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There is more to making a record than just recording it. Here are a few things to think about before you decide how many copies to manufacture.
There is more to making a record than just
recording it. Here are a few things to think about before you decide how
many copies to manufacture.
How many CDs will you choose to manufacture?
What will the cover (and booklet) design and artwork look like? If you
take time to consider how these questions relate to preparing your release
for the marketplace, you¹ll increase your chances of selling your music.
Let¹s get into some manufacturing basics.
The cost of making CDs has gone down since the CD debuted in 1982.
Manufacturing plants offer dozens of "package deals" to make it
easier for an artist to release their own music. However, when I ask a new
client why they pressed up 1000 copies of their first CD, they usually
answer, "Well, I called this company I saw advertising in a music
magazine and they had this great deal on pressing up 1000 CDs."
OK, but please stop and ask yourself some
more questions before you order:
- Do I have 1000 potential customers?
- Do I have a good shot at selling more than
a thousand records? Or, have I underestimated my needs?
- Will I send promo copies (freebies) of my
record to radio stations, newspapers and magazines? How many do I need
locally, regionally, and nationally? How many will I give away to
family and friends?
If I¹m going to work with a legitimate
distributor how many copies will they need to give to retailers as an
incentive for them to purchase it? (This is known in the industry as 'free
goods') How many promotional copies will they need to giveaway to the
buyers at various retail accounts?
Answers to these questions will help you
determine the number of records you actually need to make. And that will
affect how much money you need to manufacture. Also, are CD's the only
configuration you need to make? What about cassettes, mini CD's, Enhanced
CDs, or vinyl?
The cover design of your release is also a
very crucial issue. What is your package going to look like? The time you
spend designing your CD cover will pay off big time in the future--in many
ways. The image you select, the graphic artist you choose to design the
cover, the colors and fonts you choose all play a huge role in creating or
maintaining your image. It is estimated that over 90% of the first
impressions people get of an artists music is a visual impression. If that
is true, than ask yourself how important the image you have created on
your cover is to impressing people in the industry as well as potential
customers.
Where do you place your name on the cover of
your CD? If it¹s too low, it will be hard to find your record in the
retail store bins, where product is crammed into the bins. Be sure to
clearly print your name in the top 1/3rd of the cover. Also, be sure your
band name is written so that it stands out from the title of your record.
For example, if your band name is Soap, and your album title is Suds,
either of those two names could be a band name. Unless you have designed a
distinctive logo for your band name, or made it obvious in some other way,
how are the gatekeepers at radio, retail, and the press supposed to know
if your band name is "Soap" or "Suds"?
The back cover must have a barcode if you
intend to get your CD into most commercial retail record stores. You could
also print the catalog number here as well. The back cover should list the
song titles and times of the songs. That helps the DJs at non-commercial
radio find a song that fits into their music set. A professional looking
photo is cool, too. Contact information for independent releases must
include snail mail and email addresses, maybe a PO Box for the label, and
your Internet URL address. You can list some basic recording credits here,
like the producer¹s name, if he or she is well known, and maybe the
studio¹s name as well. Band personnel could be listed here, if you¹re
not printing up a multi-page booklet.
On the spine you must put your name (or that
of your band), your logo, the album title, the catalog (selection) number
of your release (usually a series of letters and numbers like CJK10001),
and the logo/name of the label.
The CD booklet can have just about anything
in it. Lyrics, photos, all the thank yous you want, a brief bio or liner
notes about the music. The booklet can be anything that enhances the
listener¹s experience of the music, or tells more about you as a person
or group.
Here is an exercise for you. Go to your
favorite record store and give yourself one solid hour of browsing through
the bins. Look at other artist¹s covers. Pay attention to what they look
like. How many truly great covers can you find in one hour? How many bad
ones? What made the great covers great, and the bad covers bad?
At the end of that hour you¹ll be far more
aware of your competition. Which pile will some future music director,
distributor or store buyer put your CD in? The great pile or the bad pile?
I want you to realize that you will be sending your record to people who
see more records in a week than you will see in a year. Your cover makes
an impression that will last a lifetime. That¹s right -- a lifetime.
That¹s how long you¹ll have to live with your decision. How much do you
like your cover design now? Every time you look at it, are you proud of
it? Or do you think how much better it could have been?
Preparing your record for manufacturing takes
as much thought and consideration as writing and recording your songs. If
you skip over the steps I¹ve outlined here, you risk disappointment and
financial loss. Putting out your own record is a high risk endeavor.
Reduce that risk by thoughtfully and professionally analyzing your
potential customer base, your promotional needs, and the effectiveness of
your cover design.
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