like it’s for kids, it’s not for serious producers, blah, blah, and so on. Man was I wrong!
















Still, today software is somewhat looked down upon even though successful producers such as 9th Wonder (who has produced for Jay Z, my favorite rap group Little Brother and Destiny’s Child ) who proudly admits to using FL Studio.

Other big producers have jumped on board with using software such as Reason. DJ Khalil, who has produced for Jay Z and 50 Cent, uses Reason, and in the link provided, he talks about how software has changed his whole beat-making process. Other producers such as DJ Troop and DJ Babu and countless others have used the Reason music software.

Even with these producers getting major placements, software alone is looked down upon.

4 Reasons Why I like Hardware

1. No Audio Latency – This is what bugs me most about software. The delay of sound. This is when you push a key and there isn’t an instant sound. It takes a few milliseconds, or more, but it’s enough to drive me nuts. It makes playing keyboard complicated. There are tips on ways to fix these problems, but it’s never really accurate like a piece of hardware. Hardware doesn’t give you this problem. If you have a keyboard or MPC, the sound comes out instantly with no delay because it’s built for that purpose.
2. Creativity - Sometimes my flow has been better working with a Motif keyboard. I pick a track, sound and play — no mouse clicking and sorting through folders for sounds. It’s faster sometimes and easier, which allows me to focus on the music alone and not an entire computer setup. Also, physically banging on some MPC pads allows me to feel the beat out, and get in the groove of making drum patterns.
3. Less Options – When you have an MPC or keyboard, you know exactly what it is capable of. You can focus on those features and do your thing. You don’t have to pick out of 20 different softwares what to use. Too many options can be distracting.
4. Something Physical – I’m not a fan of all the clicking you have to do with a mouse. I sit in front a computer for most of the day, and don’t want to come home and make music on my computer. That keyboard or MPC was built to do music and have a majority of the necessities to do what it needs to do. MPC pads or keyboard keys feel better than the clicking you do with a mouse. Because you feel it out, cause you’re actually playing it out.

8 Reason to pick software over hardware

1. Portability - A laptop and a midi keyboard can be your entire set up. You can have thousands of sounds and a variety of software. You can take it with you anywhere and not be restricted to one place.
2. Time and Convenience – When using software like Reason, you will have almost every instrument right in that one setup up. I’m not sure if you have had a set up like me, where I have a Yamaha Triton, plus an Akai MPC. I would load the drums into the MPC. I would have to set both devices to track #1 for example, find the sound on the keyboard, set the MPC to midi input and record. The process would repeat. After the track was done, I would save both instruments to their different storage devices. Sometimes both wouldn’t save right. But if it did, eventually when I recorded the beat into the computer, it would come out differently. It was a pain. Software is more contained and gives you almost everything you want in one program, which makes it easy to edit and save.
   
   
3. Easy to Edit - With midi you adjust every note you play from length, velocity and more. You can edit everything very easily. This can all be done with a click of the mouse and a big viewable computer screen. Editing Samples is just as easy. You see wave forms and edit and chop up sounds in a number of ways. Add hundreds of effects. The possibilities are almost endless.
   
   
4. No Tracking - Tracking is the process of recording the beat you made on a piece of hardware into the computer. This was always a pain. Because you have to record every track individually, so this could take a decent amount of time. Plus for me, it would never come out the way it sounded on the piece of equipment. With software, you pretty much just export your tracks to a wave form and mix the tracks down.
5. Free Resources – If you follow my site, you will see that there are plenty of sites online that offer hundreds of free VSTs instruments, effects and other sound collections. In fact some of these VSTs are modeled after vintage hardware and carry the exact same sounds. They may even sound better.
6. Share Ability - A lot of music software is now being built with some form of collaboration software in it. In FL Studio, you can export your beat as a zip file that will include every sample you used in the beat. Then you can send that to someone and they can continue right where you left off. Reason and Protools both have very similar features.
7. Affordability - When dealing with music equipment, you really can’t buy just one thing. If you buy a key board, which can cost you up to a grand, you will also need a sound card in your computer to record your keyboard, maybe also a mixer, plus the audio cables and maybe some midi cables. And when hardware comes out, the time for software updates on the piece of equipment is limited. You may get a few updates, but the main focus most companies is that next piece of hardware, and some of the hardware can be pretty expensive. So it may not be easy to just upgrade often. For software, almost every household has a computer. All you would need is some music software, a midi keyboard (not required) that you can get off Craiglist for cheap and some decent music speakers to hear your music. Free resources are always being put online, and your sound collection will continue to grow.
   
   
8. Space- I’m not sure how much space you have available just for your music equipment. But it can take up a lot of space. When I only had one room to myself, I had my bed, dresser, TV, keyboard, computer and other necessities all in one room. It was pretty cramped for me. Plus, I had a lot of down time when I wasn’t making music and that equipment was taking up space.

But with software you can pretty much have everything on your one computer. Get a midi keyboard and you’re pretty much set.

In Conclusion Software is the future. If you don’t catch up, you will be left behind. I agree that hardware has its own characteristics that cannot be replicated by software. But software saves me time, money and closet space. You would be a fool to try and not take advantage of all the free resources out there, such as VSTs and sound fonts that can easily boost your sound collection up to a thousand quality sounds with out paying $1,500 for a keyboard. In addition, you can buy midi hardware that is pretty close to that physical item that you may be attached too.

Overall, it’s not about the equipment you have. It’s about the music you make with it. You can have a big studio and suck, or have FL Studio and rock! It’s up to you.

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OK, so you've recorded your demo - now what? Now you need to get your demo in the hands of the people who can help you take it to the next level. But with so many people trying to get their demos heard, how can you make sure your demo won't get lost in the shuffle? Follow these simple steps to move your demo to the top of the pile.

Difficulty: Average
Time Required: Ongoing

Here's How:

1. Do Your Research Before you start sending out your demo, you need to compile a list of labels who might be interested in hearing it. Sending your hip hop demo to an indie rock label is a waste of time and money. What bands do you like? What labels are they on? What labels deal with the kind of music you play? Spend some time online researching artists you consider to be similar to yourself and the labels that work with them. that way, your demo will land in the hands of people who "get" what you're doing.
   
   
2. Learn Demo Policies One you have your short list of labels, you need to learn each label's policy on demos. Some labels, especially larger labels, will not accept unsolicited demos for legal reasons - they worry about people sending them demos, and then later suing them, claiming their songs have been stolen. Most labels have demo policies clearly displayed on their sites. Find out:
   
   
   • Are unsolicited demos accepted?
   • Acceptable demo formats (CD, mp3 clips)
   • Demo mailing address
   • Is there a specific demo (A&R) rep to whom you should address your package?
   • Follow up rules - OK to call? OK to email?
3. Keep it Short and Sweet Remember, even small labels are inundated with demos, and many labels do listen to everything they get. Making their job easier will only help your case. Your demo package should include:
   
   
   • A short demo. Go for two to three of your best songs. Anything longer won't get listened to.
   • Your demo should be clearly labeled with your name and email address (NOT your number - you're more likely to get a response via email).
   • SHORT band bio. Keep it on subject and to the point. No need to go for "My parents have known since birth I would be a musician..."
   • Press clippings, if available
4. Follow Up Once you have sent your demo out to labels, you need to follow up with the labels to make sure they have received them, and to solicit their opinions. If the label has a demo follow up policy on their website, make sure you stick to that. Otherwise, an email a month after you have sent the demo is a good place to start. It may take months for a label to actually get around to playing your demo, but a friendly, occasional email will help your demo stand out from the pack. Unless you have been told differently by the label, DON'T call. It puts people on the spot and won't win you any friends. Stick to email.
   
   
5. Steel Yourself Sending out demos can be a little frustrating. Often, despite your best attempts at a follow up, you just won't even hear back from some people. You are also likely to hear "no" a lot. Don't despair. If you hear "no" from someone, ask for feedback, advice, and suggestions of other labels who may like your music. Again, you won't get this advice from everyone, but asking never hurts, and you may end up with the piece of advice that turns everything around for you. Treat every "no" as a chance to learn something that could turn that "no" into a "yes" in the future.
   
   
6. Keep in Touch When you do hear "no" from a label, that doesn't mean you have to scratch them off your list. Include labels you like on your emailing list, with their permission, to let them know what is happening with your band, and if you record a new round of songs, it is perfectly fine to send a new demo to a label that has rejected you in the past. If you're playing a show in the town in which a particular label is based, invite them to the show. Getting people to know your name is half the battle.
   
   

Tips:

1. Don't fret too much about the recording quality of the demo - That doesn't mean just slop anything down, but record labels do not expect to hear professional recording quality on demos. Great songs WILL shine through and WILL get noticed.
   
   
2. But have a professional presentation - Take the time to print up a band bio that is clearly written and free of spelling errors. Jotting a few things about your band on the back of a napkin and tossing it into a package won't cut it. If you have press clippings, make a copy of each one a separate piece of paper and bind the pages together.
   
   
3. Make a database of contacts - Keep a list of every label to whom you send your demo and of every person you talk to about your demo, whether the conversation is positive or negative. You never know who will be able to help you sometime down the line.
   
   
4. Pick songs with strong beginnings - When you demo goes into the CD player, if the song doesn't grab the listener out of the gate, then the listener is likely to press "next." Don't go for the slow burners on your demo. Pick the songs that grab people on the first listen, from the first note.
   
   
5. Get more demo help - This free eCourse will walk you through everything you need to know about demos.  Also, visit this Demos 101 guide to everything you need to know about issues that may come up during your demo process.
   
   

One thing I would never do is invite friends to Boston without first sending them a map. More than most cities, Boston (for the out-of-towner) is an urban tangle with few rivals. I remember my first visit to the city back in '77. It was a psychological and emotional roller coaster to say the least. And I had a map!

Maps - they lay out the land and point us in the right direction. A good music business plan is a lot like a map, though the "land" you'll be dealing with here - the music industry - is both more tangled than the city of Boston and can end up pointing you in any variety of "right" directions at the same time.

A good music business plan is the map to the fulfillment of your goals. Whether you're a band, soloist, production house or some other business, a plan can turn foggy notions into operational strategies, hunches into actions, dreams into reality.

Dreams. This is where it all begins isn't it? For this reason I like to think of one's business plan as a "vision/mission." It starts with vision. Before your first gig you envisioned yourself playing it. Remember? Vision precedes mission and fuels it with the necessary energy to go the distance. Mission implements vision and provides the vehicle that moves you towards your goal. Together they're unstoppable!



Why Write A Music Business Plan? There are a number of specific benefits to writing a music business plan. A well-thought out business plan will:

• Clear the way for creative thinking
• Pinpoint strengths and weaknesses
• Identify obstacles and problems
• Expose hidden opportunities
• Set proper priorities
• Coordinate your marketing program
• Take the guesswork out of budgeting
• Allow for meaningful review and revision

Your business plan should never be viewed as a one-time draft written In stone but instead as a provisional guideline to help you take strategic and effective steps toward the achievement of your goals. It is never really complete because it parallels and reflects the dynamics of your own growth and development.

Besides the benefit of self-revelation, there is another important reason to draw up a business plan:

To attract investors and secure loans. No one needs to tell you how much it costs to launch a successful music career in the 90's. Between equipment, insurance, taxes, travel, recording, mixing, manufacturing, promotion, advertising and various fees and commissions, today's musicians and bands are left with little else to call their own. Enter investors.

Investors are willing to put up a certain amount of dollars to launch your music project with the hope and expectation of a return on their investment. The most important thing they'll need in order to decide to invest in you or not is a well-thought out business plan. The same goes for seeking bank loans. A plan reflects professional responsibility to the lending institution and greatly increases your chances of securing a loan.



How to Structure A Music Business Plan A music business plan will have six main components. They are:

I. A summary page II. A description of your business Ill. A marketing plan IV.An operations statement V .A project time-line VI. Financial projections

We will look at each in turn. You may want to make a rough outline for your own plan as you read this article. Don't be surprised, however, if your complete plan ends up being forty pages long! This should be expected.

Would you like some free help drafting your plan? Then contact your local SBDC (Small Business Development Center). This is a federal program that is part of the SBA (Small Business Administration) designed to provide small business owners with counsel and resources. Your tax dollars pay this so use it! The SBA has a Small Business Answering Desk (800-827-5722). which can answer many general business questions including the location of the SBDC office nearest you.

While you may not find them to be experts on the music industry, they are experts in creating and developing small businesses, and you are one. Let's first get an overall sense of where we're going by displaying a complete outline of a business plan:



I. Summary statement

II. Description of your business or project. A. History and background B. Management description C. Business structure

Ill. The market for your product or service A. Market description 1. General market information 2. Specific market information 3. Competition profile B. Marketing plan 1. Positioning 2. Marketing mix 3. Pricing philosophy 4. Method of sales/distribution 5. Customer service policy



IV. Operations A. Facilities and equipment B. Plans for growth and expansion C. Risks

V. Project time-line

VI. Financial information A. Financing required B. Current financial statements C. Financial projections

I. Summary Statement. Here you want to answer the following questions as succinctly as possible: Who are you? What will you do? (goals). Why will the business be successful? How will it be financed? - and When do you think it will turn a profit? (Remember, a 'profit' is not how much money you make, but how much you keep). Be ruthlessly realistic! It is also in the summary statement that you list the products or services being offered (e.g. CD's, tapes, performances, etc.) as well as the names and positions of all personnel involved. The summary should close with mention of anything that is unique about your project.



II.Description of your business or project This section begins to flesh out the summarization above. A. Begin first with the history and background of your project. This provides the overall context in which to view your current work. List all data that pertains to the various facets of your present business. Don't pad it with your whole life story, just the pertinent highlights that have brought you to the present moment.

B. A management description should follow next. How is your business project organized? What does the leadership look like? (it's style and command chain.) How are decisions made and facilitated? What kind of ongoing business meeting schedule will be followed to insure smooth operation?

C. Decide on the business structure you will use (i.e. sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, etc.). This is one of the first questions the start-up business person should ask. The answer to this question has many legal and tax implications, varies greatly from state to state and from time to time. Again, seek the advice of your small business adviser at your local SBDC office.



Ill. The Market for your Product and/or Service Now we are getting into the essence of what you're uniquely about. Marketing means selling and it is an absolute truth that unless a start-up business can sell its offering it will not survive. Getting orders - selling your recordings or performances to paying customers - is of crucial importance to a new business. To compete successfully in the music business, then, you must follow the same strategy that every successful business person uses. You must:

Develop a product- in this case, your music.

Locate clients for your product - do market research.

Kristal Audio Engine is a genius program loaded with tons of effects, equalizers, chorusing, digital preamp tweaks, and virtually infinite track recording and editing capabilities. Kristal Audio can be compared to software in the $500 - $1000 range, yet this studio freeware costs nothing for personal use.


Instructions


Instructions

1. •   Navigate towards the bottom of this page, in the "Resources" section, click on "Go to Kreatives.org" (you can also download the software via this page by clicking on the "Download Kristal Audio Engine For Windows" link - doing this lets you skip steps 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7).
     
     
   •   (Downloading From the Kreatives site is fairly involved so I highly recommend downloading Kristal Audio via the link on this page rather than from their web site. I do however recommend visiting the Kreatives site to help better understand the program and its creator.) If you do want to give it a shot, follow steps 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.
     
     
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   •   Click the "Download" link in the top portion of Kreatives.org.
     
     
   •   Click the "Download KRISTAL" link (you will be redirected to simtel.net).
     
     
   •   As soon as you complete step 4, you will need to act quickly!!! While the simtel.net page is loading you will see the message "The download site for Kristal Audio Engine is currently being contacted..." Before the site transfers you, you need to click the blue lettered "Kristal Audio Engine" portion of that text or you most likely won't be directed to the proper page for downloading the program. If you miss clicking it, repeat from step 4.
     
     
   •   If you did everything right you should see a page clearly displaying download information for Kristal Audio Engine 1. Click on the green "download now" button at the upper mid area of the screen.
     
     
   • You will be redirected as before in step 5, but this time a box should pop up prompting you to download the setup file. Click save!
     
     
   •   Follow the setup prompts to complete software installation.
     
     
   •   Assuming everything went smoothly, you should now be ready to record a platinum album and blow minds worldwide with your digitally recorded music!!!
     

Setting up a music production company involves pooling talent, resources, and technology. Music production is increasingly less dependent on large, corporate labels, and small music labels can gain widespread popularity through word of mouth. Some music production companies, like Eighth Dimension Studios in Orlando, Florida, no longer even own a main studio. All their music is recorded and produced in home studios.






Instructions :

1. •   Purchase the equipment for recording and producing artists. Equipment includes soundboards, speakers, and microphones. You will need a recording station, which can be in your home or in a traditional rented flat. The room should be insulated.
     
     
   •   Create a logo for your company. The logo will be included on everything recorded at your studio. You can either hire a freelance graphic designer or solicit designs from your artistically inclined friends. Many logos, such as Columbia Records or the Jagjaguwar label, have the company's name written in all-capitalized special font, but you can also just type the company name in a Word document in a font that you like. Columbia Records also has a stylized image of a record playing placed beneath the name.
     
     
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   •   Establish contacts with artists, producers and engineers in the genre that your production company will cater to. Small companies and even some large labels have a distinctive niche, such as electronic or rap music. After establishing these contacts, you can offer to record the artists you want to work with.
     
     
   •   Record these artists. If you don't have engineering experience, you should also hire a professional sound engineer. One of the great luxuries a small production company can afford artists is the creative freedom to explore unique and original music.
     
     
   •   Arrange parties or small concerts to announce the release of your company's CDs. These parties will help raise the awareness of your company and the sound it is associated with.
     
     
   •   Distribute CD samplers of the artists on your label. You can give out samplers to local CD stores and upload the digital files to iTunes and other music distribution programs.
     
     
   •   Contact television and film production companies. Today, the profits from CDs or even digitally distributed music is minimal. Most companies make their profits from selling the rights to the music for movie and television soundtracks. Once the songs are in episodes of shows, the company will continue to make money when the show is syndicated or is released on DVD.
     
     

1. How did you find your passion? What do you think is the best way to find it?
My challenge has never been to find my passion, but rather to choose among many passions and, on a professional level, figure out how to generate a substantial living from certain passions that traditionally don't generate much cash. I also don't really buy that we don't know what our passions are. Ask a kid what they love to do and they'll rattle off any number of activities. What changes when we're older is that we subconsciously tack on an ugly qualifier. We don't just ask what we love to do, we ask what we love to do that will make a boatload of money. Bad idea. Because, adding on the money filter allows us to literally fool ourselves into thinking we don't know what we love to do when, really, we do know, we just don't know how to make money at it.
So, ask the do what you love question, first, without regard to money. Then, see if there is a readily apparent mainstream path to income. If so, follow it. If not, before you bail, rise to the challenge of going renegade and exploring unconventional ways to turn your passion into a living.

2. How do you go from goal setting to implementation? How do you make sure that you take constant action toward your goals?
Three words mindset, mindset, mindset. Most people look at mindset training as some kind of goofy motivational garbage that poor people who are down on their luck turn to instead of medication, religion or the lottery. Truth is, the most successful people in the world often spend a substantial amount of time, energy and money cultivating the mindset needed to push past the fear, doubt, conventional wisdom and judgment that accompanies the quest for success. So, when you ask how to go from goal setting to implementation, the answer is a bit of planning, visualization and strategy and a whole lot of learning and cultivating the daily mindset practices that fuel consistent, daily action.

3. How do you stay focused? How do you keep distractions at bay?
I'm sorry, what were you saying? LOL. Focus is my greatest challenge, largely because the process of creation is my muse and ideas for new ventures, books, experiences, products and services come gallivanting into my head all day long.
Two tools I've found very effective, though, are meditation and batching. Daily meditation or mindset training (yes ANYONE can do it, if you find the right approach) helps create space and clarity. But, it doesn't happen overnight. It takes time, often months, but the cumulative effect can be immensely powerful. It also reduces what's known as attentional blink, momentary lapses in attention that lead you to literally miss flashes of what's going on in front of your face. We all experience this all day long, but mindset training reduces this over time and literally allows you to see and experience more than the person next to you. Batching is a simple productivity technique where instead of responding to things as they happen, you batch certain inputs, requests and stimuli into certain categories, like phone calls, social media or writing, then set aside specific times to take care of everything in each category. When you do this, you minimize the very real ramp-up costs of switch tasking and accomplish a lot more in the same period of time.

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The level of manager you choose depends on your skill level and your business opportunities. There are three levels of managers. The top level managers work for the Beyonce's of the world, while the bottom level managers may have zero experience. Now before you go on the hunt for a top level manager, consider these facts.


1. TOP LEVEL MANAGERS

Top level managers work for the top artists. If you aren't the next Justin Bieber or Drake, this might not be the manager for you. Top level managers most likely have the connections and experience other managers may lack, but that doesn't necessarily mean that once you sign with them your career will blossom. If you are not a priority to the manager then your career will be put on the back burner for the other artists they are managing.


2. MID LEVEL MANAGERS

Some would argue that this is the best type of manager. The reason being, a manager at the mid level is experienced, has connections, and has the time to cultivate your career. Since they are not already managing one of the top artists in the country, they are available to develop with you. They know the steps it takes to make you successful as a mid level artist. They can also become a top level manager by making you a top level artist.


3. BOTTOM LEVEL MANAGERS

Keep in mind that managers work on a commission. That means, if you don't get paid, they don't get paid. A bottom level manager may not have much experience or many connections, but their passion for your music and will to work (for free at first) can add to your career. Remember, even Beyonce's manager was a bottom level manager when he first started managing her. Now she is one of the biggest artists of our generation and he is a top level manager.



Truth be told, there are a lot of artists that don't even really need managers. Its not so much that they are great business minds either. The simple fact is that their skill level is of such that there is nothing to be managed. This is especially true in the beginning of artist's careers.