product development

3 - recording audio

Recording Audio:

Researching the right recording studio, right producer and engineer is a key issue in Product Development. Where will the record be recorded? Who will record it? Both of these questions must be considered quite seriously before making a final decision. Weíre not talking about making a demo at a friends house but a master product.

Mastering Recordings:

Up next is mastering. Mastering is not something to be passed over lightly. The mastering engineer can enhance or hurt the recording. Choose a mastering engineer who understands the genre of music. This is a must.

Record Labels:

As the record label, or new label for the artist, it is important to know of any past affiliations and/or recordings that have been released to the public. Who controls the P circle copyright? What markets were successful? Why is the artist no longer involved with the labelÖ. Or are they still involved?

Discography and Content Management:

Recording the project is just the beginning. A good content management system is needed to maximize the use of those recordings. Be prepared by having many different file formats for the recordings such as WAV, Mp3, etc.

Film & Video:

Recently at a music industry conference, one question was asked to a panel of Independent Record Label owners. Name one main investment an artist should make for their career? Every answer given included the purchase of a quality video camera. With the increasing use of the Internet, video is playing a more important promotional role than ever before.

Packaging:

When planning the promotion of the product, remember that the packaging plays an important role. This hold true whether the release is online or offline. The graphics used should be consistent with the products image.

Manufacturing:

Who will manufacture the record? Who will design the artwork for the release? There are two more essential questions. Finances will most likely determine this, as they probably determined production decisions. Take the time to make a record that sounds and looks like something you would want to buy yourself. Album cover artwork, packaging material design, and printing issues are important because you are creating a product that will be competing for the attention of music fans that have an abundance of music releases to choose from. Is there something about the album cover that will attract a customer to the record?

Distribution:

Luckily for the independent record label, the Internet has made the distribution of music much, much easier. Consignment at area stores is a difficult chore and hooking up with a regional distributor can be costly. The budget for distribution must take in account charge backs, defective products, promotion items and shipping.

Brick & Mortar: Getting product to the retail stores has always been an issue with record labels. Many distributors are looking for a promotional commitment from the label before theyíll accept the product for distribution.

Online: There are numerous outlets on the World Wide Web that offer opportunities to labels to expose their artist while making sales at the same time. Rates vary depending on whom the label affiliates with.

Promotion:

What has or has not been accomplished in the areas of Artist Development and Product Development will make or break the chances of success with the Artistís music. The label will promote and publicize the music and artist to maximize the prospect of sales and ultimately, income. Promotion should involve offline as well as online exposure for the artist and the artistís music.

Publicity:

Publicity is the deliberate attempt to manage the public's perception of a product. The subjects of publicity include people (for example, politicians and performing artists), goods and services, organizations of all kinds, and works of art or entertainment.

Branding:

A brand is a name, logo, slogan, and/or design scheme associated with a product or service

Branding is the process of creating a relationship or a connection between a company's product and emotional perception of the customer for the purpose of generation segregation among competition and building loyalty among customers.

Sales:

One a record has been manufactured and is ready to be sold to the public, Product Development turns it attention to Distribution and Sales. Many young labels and developing artists forget this in their rush to record their music. If the label is going to spend thousands of dollars recording the music, wouldnít it be a good idea to find a way to sell it? Thatís how professional labels think. They make sure a system is in place to distribute and sell their records to their artistís fans. Many young labels make the mistake of trying to get some radio airplay, or other media attention, before theyíve found a way for the public to buy it. Make no such mistake.

Live Performances:

Another critical part of a labelís business model involves the live performance of their Artists. This may be accomplished by one of two ways: 1.) Establishing a branch of the label to act as a booking agency such as Frontier Booking International and IRS Records. 2.) Have the artist work with an established agent. There are advantages and disadvantages to either. In either case, labels have a vested interest in how their artists appear in public.

Merchandising:

In the broadest sense, merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to the variety of products available for sale and the display of those products in such a way that it stimulates interest and entices customers to make a purchase.

Web:

The use of the World Wide Web in product development includes promotion and marketing as well as distribution and sales. A quality web presence is essential to the success of any product.

Working the Product:

The importance of knowing the various parts of Product Development will be reflected in the success of a release of a sound recording for public sales. It may seem obvious, but all of the items that make up Product Development should be considered in a broad sense. For example, labels should consider distribution when planning the recording of the songs. There is no sense in having product gather dust in the garage while the label scurries to find a way to get it into the marketplace.

Product Development Tips

1.) Focus on the active and passive income streams ñ publishing, live performances, recordings, merchandise, royalties.

2.) Identify projects ñ gigs, recordings, tours, special events, etc

3.) Begin assembling your promo ammo for each project

4.) Plan your work and work your plan

5.) Utilize project management techniques for maximum productivity

6.) Communicate regularly with your team on short / long term objectives

7.) Keep accurate records to insure goals are being achieved

8.) Review, evaluate and learn from each project

9.) Set calendars and agendas for future recordings and performances

10.) Prepare for each gig ñ set list, announcements, logistics

11.) Remember the importance of pre-production before you enter the studio