Matthew Jacobson

17 March 2020

Music Business Assignment 2

Recording

Pre-Production
The first step before embarking on the recording journey is to work out as many of the
logistics and variables before beginning. The arrangements of the tracks should be taken care
of, tempo markers and notes for the other musicians playing on the album. The band should
also have played a decent amount together and with the new material on the road. This helps
in refining the orchestration, arrangements and sections while getting the musicians to
familiarise themselves with the playing style of the others. It helps to be acquainted with a
Digital Audio Workstation as one can record scratch tracks and samples to give to the
engineer for reference.

The producer is very important for the project. Before hiring one, an informal meeting
is highly recommended. The producer needs to share the same creative vision as the artist
both aesthetically and with direction. The artist should familiarise themselves with previous
work by the producer, find out the producer’s favourite albums and covey their ideas so
they’re both on the same page before working together.

The studio
The first priority when picking a studio is to make sure there is a great sounding live
room to record drums. Then, ensure that the other equipment such as amplifiers and mics are
agreed upon with the rest of the musicians. The artist may get the mic and outboard gear list
from the studio for this. The gear needs to be tailored depending on the vibe of the album.
For instance, for an acoustic jazz album, make sure the drum/horn mics are running through
an analogue board and console with tube preamps and the room mics are placed to capture

MUSIC BUSINESS ASSIGNMENT ARJUN DESAI 1

the sound of the acoustic instruments as drums and horn as authentically and uncoloured as
possible.
The Engineer takes care of all the setup, tuning of the drums (in a few cases) and DAW
operation and preparation before recording.

Post- Production

Mixing and Mastering are the two base components in professional recording. Mixing
refers to putting multiple layers of audio to make a track including but not limited to eq’ing
separate instruments, panning, adjusting relative levels of individual instruments. Mastering is
the process of optimising the entire track with compression, equalisation, stereo
enhancements as well as maintaining continuity of quality, sound and intended aesthetic
throughout the subsequent tracks.

Distribution
The artist may choose to approach record labels or self release their album. Both are
equally valid and have their own upsides. With a label, it is important to find one that suits
your ‘vibe’ if your music is niche (i.e improvised in today’s context). And the artist must make
sure via negotiation that they don’t get a rough deal from the label. Self producing has a lot to
offer in terms of creativity in marketing and with plenty of avenues to share the word with
the advent of the world wide web.
The artist may choose to have both digital and physical mediums for the music. The
physical copies may be in the form of cd’s, vinyls and even cassette tape and may be sold as
merchandise at live shows. Online there are a multitude of portals such as CDBaby,
Bandcamp and many others.
With regards to music licensing , the proper format of the digital tracks (such as mp3,
wav) depends on who licences and how it is distributed.
Every track recorded is identified via an ISRC (International Standard Recording Code)
.An ISRC is unique to every record/company/ rights holder and can be used to identify
royalty payments and may be assigned via PPI.

MUSIC BUSINESS ASSIGNMENT ARJUN DESAI 2

 Music Rights
Copyright is an intellectual property right that allows the creator of the original work
control how their work is used and to benefit financially from its use. The Irish Music Rights
Organisation (IMRO) is a useful resource for artists to register. IMRO collects royalties,
ensures the rights of music creators are protected and enforced. It is also prominently
involved in sponsorship and promotion of music, showcasing upcoming talent in Ireland.
Recorded Artists Actors Performers(RAAP) is a not-for-profit organisation set up to ensure
that musicians receive the performance royalties that are due to them.

Publishing cover but isn’t limited to finding pieces of music which generate demand, issue
licences for third parties to use music, seek out places/ mediums (TV,Ads) to use music, collect
payments from where the music is used. It is not unusual for an artist to mange the publishing
and licensing of their own music.
Licensing allows others to use an artists music and may be categorised in seven ways:

Public performance royalties

This allows the artist to keep track of their music being performed in public without
permission. This may be done via RAAP.

Mechanical Rights and Licenses

These are generated from the reproduction of music such as other artists covering another’s
song. The Mechanical Copyright Protection Society of Ireland is responsible for the
collection of royalties for members when their work is used on physical formats.

Digital Rights and Licenses

This deals with copyright holders and publishers receiving money from plays in digital
formats such as downloads and streaming.

Print Rights and Licenses deal with agreements around sheet music and lyrics.

Sampling Rights and Licenses are useful to legally use a sample from an existing piece of
music.
Sychnronisation Rights and Licenses refer to music being synched up with images, visuals for
film, television, ads and other media.

Foreign Rights and Licenses also known as sub-publishing involves liasoning with publishers
in other regions to carry out an artists duty in other parts of the world.

MUSIC BUSINESS ASSIGNMENT ARJUN DESAI 3