Today's post is a new post from our Resident
Producer and Audio Engineer Specialist, Gary Gray, who is about to release a
new book called "30 Years In 30 Days; Discover 30 Years Of Music Production and
Audio Engineering Secrets In Just 30 Days!" (More on that soon) Gary and I have been
working on several projects together and I asked him last week if there have
been any recent changes in the Audio Production world in terms of Music
Licensing. Not only did he say yes, he
answered by writing a full Blog on the subject called "Music Supervisors And
Mastering Your Music." So, to help us
all keep our finger on the pulse of the Music Production side of Music
Licensing, I turn the floor over to Gary.
What's the latest word in Production and
Engineering Gary?
Gary:
That's a great question Aaron. My first answer is some very important information
that is confirmed 100% by YOUR latest course (I take all of your courses by the
way) called "How To
Pitch Directly To Music Supervisors".
In your course, CBS Sports Music Coordinator
Joseph Miller says something very interesting:
"You need to find a way to separate yourself
from this already over-saturated industry.
How are you going to make yourself stand out? Is your music Really ready? The
first thing a Music Supervisor is going to listen to is the Quality of
the recording."
(I highly recommend Aaron's course to anyone
reading this blog)
Lindsay
Fellows, Music Supervisor for movies like The Avengers, Bridge to Terabithia,
and Journey to the Center of the Earth, recently gave these words of advice:
"It's very important to get your
tracks mastered. It's a good spend. You end up with a volume level that is
going to be competitive with major label commercial releases. A lot of indie
stuff I get is 30 decibels lower than major releases. It's flat and it doesn't
pop, which isn't good."
Now,
Lindsay is obviously exaggerating the numbers (30 dB), BUT, it's NOT an
exaggeration to say it SOUNDS like a 30 dB difference. In fact, it sounds like MORE than 30 dB when
you've struggled and sweated and worked for hours and hours on your mix. . .
and then you compare it to your favorite commercial recording, thinking you've
finally created a competitive masterpiece - only to be frustrated again because
your track, no matter what you do, will not play back as LOUD as the commercial
competition!!
This
Blog is an answer to your question regarding any recent changes in the Music
Licensing world regarding Production and Engineering. And the above might not sound like anything
new that we haven't already heard before.
However,
something HAS changed and I'm going to let you in on what that change is and on
some tips and tricks and secrets that can help end any frustration you may be
experiencing. And, if you can't afford
to have someone else master your tracks, or if you'd like to master them
yourself, I'm going to show you how to Do It Yourself!
MIXING and
MASTERING - THE CHICKEN and the EGG
In
the Course, "How
To Produce Music That Will Get Licensed And Make You Money," I point out
that if one learns how to Master FIRST, then one will become a much better Mixing Engineer. It may sound a bit backwards, but it's HIGHLY
WORKABLE. Consider this: Mastering is far, far easier than Mixing - A typical Mixing Session can involve hundreds
of individual decisions by the Mixing Engineer;
Some mixing sessions contain 20 to 50 (or more) separate tracks to deal
with. You end up with countless EQ decisions on each track, what plug-ins to
use on each track , which tracks to duplicate, where to pan each track, what
parts should be deleted on each track, what parts should be repeated on each
track, when each track should enter the song, when each track should end off,
which tracks should be totally deleted, should more tracks be added to complete
the arrangement and overall sound and style of the song? etc., etc., etc.
In a
typical Mastering session, you may have many decisions to make, but the number
of decisions are tiny
compared to a Mixing session!! In a typical Mastering Session, you only have
ONE track you are dealing with - the Stereo File of your Mix! And yet, Mixing
is always taught before Mastering! The
hardest and most complicated procedure is taught before the most simple
procedure.
All
of my students learn Mastering First.
Not
only is Mastering easier to teach and easier to learn, but the student will
know exactly HOW TO APPROACH HIS MIXES and WHAT IS IMPORTANT AND WHAT IS NOT
IMPORTANT during every one of his Mixing Sessions. His CONFIDENCE will be very high - which is
vitally important when mixing.
You
can HEAR when someone is uncertain or second-guessing themselves when you
listen to a Mix. And that is when Music
Supervisors say, "No."
SECRETS
REVEALED
For
various reasons, there are Producers and Engineers who have decided not to
share their "secrets" and "tips" and "tricks" with anyone. (That's the subject for another day; another
Blog).
Right
now, I'm going to give you the real deal - the way it is being done now and why
it is being done that way now - when it comes to Mastering Music for Music
Supervisors in this highly competitive market.
LOUDNESS WARS
If
you Google "Loudness Wars" you will find some fascinating articles and forums
and videos which go into great detail regarding the arguments and fights that
people have had and still have over how the Volume of recordings has slowly
creeped up more and more and more over the last 10 years and how that has
affected the music industry.
Fascinating? Yes. Worth researching? No.
Worth arguing about? That's up to
you.
What
IS important right now is this:
Here
is a Fact: To the average Music
Supervisor today, the Loudness of a track IS important. The market is so competitive, that no matter
how good your music is, if it's not perceived to be as loud as tracks submitted
by Major Labels and established Film Score, Video Score and Commercial
Composers and Producers, than it will be rejected 99% of the time.
Period. The other 1% will be a
response telling you the track's quality isn't up to par. Reason?
No one in the Music Licensing assembly line has the time or the
resources to Master your music for you.
Part 2: How To Master Your Own Tracks Coming Thursday!
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http://www.howtolicenseyourmusic.com/blog/music-supervisors-and-mastering-your-tracks
