Today's post is a guest post from producer Gary Gray.  Gary and I have created two courses to date on how to produce and master your tracks specifically for licensing opportunities.  This weekend only, Gary and I are offering both courses, as well as Gary Gray's ebook and other free bonuses for just $49.97.  

Learn more here: http://www.howtolicenseyourmusic.com/garygray.php

Over to you Gary...

Last night I received an email from Multi-Platinum and Grammy Award Winning producer Steve Lillywhite, producer of many of U2's biggest hits. Earlier in the day I sent him a recording I just produced from the ground up for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society 2014 Fundraising Campaign - an identical re-make of a released recording (called a "Re-Record" in the Industry). It was a Re-Record of U2's "One."

After listening to it, Steve wrote, "Gary, it sounds just like the original!!" Quite a compliment coming from him!

You can hear the recording by clicking on this link:

http://bit.ly/GaryGrayOne

I also recently produced a Re-Record of Phil Collins' hit "Another Day In Paradise" and produced a promotional video, also for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. You can see the video below (song starts at 1:15 - Note that the singer on the video is not Phil Collins - it's a Phil Collin's look/sound alike - Martin Levac):

 

http://bit.ly/GaryGrayParadise

In fact, in the last year alone, besides other licensing income, I've made over $10,000 in licensing income from Re-Records alone. This has come from corporate clients such as Hollywood Records and Disney, as well as from independent projects.

There are several reasons why the Industry requests Re-Records. One of them is that using an original master recording of a major hit in a Movie, Commercial or Television program can cost the production company upwards of $100,000 or more for just the up-front licensing fee. Using a Re-Record is much less expensive for them, and creates income for those who produce Re-Records.

But even more important than the income from Re-Records, is a major lesson I learned in Music Production and Audio Engineering that helped catapult my career from struggling starving artist, to making a good living on music alone. You may never make a penny from Re-Records and you may or may not be interested in making money this way. However, if you want to achieve licensing success with YOUR music, read on:

In the courses which Aaron and I created, "How To Produce Music That Will Get Licensed And Make You Money," and "Mysteries of Mastering Solved," a very important skill and technique is covered more than once and from various angles:

A/B'ing.

A/B'ing means comparing one thing (A) with another (B).

In the Home Recording Studio world, A/Bing is VITAL.

In the two courses above, we go over how to A/B your music to a similar style commercially produced recording to give you an immediate and accurate picture of where your mixing and/or mastering skills stand up (or don't). As long as you have two decent monitors (two 5" monitors are ideal) and a good subwoofer (10" is ideal) and as long as they are adjusted to where you have listened to your favorite recordings with the full range of lows, mids and highs well-balanced, you can then A/B with precision. As gone over on the courses - there are ways I show you of how to get a hold of COMMERCIALLY MIXED recordings BEFORE THEY WERE MASTERED so that you are A/Bing MIXES to MIXES and MASTERS to MASTERS. Where you can't, you simply turn the volume of the commercially mastered recordings lower to match the level of your mixing, so that you are A/B'ing apples with apples.

Now -- and this is the main subject of this Blog -- stepping into the world of producing Re-Records from scratch is a whole different universe. This is like earning your doctorate degree in Mixing and Mastering. And the good news is that even a beginner can (and should!) practice at this.

One important note here before we continue --- true Re-Records are done WITHOUT using one single sound or sample of the original recording. Some people cheat and sample a kick drum or some sound from the original recording. This approach can actually be illegal (sampling copyright laws apply) and - you won't learn as much this way.

I could go on and on for pages explaining different ways to approach doing a Re-Record project, but I will make this very very short and simple. You may think that you don't have time to do this, but, as I learned all too well, after I did my first Re-Record project, the quality of ALL of my productions hit a new very high quality level! I was able to get super-high quality recordings done fast. And the more I did Re-Records (even for my own practice) the higher the quality and the faster my own productions went.

It's Simple: (You might want to start with an instrumental recording as a first project)

1. Import the original recording (I purchase the original recording on iTunes and convert it to a wav and import it into my DAW).

2. Start A/Bing the commercial track to your own new recording of that song as you lay down each instrument/vocal (making sure to turn down the commercial recording between 6dB and 12dB). You are not into the Mastering stages yet - you are only mixing now - which is why you turn down the commercial track between 6dB and 12dB - the average amount of headroom on most mixes in our industry.

3. When your mix is done and you feel it sounds exactly like the commercial track, import your mix into a new project file and A/B your track to the full volume commercial track for Mastering. Master your track so that it sounds as close to the commercial track as possible.

4. Test your mixes and masters in as many different systems as possible. Burn CDs that include both the commercial recording and your latest mix/master. Listen closely and take notes. Everyone (me included!) makes the final call in their car stereo system. So, finish off with a test drive.

5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 until you've nailed a great Re-Record production!

The above five steps, even if it takes you two weeks to accomplish, could save you 6 months of struggle with no real advance in quality or speed - compared to a super-productive intense two week "Doctorate Degree" in quality AND speed. AND - you might even make money with your Re-Records!

Here's to better quality and more quickly completed masterpiece recordings!

Gary Gray - Los Angeles May 2014

http://www.GaryGrayProductions.com

gary@GaryGrayProductions.com

Students of our courses have been getting licensing deals! The latest is Tzuriel Kastel who just landed a licensing deal for his song "Metaphor" in a commercial for Snow Lizard Products!

Here's a recap of what you'll get in the Production/Licensing Package this weekend only:

1) How To Produce Music That Will Get Licensed And Make You Money ($49.97)

2) Mysteries Of Mastering Solved ($49.97)

3) Thirty Years In Thirty Days ($19.97)

4) An Insider's Guide To Music Licensing ($19.97)

5) 2014 Music Licensing Business Directory ($49.97)

Combined Value $189.95

Get Everything For Just $49.97 This Week Only!

http://www.howtolicenseyourmusic.com/garygray.php