A few months ago I wrote a series of articles collectively titled "Recording Your Music!" that appeared on Dave Craver's website http://www.openmicatlanta.com/. This blog recaps the first of those articles: "Why Record?"
I do a lot of promoting and sponsoring of live music around Atlanta. I have an enormous amount of respect for anyone who will stand in front of a crowd of mostly strangers and sing original material that nobody has heard.
Every performing musician is looking for effective ways to market themselves. If you are a musician who is actively seeking gigging venues around town you need a calling card. Musicians have to sell themselves to club owners and demonstrate how great they are. The club owner is going to want to meet you, but they’re not going to ask you for an on-the-spot live audition. They’re going to want a demo CD. Yep, your best chance to land that gig is to have a killer sounding demo CD ready to give out the instant someone asks for it. And if you’ve recorded your demo at a professional recording studio you’ll have a huge competitive advantage over 95% of the competition who bring in amateurish mixes created in their bedrooms. If you’re serious about selling yourself, you will need a professionally recorded demo.
Even if you don’t plan to gig out there are other reasons why you should record your music. For one, your music (or your sound) is your legacy. Hey, I hate to break this to you, but you’re not going to live forever. A CD recording is a “record” of your talent. It is a tangible and timeless document of who you are and what you were able to do at a certain point of your life. Your life, of finite duration.
Even if you don’t plan to gig out there are other reasons why you should record your music. For one, your music (or your sound) is your legacy. Hey, I hate to break this to you, but you’re not going to live forever. A CD recording is a “record” of your talent. It is a tangible and timeless document of who you are and what you were able to do at a certain point of your life. Your life, of finite duration.
Consider for a moment if Jim Morrison or Jimi Hendrix hadn’t recorded their works while they were in their early twenties. Nobody except their family and a few friends would remember them today. What would be the legacy of an author if had he never bothered to write down and publish his thoughts? He would not be remembered as an author. What if a visually-creative artist never purchased a camera, or a paint brush and easel? He might just be remembered by whatever day job he happened to have. The same line of reasoning applies for musicians. Recorded sound is the legacy of all musicians. Without a sound recording, your musical existence is only hearsay.
Recordings that are professionally produced can make you sound amazing, as good as you’ve ever sounded. Your professional recording is something to be proud of, something that you will want to show off and share with loved ones. And if you’re really good, your recordings can lead to financial gain. The only downsides to recording are time and cost. But compared to all the time and treasure you expend during your lifetime perfecting your craft and buying your instruments, the cost of a professional recording is a very small investment, and one that can reap tremendous emotional – if not financial – rewards. You owe it to yourself!
Recordings that are professionally produced can make you sound amazing, as good as you’ve ever sounded. Your professional recording is something to be proud of, something that you will want to show off and share with loved ones. And if you’re really good, your recordings can lead to financial gain. The only downsides to recording are time and cost. But compared to all the time and treasure you expend during your lifetime perfecting your craft and buying your instruments, the cost of a professional recording is a very small investment, and one that can reap tremendous emotional – if not financial – rewards. You owe it to yourself!
In my next blog I will give you some tips on how to find the right recording studio for you.
- Eric
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