Archive for the ‘Industry’ Category
The current trend with distribution of major label records seems to simulate the party game of limbo. Everyone is doing something more and more drastic to get sales up in physical media. Some are going vinyl and others now seem to be doing CD, but aiming at low cost department stores to sell their discs. Not only are bargain price stores being used, but also being given exclusives in distribution on NEW releases, not just existing releases.
It seems that no matter what segment of the music industry is examined, it has hit or is approaching rock bottom. The music industry is lost or floundering as to where to go to get back its mojo that it once had. When will it become apparent that the need for aiming higher in the content area will be the trick for getting sales to where they used to be and in the manner that it used to be. Yes, digital will be around, but digital should not be blamed for the slip.
How much further can the limbo bar be lowered before the whole industry falls while trying to slither under it? Everyone knows that marketing is no longer just in the hands of the big record companies, but almost breaking the rules to allow ground contact when getting under the bar is the question.
Everyone has heard a studio recording of a band, orchestra, choir or some other musical performance. They all sound for the most part, plain, sterile, and manufactured. Everyone has also at one point or another heard or bought a “Live” recording which sounds completely different. There is an element of freedom, originality and realness to the sound.
When looking to do a recording, one of the decisions that could make or break a record is where and how it is recorded. With today’s recording technology, recording can be done just about anywhere allowing greater options to the performer. One can choose to record in the traditional studio or somewhere else which can give the recording a little extra flare. The location can also greatly affect the mood of the musicians playing allowing the recording to be more relaxed. Using an alternative location may also offer a unique effect that no electronic effects generator could reproduce. For example, recording a choir in a gothic cathedral would far outweigh the quality of the recording compared to doing the same recording in a studio or even in a concert hall. The accoustics of the high ceilings along with the materials the building is made from will offer a characteristic that is non-reproducible electronically.
No longer is location an issue when it comes to recording. It used to be that the better recordings were accomplished in the studio. With the way that music technology has evolved, it is now possible to do great works anywhere and sometime better.
As musicians, we know there are musicians out there putting out quality music. The question that should come to mind is “Why is it so hard to find?” Real talent and new music is out there, but because of the unrest in the music industry, artists who break the mold are not being selected by the record companies for contracts. A&R companies such as Taxi get new talent in all the time, but record companies keep calling for the same cookie cutter sound that no one wants to buy. If you find the good stuff, you have to actively search. Unfortunately, when you contantly hear on the radio the same cookie cutter material, you come to a fast assumption that the talent has disappeared.
Because of this cookie cutter philosophy, musicians have had to become more creative and more self-reliant. Since the big companies are not searching the way they used to, musicians have to promote their work. Getting our work out there and noticed requires relying on connections and increasing the impression upon the target markets. Thus, letting people know you have a unique sound requires some marketing skills.
As listeners, to find new we have to search outside traditional means. Since indie musicians are the ones with a unique product, the most obvious place to look should become the Internet. If we search places suc as MySpace, music download sites, and indie distribution channels, the odds of finding something fresh is likely.
Like a good snack or meal, it takes trial and error and when we find a good one we should notate it and share the word with others. That’s the way music is right now. It’s like that little hole in the wall restaurant that’s been there but had to go out and sample it to realize that it can compete with the current competition.
The technology to record music has become very easy to access and use. Years ago you needed to know someone who had a studio, fancy multi-track tape recorder, and expensive microphones to produce a record or CD. Now one can produce their own album with equipment just under $1000. The issue here is that since the software and recorders available can handle so many tracks, we can get easily carried away with the number of tracks and microphones in our recordings.
When recording first started almost 100 years ago, things were very simple. In fact, most studios did all recording with one microphone in the center of the room and the artists would be distanced from the microphone to produce the spacial feeling wanted. Take it, this was also in the days of mono recordings. As years past, recorders got better and the technology improved, but the accessibility still required knowing people. As recording matured, the ability to record and overdub on multiple tracks came into the forefront. With more tracks available, we are enticed to add more and more inputs. However, sometimes the best recordings are still accomplished with just the basics.
Whether it be a choral concert, instrumental concert, or band, we have the ability to over-mic. Some like to put a microphone on everything and others feel they can get the same result using 2 microphones in the room. What can be ironic is that some recordings done with two microphones end up sounding better than a recording with a whole cabinet full of microphones setup.
So, the next time you have a great song idea or a concert that should be recorded, remember to keep it simple and let the music be the focus, not the recording.
Music along with art have to be appreciated first hand. Second hand exposure does not affect the human psyche as great as physically being there to experience it first hand. There is something about live music and performance that is different than seeing or hearing from a recording. Without getting into the technicalities of audio recording, there is more sound being created in a live environment than any other medium. Although, it’s not the greatest example to use, but it’s the most accustomed to, the feeling of being at a rock concert is different than being in your car listening to the concert from a CD or digital music player. The concert makes you feel alive. It just does something to you as a person. The same goes for attending a classical performance in a performing arts concert hall.
Since we can’t all go to the concert venue every day, we rely on the great invention of Thomas Edison, the sound recording. Sound recordings allow us to experience music over and over again from wherever we are, the only difference is we don’t have that “Live” experience. Recordings are second generation from the original. One looses the physical experience of being there and having the sound envelop them. Yes, a recording done of a live concert has more of the interactive feel since it was based on the interaction of the audience with the performers, but the feeling is no longer there. Studio recordings are different as they are “manufactured” by the assistance of people and equipment in sterile environments.
Lately, with digital music players, there is something even more important lost and that is sound quality. If we were to listen to a live concert, then a recording, followed by a compressed digital version of the same recording, we would begin to notice differences. Sound is lost in the transfer from one to the other. The recording of the live concert was the greatest, the live recording is almost like being there as only a little was lost sound wise, but the third, if we really trained our ears to listen, would certainly teach us a lesson about compromising quality.
Even though records were replaced by CDs for the pureness, there was something about a record in terms of sound quality that outperformed digital. Records had the ability to reproduce a fuller reproduction of the original sound. Therefore, the listening experience was closer to the real thing and making a tape copy was a close second for similar reasons.
Regardless of media, there is one thing that has been lost in the compromise of sound quality and that is that there are less audiophiles (people who are fanatic about sound). Most of us have come to accept less than great, thus affecting our music appreciation of live music.