Working With Drum Tracks

By Lori Spencer

 

A drum track is the portion of any sound recording devoted exclusively to the drums. In multitrack recording, what is called the “drum track” in fact usually will comprise several different tracks. Each part of the drum kit is be recorded with a separate microphone, and each microphone assigned a track on the mixing board. For example, one track may be just the snare drum, another may be the crash cymbal, and an overhead microphone captures ambient sound in the room. Mixed together, all of these various elements represent the drum tracks.

Many songwriters will use a drum track to help them create songs. Instead of programming a drum machine for a demo or trying to draw inspiration from prerecorded drum loops, songwriters often find …

(story continues at http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-drum-track.htm)

 

Musician Marketing 101

By Lori Spencer

 

In the music industry, artists and record companies are marketing a product: themselves. They market physical products as well, a band’s latest CD, a DVD, or other official merchandise, and items simply will not sell by mere virtue of their release. A savvy music marketer knows that promotion, publicity, advertising, and branding are absolutely essential to generating sales. Without a creative and aggressive marketing campaign, a truly amazing album or artist might never find a sizable audience. Musician marketing involves employing all of these methods to get the music heard by as many potential buyers as possible.

The Internet has revolutionized the way music reaches listeners, for better or worse. Prior to the mid-1990s, musician marketing was chiefly…(cont’d)

 

Read the rest of the story at http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-involved-in-musician-marketing.htm

Negotiating A Record Contract

By Lori Spencer

 

Recording contracts are legally binding agreements between an artist and the record label defining the rights, obligations and remedies for each party. A recording deal may just be for a single project, or on a “per album” basis, but most are long term commitments of three to seven years with periodic options to renew. As the record company is making a considerable financial investment in the costs of making and producing albums, they naturally expect a substantial return.

This tutorial covers many of the key points to negotiate in a record deal, but is not intended as legal advice. Always have an experienced entertainment law attorney review any record contracts before signing.

Step 1

Negotiate the most important thing first: who retains creative control – artist or record company? Artists will of course try to retain as much control over their own work as possible, but most major record label contracts reserve the right for the company to veto the artist’s choice of studio, producer, songs, musicians, cover art and the like.

Step 2

Discuss the length of the proposed contract. As record contracts generally sign artists for a certain number of records (not years), it could be a one-record deal or a six record deal. There is an option to renew after each album or period of time, usually at the record company’s option. “Options” are explained further in Reference 2.

Step 3

Have your contract clearly define the extent of exclusivity. While every recording contract engages the exclusive services of the performer or group (meaning you can’t make records for any other companies during the contract term), some labels will try to push this exclusivity clause too far and unfairly bind artists from doing other projects.

Step 4

Estimate a recording budget for each album under the recording contract and negotiate an appropriate advance. It’s important not to ask for too much upfront, because these advance monies are fully recoupable from the artist’s future royalties. Think of it like a loan, and never borrow more than you can realistically pay back in a reasonable amount of time (based on sales expectations).

Step 5

Have your manager or attorney negotiate the best possible royalty rate they can get in the contract. Most new artists receive a royalty rate of between 9-14%. Many record contracts increase the artist’s royalty rate by degrees with each subsequent album based on performance and sales figures. Advances and production budgets generally will also increase with each album under the contract.

Step 6

Hammer out the details of a song publishing arrangement if the artist writes their own material. Most record labels will want a piece of the publishing pie, as this generates a significant amount of revenue for the company. Sometimes the split is as much as 50/50 between the songwriter and record label.

Step 7

Make certain your contract clearly defines both parties’ rights and obligations in regard to artist merchandising, publicity, marketing, promotion, public performances, touring, tour support, control/maintenance of artist’s official website, and other fine points involved in a standard recording contract.

Tips

As all things must eventually come to an end, make sure the recording contract sets a clear procedure for termination of the deal. It should also spell out the legal remedies available if one or the other party defaults. Labels sometimes go bankrupt or out of business and sell the artist’s contract to another record label; your contract needs to cover all of these “what if” scenarios that could happen down the road.

You may also want to insert a “key man” clause that states if your A&R rep, producer, or a key person within the record label or band should leave, the contract may be terminated.

Warnings

A “sideman’s clause” is recommended if the artist wants to be free to do studio work with other artists, appear on benefit or compilation albums, movie soundtracks, etc. Even with such a clause the artist will still need permission from the record company before recording elsewhere, but without a sideman’s clause, the artist (or members of the band) would not be allowed to appear as a guest on any other albums.

Key Concepts

• record contract negotiation
• record contract deal
• recording artist contracts
• entertainment law contracts
• record deals contract
• artist record company

References

• Music Biz Academy: What’s A Record Deal All About? [http://www.musicbizacademy.com/knab/articles/recorddeal.htm]
• YouTube: What to Expect in a Recording Contract [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v7GMpA5sVI&feature=related]
• YouTube: Record Deals and the Future of Music [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eg5JKPwLqI&feature=related]

User Bio

Lori Spencer has written professionally since 1986. She is the author of three nonfiction books, is writing her fourth and provides content for eHow and LIVESTRONG.COM. She also produces and hosts a weekly radio show. Her subjects of expertise include history, media, music, film and the performing arts.

Writing Heavy Metal Songs

By Lori Spencer

 

When it comes to writing heavy metal songs, it’s more about the attitude and riff than following any given format. While the basic rules of songwriting still apply, there are times to burn the rulebook and forget everything you’ve been taught in school. Don’t get too caught up in technique–rock and roll is rebellion, above all else.

Read more: How to Write Good Metal Music | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_7335893_write-good-metal-music.html#ixzz1g8ybRfSw

Renewal Options in Recording Contracts

By Lori Spencer

 

A record contract is a written agreement that binds a record company to an artist or band for a specified number of albums. These agreements are typically exclusive, meaning that the artist may not perform recording services for any other label or organization for the duration of the contract. Every recording contract will contain renewal “options,” generally after each album. The option to renew the contract is at the record company’s sole option, not the artist’s.

Read more: How to Write a Non-Renewal Music Agreement | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_8508259_write-nonrenewal-music-agreement.html#ixzz1O77iNiZO

How to Change Your Voice When Your Record Yourself

By Lori Spencer

 

Whether you’re a professional voice-over artist, a video gamer, or just want to spoof your friends with a prank call over VoIP, voice-changing software gets the job done. You can easily change your voice from young to old, male to female, high to low, and create your own game character voices using special effects — the possibilities are endless.

Many voice-changing (or voice-cloaking) software programs are available. Free programs tend to deliver poor sound quality and don’t offer many features. Pro versions $10 to a little more than $100, as of May 2011…

 

Continued at http://www.ehow.com/how_8406270_change-voice-record-yourself.html

Best Tips to Become a Singer

By Lori Spencer

To become a singer requires not only a natural talent but also ongoing vocal training. Singers are constantly striving to improve their range, strengthen their voices, and learn new techniques. Before embarking on any kind of musical career, a singer must first learn to train and protect his or her voice. While other musicians have external instruments to play, requiring only the interaction of the hands, fingers, wrists, or mouth, singers face a more difficult challenge because the vocalist’s instrument is built in. Therefore the entire body must be kept in good shape, not just the throat itself.

The first step to become a singer is…

Read more at http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-best-tips-to-become-a-singer.htm

How to Find a Vocalist’s Key

By Lori Spencer

Nearly every singer has limits to her vocal range, even the best-trained operatic voices. As such, vocalists are more comfortable singing in certain keys than others. Over time, singers find certain keys they are particularly strong in and learn to avoid keys where they might sound weak. The goal is for the vocalist to hit the notes without straining and find a key that sounds natural. To suit the song to the singer, the key must be changed. This is known as “transposing.”…

Read more: How to Find a Singer’s Key | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_8407251_singers-key.html#ixzz1N1LQNjZX

How to Get a Record Deal with DTP Records

By Lori Spencer

Disturbing tha Peace Records (DTP Records) was founded by rap artist Ludacris in 2000. DTP is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group and receives major distribution through Island Def Jam Music Group. Based out of Atlanta, Georgia, the label — which also has an artist management arm — boasts an impressive roster of hip-hop and rap talent. Artistsinclude I-20, Lil’ Scrappy, Field Mob, Playaz Circle, Bobby Valentino, Shareefa, Willy Northpole and Lazyeye, among others. If you think you’ve got what it takes to join names like these, here’s how to effectively pursue a recording contract with DTP Records.

Read more: How to Get a Record Deal With DTP | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_8409215_record-deal-dtp.html#ixzz1N1H9VKye

Choosing the Best Professional Microphone

By Lori Spencer

Choosing the best professional microphone is a matter of both personal preference and matching the mic’s characteristics to the type of sound you want to capture. Certain types of microphones are better suited for recording vocals than instruments, for example. Others are more appropriate for live sound than studio recording. Regardless of the frequency response or cartridge type you choose, selecting the right microphone ultimately means finding whichever is the best microphone for you.

Continued at http://www.wisegeek.com/how-do-i-choose-the-best-professional-microphone.htm