John Doe is the founder of the seminal Los Angeles punk group X, a solo artist and actor. John answers questions from our community members in the WWJDD? blog. Photo by Autumn de Wilde.

Hello John,

I have been writing songs for some time now and it's been a dream of mine to record my own record. The local recording studio near my house gave me a handwritten price quote of $2000.00 to record, mix, master my recordings and cover the costs of a couple of session musicians. It seemed like a lot of money but the people there seemed to know what they are doing and I wanted a professional recording of my material. Now that the recording process is over a couple of things happened that have left me confused and upset. The person in charge at the studio helped me with melodies on two of my songs, now he says he wants 25% ownership of those songs! He never told me that his help would give him part ownership of MY songs. If I had known that I would have stuck with my original melodies. Additionally he is now asking that I sign a producer agreement that gives him 3% points on my sales. Shouldn't these "agreements" happen before I started recording, not after? I have already paid for the recording session in full but now he is won't give me the masters until I sign his agreements. Are artists always treated this way by people who offer "help" in the music industry? What would John Doe Do in this situation?

With much respect,

Amanda

WWJDD?

Hey Amanda,
   I'd love to kick this guy in the shins for you!
First of all, you have ALL my sympathy. This is totally unprofessional & YES these agreements should be negotiated before the session.  The first thing I thought of was how can you break-in or bring a couple of big, nasty goons & physically take back yr tapes.  Then of course I realized there are no tapes. I suppose you could do that to his computer but . . . doing 1 to 3 @ the State Pen for breaking & entering & robbery probably isn't that attractive. One way to avoid this is to use your own hard drive, possession is "9 tenths of the law".  BUT what's done is done.  You could get a lawyer but that means more money & too much time & effort.  You probably should make a complaint to the "Better Business Bureau" & tell anyone in yr town who cares, what a shitbag this guy is.
  Now, to solve yr dilemma. Even though what he's asking for should have be settled before recording, a producer's fee isn't uncommon.  Standard is 3% but that applies to established producers.  Offer him a 2%, producer's fee.  Regarding the melodies; go line by line & figure out what percentage yours to his melodies are used in the songs that he contributed to. That may be difficult but be generous & make yr best guess.  This way if he questions how you came up w/ the number, you will have a plan. Then offer him half of that percent of the writer’s credit, since I'm guessing he didn't write any of those words.  Also he would not be entitled to any publisher's royalty.  If none of this is acceptable to him, take him to small claims court, maybe you'll get Judge Judy.
  This is a lot of wrangling for, probably, not much reward ($$) but there is always a chance that the song could get licensed to some movie or TV show & that can be big dough.  Let me know if I should dust off my brass knuckles, be tough & best of luck.
I hope this helps and as always, thanks for writing.
yrs,
JD

If you have questions for John Doe about music, the music business or life feel free to email them to wwjdd@knowthemusicbiz.com.

For more information on John Doe check out theejohndoe.com or YepRoc.com .

John Doe is the founder of the seminal Los Angeles punk group X, a solo artist and actor. John answers questions from our community members in the WWJDD? blog. Photo by Autumn de Wilde. Click here to check out John Doe's new release with The Sadies, Country Club.

A Question from Michael in Brooklyn:

Mr. Doe,

I stopped in to ask a familiar question. I was in a contract agreement with a manager and he said he didn’t want to be my manager because we had an argument over him canceling a show because he didn’t trust the producer’s ear (mixing). The manager didn’t come to the studio for a month and didn’t hear the music we recorded. See the manager did hear the music before he cancelled the show. But now he’s not my manager and all the music I recorded is on his computer.  The producer made the majority of the beats, does he only get the producers fee of 2%? He didn’t write but one verse on one song. Does he get publishing or writer’s rights besides that one song?

Peace,

Michael

What Would John Doe Do?

Hey Michael,

Give all the songs new titles & re-record them w/ someone that you trust (maybe leave out the one w/ the verse written by the "producer").  Never sign manager agreements before you actually have something to manage.  Those "managers" are just trying to take advantage of you & yr art.  In this ridiculously litigious society people need to keep their music on their own hard drives, a very sad but true situation.
onwards & upwards
 thanks for writing,
Jd  

If you have questions for John Doe about music, the music business or life feel free to email them to wwjdd@knowthemusicbiz.com.

For more information on John Doe check out theejohndoe.com or YepRoc.com .

Cameron is a freelance guitarist in Brooklyn, NY. Along with performing and selling his own music, he performs as a sideman for other artists and dabbles in production consultantation. He is also a co-founder and author at MusicianWages.com. Learn more at his website or check out his music on iTunes.

Nearly every musician I know is a creatively diverse individual, yet many of them are singularly focused.  If they have a goal for their career as a musician, it's often accompanied by tunnel vision.  They place all their dreams of making it as a musician in one band or one project, and in the meantime exert a lot of energy waiting tables at the local Scrapplebee's.  Perhaps worse, I've seen friends that were very talented and promising musicians get caught up in a corporate career and settle for the occasional weekend cover band gig.  The latter usually step away from the cliff, scared to leap because they find their current situation secure and comfortable, later to lament their decision.

However, there is another way to make your creative and musical knowledge work for you.  Chances are you have a variety of skills that you take for granted, or at least have come up with enough excuses as to why you can't use them.  I've heard all the excuses, used many of them, but finally took off my blinders and realized there are many ways I can create revenue streams as a musician.

Here are a few ideas to get you thinking.  The beauty of all is that they can be done simultaneously, involve music, and if you have a slow month with one revenue stream, another could likely pick up the slack.  That is, after all, the whole reason to have multiple streams of income.

Performance Oriented Skills

The first place to start is evaluating your abilities as a player or singer.  Sure, your priority is to get your band's act together.  But in the downtime, consider playing solo gigs and investigate opportunities to work as a sideman or studio musician in your area.  The better you are as a musician, the more opportunities you will find.  This might mean brushing up on your sight reading or dusting off the jazz chops, but these kinds of opportunities will strengthen you as a musician when your band needs it most.

Another option I rarely see bands choose is to create an alias to perform more cover songs.  Choose a second name for your band, add another singer if necessary (one lead singer per gender seems to do well), record a few cover songs and start pitching yourself to local bars.  Have fun with it, and make some extra cash.

One thing I learned working at a bar in a college town was that cover bands can do very, very well.  At the time, I had tunnel vision and thought it was beneath me, as an artist, to play in a cover band for a bunch of drunken frat boys.  In retrospect, I probably would have been better off on stage than doing something like working as a bouncer at a bar full of drunken frat boys.

Selling Music

Hopefully, your first thought here is, "Duh."

If you don't yet have some music available to sell yet, make this a priority. There are two keys to making this an actual revenue stream: 1) make sure the music is really good, and 2) keep your overhead low. Set a realistic budget, get your music together, and explore some options for recording.

Home recording vs. studio recording is an entirely different topic (as is the discussion on selling music independently), but for the sake of this article, here's my belief in a nutshell:  Use your budgetary restrictions as a creative guide.  For example, I have a small home recording rig that I've used for 4 albums and counting.  One of the things I can't do is record drums.  So instead of throw my hands in the air and do nothing, I choose creative means of recording music within my restrictions.

Once you have an album (or even a few tracks) that you're happy with, release them digitally.  Budget some time each week to market yourself and your music.  Keep your overhead low by using every free online resource available to spread the word about your band and the music.  If the music is good, it will sell.

One last thing to mention here: Record and release cover songs and niche oriented albums.  While it may not be your chosen path to be recording cover songs, my experience has been that they sell very well.  Sales from cover songs help fund larger projects with my original music.  For example, iTunes sales of an album of 8 cover songs, involving no more than an acoustic guitar and my friend singing, and recorded in my parents basement nearly 10 years ago, provided me with enough funds to take my jazz trio into a studio and make a proper recording.

Here are some other articles I've written to further discuss what I do to help sell my music:

How To Effectively Promote and Sell your Music on iTunes

Recording, Releasing, and Performing Cover Songs

Make Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Album 

Recording / Home Studio

If you have a home recording set up that you've used for your own recordings, why not let other musicians hire you and your gear?  If you have ProTools chops to burn, people will need you.  There's a steep learning curve on this software, and many musicians would rather hire somebody to record them before taking the time and energy to learn these recording techniques for themselves.

Composition & Arranging

Writing and arranging music is perhaps one of the more profitable ways to use your skills as a musician.  Music enhances life.  That's why we have it in movies, commercials, parades, elevators, dentists' offices... well, perhaps 'enhance' is the wrong word.  My point is, it's everywhere.  And in some cases, companies may want custom music for their website, or they'd like to commission a piece of music for a special occasion.

Somebody has to write this stuff.  Do you have the skills to pull it off?  There are countless opportunities out there if you look, but the best way to find this work is through effective networking.  Make sure everybody knows you can write music and that you'll write for hire (many people wrongly assume that an artist would never write commissions).  Build a portfolio of examples, perhaps by doing a few projects for little or no money, and work will start to find it's way to you.

Music Directing or Conducting Skills

Wherever there's a group of contracted musicians, there's a need for a director or conductor.  My counterpart over at MusicianWages.com, pianist Dave Hahn, has written about the job of a Music Director in the theater .  That is just one place Music Directors (or MD's as they're called in the biz) are found.  Artists with large backing ensembles also need MD's.

It can take some time to get into this kind of position, but if you are a good musician that also has strong management skills, these can turn out to be ideal gigs (musicians with management skills are sometimes hard to find).  The only downside is that this is a gig that is probably going to take place a night, and can cause a conflict with your band's schedule.

Teaching

For many musicians, teaching private lessons is a great way to generate some steady income.  There are several ways to find students.  If you're willing to put in the effort, placing ads on Craigslist or putting flyers in your local grocery store might help you find students directly, and you can charge whatever they'll pay.  If hustling for students isn't your thing, many stores that sell instruments also offer lessons.  There are also programs that offer music lessons at regular schools.  Because there's a middle man for the latter two options, you'll probably make less money per student, but could also have more students placed in your studio.

Transcribing or Copyist Work

If you have done a lot of work in Finale, Sibelius, or another notation program, then you could be a valuable asset to other musicians that need to get their music on paper.

Working as a copyist generally only involves getting previously notated music into clean, organized parts for each person in an ensemble.  Composers will write out an orchestration in one large score, but often hire a copyist to do the grunt work of extracting each instrument into separate parts.

Transcribing involves writing down note for note what is happening on a recording.  Not only does it help to have notation skills, but a trained ear as well.  There are software programs that can now slow music down without affecting pitch, which makes things easier, but it's still a valuable skill that can pay.

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It's important to remember that none of these gigs constitute giving up on your career as a musician.  In most cases, it will strengthen skills that can only help other areas of your career.  Best of all, it can put money in your pocket and make it a little easier to quit that day job.  Good luck!

Ed Ackerson is a producer / engineer, songwriter, musician, instigator and facilitator. Owner of Flowers recording studio , Ed has a huge list of clients including The Replacements, Motion City Soundtrack, The Jayhawks, Brian Setzer/Stray Cats, Sing It Loud, Golden Smog, Metro Station, and many others. Founder of experimental pop band Polara, pointman for the Susstones electronic collective, Ed has worked on a wide range of major label and indie projects nationally and internationally. For further information visit: edackerson.com .

One of the most exciting experiences for a young band is going into the recording studio for the first time. How that first recording session turns out can depend a lot on the band’s attitude and level of preparation going in. I’ve made a list of some things to think about before and during a band’s initial studio adventure.

1. Know what you want to sound like- as you write and rehearse songs, think about what sort of sounds  you like and how you’d like your material to come across sonically. It’s good to be able to describe the sound you’re after to the producer/engineer at the studio in reasonably specific terms. Also, make sure everyone in the band is more or less on the same page about your sound.

3. Record and listen to yourselves- these days almost every band has access to some sort of cheap or free recording method, be it Garageband on your computer or even an old cassette player. It's surprising how few bands make a habit of recording and listening to themselves. Don't worry about how the recordings sound, they're for your own reference only. The important thing is to hear how all of the instruments and vocals work together as a whole. It's also a very good thing to get used to playing while you're being recorded.

4. Go to a studio/engineer that will understand you- do a bit of research and find a place that will be sympathetic to your sound. Talk to other local bands that you like and see where they've worked successfully. Find an engineer or producer who you respect, and who will also respect you and be into what you're doing. It makes a HUGE difference to work with someone who is actively helping you rather than just punching the clock.

5. Be open to change- the studio environment is very different from your rehearsal space or a live show, so it's good to be able to adapt to what works best in the new situation. Sometimes instruments, amps, and drums that work in a less critical environment may come up short in the studio. Also, sounds can blend together (or clash) in ways you might not expect. It's good to have an open mind about things like amplifier settings, drum set up and tuning, etc. Having your own sound and approach is very important, but do listen to the engineer's suggestions about these things. Sometimes it's hard to understand why doing something different is better until you hear it back through the studio speakers.

6. Don't bite off too much- a common mistake new bands make is to try to record too many songs on their first studio session. Everyone has their favorite songs, and everyone wants to hear everything recorded. However, it's really important to give yourselves enough time to learn and react to the recording process. Trying to do too many songs in too short of a time often leads to none of them turning out very well. If you're going into the studio for just a day or two to start, you might want to consider doing a really good job on two or three of your songs. Pick the “best” to try first, and have one or two in reserve in case one of the others isn't working out. This first session will teach everyone in the band a ton about how the recording process, and the band itself, work. It may be a good idea to do a single initial session, learn from that experience, and then go back to the studio to do more songs with that experience under your belts.

7. Budget realistically- following on from the last point, make sure you know how much you have to spend on recording and be realistic about what that money will get you. Remember that, in addition to recording, you'll need to do mixes. Also, be sure to budget recording media (hard drive for computer recording, tape for analog) into your overall picture. Like many of life's projects, recording can often take a bit longer and cost a bit more than planned. Pragmatic budgeting and, above all, your own preparedness can head off surprises down the road. Figure out what you want to achieve and what your budget is and communicate that clearly to the studio before you go in. The studio will often have good suggestions about how to make things work within whatever budget you have.

8. Another note about budgeting- while it may seem like a good strategy to work in the cheapest possible recording environment as a new band, this isn't necessarily the best choice. A professional studio with good sounding rooms, functioning gear and a knowledgeable staff can be much more cost-effective than someplace with poor equipment and/or inexperienced engineers. This is most particularly the case when recording live drums, acoustic instruments, and vocals. There's no need to book the fanciest place in town for your first session, but these days most towns in the US have pro studios priced within reach of indie artists. Working at a pro room with a quality engineer will often get you good sounding results more quickly than you might expect.

9. Party with care- everyone's probably super excited about the session, and nerves may also be running a little high. It's tempting to pound a few beers or do whatever else to add to the mood and maybe relax a little. It's good to keep a handle on partying during the session. Remember that you're paying money to be there and you only have a limited time to do what's most important, which is getting your music recorded. There's plenty of time to celebrate afterward when you listen back to it all. Another, less obvious thing to avoid is going into the studio with a hangover!

10. Above all, keep things in perspective- it's a big deal to do your first studio recordings, but it's also important to have fun with it. Don't get too worried, frustrated, or angry if things don't turn out exactly the way you had planned. Anytime a group of people work together things can go in unexpected directions. Sometimes the best results come from being open to “rolling with it” and seeing what comes out the other end. If things go off the rails, don't get too upset. If someone in the band is having trouble performing, cut them slack and don't get too critical. There'll be plenty of time for analysis afterwards. Ultimately you can only be as good as you are that very moment, so it's important to make that moment as cool as you can. While you're at the session, keeping a positive attitude and working as a team will make all of your preparation and effort much more likely to pay off.

David Franz is a songwriter, producer, engineer, multi-instrumentalist, performer, and educator. David’s production company, Underground Sun, writes, produces and engineers music for a wide range of clients. He teaches production courses online at Berkleemusic, the continuing education arm of Berklee College of Music, and performs with his touring rock band, midatlantic. He is author of Producing in the Home Studio with Pro Tools (the first book about using Pro Tools, now in its third edition) and Recording and Producing in the Home Studio (Berklee Press).

In the second installment of my Pro Tools blog, I want to show you the basic steps for setting up a new Pro Tools session and recording an audio track. If you’re anything like me, when you come up with a new musical idea, you want to record it right away. My memory is good, but trying to remember that cool lick I played last night can be quite difficult. And even if I remember it, many times I can’t recreate the original feel even a day or two later. Capturing that fresh idea is the first step in the preproduction process for songwriting. Here’s how to record that idea quickly using Pro Tools.

Follow the steps in the text below and watch the video at the end of the article for all of the details:

1. After launching Pro Tools, select File > New Session, name the session, choose where to save it, and select the session parameters. For this example, choose the settings shown in figure 2.1. (More information on session parameters can be found in my book in chapter 3.)

Fig. 2.1. New Session Dialog Box. In the New Session dialog box, you can choose the session’s title and save location, as well as its audio file type, sample rate, bit depth, and I/O settings.

2. Plug your mic/instrument into an input, choose the appropriate input type (Mic, DI, Line, etc) on your Digidesign/M-Audio device, and turn up the gain knob on that input.

3. Create a new audio track by selecting File > New Track. If recording a single input (like a mic or a guitar direct), create “1” new “Mono” track. If recording two inputs (like a stereo keyboard), create “1” new “Stereo” track. For both, choose “Audio Track” and “Samples” for the track types, as in figure 2.2.

Fig. 2.2. New Tracks Dialog Box. The New Track dialog box enables you to create multiple mono and stereo audio tracks, aux inputs, master fader tracks, MIDI tracks, and Instrument tracks. Click the plus symbol (+) to add more tracks of any type.

4. If you’re not already viewing the Edit window, select Window > Edit. Then, select View > Edit Window and make sure there’s a check next to “I/O” to see the input and output selectors on the new track.

5. Select the input source that your mic or instrument is plugged into by clicking on the input selector, e.g., Mic/Line 1, as in figure 2.3. Inputs for audio and aux input tracks can assigned to audio interface channels (such as “Mic/Line 1”) or to busses (e.g., Bus 1–2).

Fig. 2.3a. Input Selector

Fig. 2.3b. Input Selector List

Fig. 2.3 (a) and (b). Selecting the Input Source. (a) The input selector is used to assign which input will be routed to a track. (b) When you click on the input selector, a list appears with all of the available input options. Any input can be routed virtually to any track.

6. Select Setup > Playback Engine, choose the smallest H/W Buffer Size (e.g., 128 Samples), and click OK. (This reduces the amount of latency, explained in more detail in chapter 3 in my book.) If using a USB powered device like the Mbox2, Fast Track USB, etc., I recommend turning the “Mix” knob all the way to the left to the “Input” side to achieve zero-latency monitoring. (Note: On some USB devices, like the MobilePre, this Mix control is software driven. Go to Setup > Hardware, and click the Launch Setup App button to adjust the mix level.)

7. Record-enable the track by clicking on the Record (R) button on the track, as in figure 2.4.

Fig. 2.4. Record-Enable. Press the Record-Enable button (R) to “arm” the track. The button will turn red when it’s armed.

8. Choose Track > Input Only Monitoring. This sets the “monitoring mode” so that you always hear the input signal on record-enabled tracks. (Monitoring modes are discussed in more detail in chapter 2 of the book.)

9. Set the input level on your Digidesign/M-Audio device by adjusting the input level controller (gain) knob while singing/playing. The recording level should go into the “yellow.” Try not to let it hit the red Peak light.

10. Record your idea by clicking the round Record and triangular Play buttons in the upper-right corner of the Edit window or in the Transport window. Click the square Stop button when you’re done.

Fig. 2.5. Transport Controls. The basic transport functions are located in the upper-right corner of the Edit window. With your track armed, hit the round Record button first, and it will blink red. Then hit the triangular Play button. Pro Tools will start recording and the Record button will stop blinking.

This may seem like a lot of steps just to start recording. However, these steps will become second nature to you very quickly. Also, note that you don’t have to be in the Edit window to record on a track. You can be viewing the Mix window instead. In fact, I often view the Mix window while recording multiple tracks at once because I like the larger faders. And speaking of that, recording more than one audio track at a time is just as easy as recording one. Create the number and type of tracks you want, record-enable them, set good recording levels, hit Play/Record, and you’re good to go.

(This text is an edited excerpt from David Franz’s Producing in the Home Studio with Pro Tools (3^rd Edition), Berklee Press/Hal Leonard, 2008) Visit www.protoolsbook.com to learn more about the book and DVD.

John Doe is the founder of the seminal Los Angeles punk group X, a solo artist and actor. John answers questions from our community members in the WWJDD? blog. Photo by Autumn de Wilde.

A question from Bonny in Austin:

Hi John,

I have been relentlessly asking everyone I come in contact
with this question as I finish CD#2, recorded with the
magic of Pro Tools and a gaggle of big talent from here in
Austin. (at Jumping Dog Studio w/Ron Flynt)

The question I have: how important is it to spend $175
dollars an hour to master, compared to, say, $250? I
realize you can't actually answer that question but would
like your opinion on the merits of a well-known and
obviously talented master-er as opposed to a less-famous
and/or experienced one. It seems with the whole new "music
is free" and internet downloading vs. vinyl and discs, what
level of perfection is actually appreciated/necessary in
the end? I'm also wondering if as technology is making
mastering capability more available perhaps the price might
be coming down. I'm not a cheapskate or unwilling to spend
money on my art, but just trying to get the facts.

I am not exactly professional, I write and play locally
because I love to, and it keeps me (sort of) sane and
hopefully someday someone with a wonderful voice will cover
one of my songs. Or rip me off and get me some publicity.

Thanks for your response, and I loved the Austin show! I
feel very honored to have shaken your talented hand.

Bonny

myspace.com/bonnyholmes

Dear Bonny,

First, don't let anyone rip you off! ! ! Hopefully someone will cover one of your songs & you'll be rich, famous & satisfied.

There's no doubt that mastering can make a good record, great & a mediocre record, really sing, so don't under estimate it's value. On the most basic level it puts your record through the best bass, treble, mid-range EQ you can imagine, and then saves that marriage. You can make a record better w/ good mastering, you can't save a badly recorded or conceived record. Regarding mastering choices, you simply should match the cost of mastering w/ the cost of the project. Most mastering labs have mastered more than a few records. Listen to them & make you choice based on the sound & how it relates to your record. You wouldn't master a hip-hop record @ a place that usually does country records, simple eh?

If you recorded on pro tools, I would recommend using the pro tools mastering program w/ the engineer who recorded it and save you self the significant cost of mastering. I've found the program is reliable & does a pretty decent job. If it's still doesn't make the record sound as you thought it could, then take it to a mastering lab that masters records similar to yours.

best of luck
and as always, thanks for writing,
JD

If you have questions for John Doe about music, the music business or life feel free to email them to wwjdd@knowthemusicbiz.com.

For more information on John Doe check out theejohndoe.com or YepRoc.com .