Budget Busted! How To Avoid Budget Problems

Thoughts from a Seasoned Music Producer on how to properly plan your budget and finish your project on deadline.

 Fortunately, I have had the opportunity to work with seasoned professionals throughout my career and have seen why they’ve always released on time and with satisfactory results. Two key items come into play.

1. Objective
   1. How many songs on the album
   2. Live musicians/Producer/Beat Maker
   3. Engineers
   4. Hard copies or digital download
2. Budget
   1. How much can I spend
   2. What is my break even point per single and/or album

These few points have helped me price a project and rarely go over budget.

For example, let’s use the typical mixtape promo release. What is a mixtape? The mixtape is a collection of songs that a hip hop artist would use to promote his songs. Usually the beats are leased or given to the artist by an upcoming producer for free to help promote the production as well. For my example I will assume you got the production from an up and coming producer and he didn’t charge you anything. This will be a 5 song EP.

Items	Cost per	Amount	Total
Production/Beat	$0.00	0	$0.00
Studio Time	$50.00	1	$50.00
Mixing	$50.00	1	$50.00
Mastering	$25.00	1	$25.00
		Per Song	$125.00
		5 Songs	$625.00

An artist that is prepared can realistically record one song in one hour. We’re talking about two 16 bar verses and an 8 bar hook. In addition to the structure of the song, layer double, triple and ad lib vocals. Once these vocals are laid down to the 2 track instrumental then the engineer takes over the balancing act of mixing. The trick here is to make the vocals sit in the song and not like you’re rapping over a karaoke song.

An experienced mix engineer will get your vocal balance to the music in about an hour or two. This is dependent on the quality of the recording as well as mic choice used for the artist. That’s why it’s important to hire a professional recording engineer since he will be selecting the proper mic for your voice and room. Not all microphones work on all voices.

The last phase is the mastering of the song. The mastering engineer takes that mix and brings it to industry standard levels. The reason I would recommend mastering is because it makes your song competitive to the quality of a major recording artist.

To be competitive you have to think how your market is thinking. A major label is thinking in volumes and how they can monopolize on their target market. The music business is no different than any other business.
I know this seems very basic but you wouldn’t believe how many artists starting a project have no idea what their budget is. Having a road map to your destination keeps you focused and side tracks distractions. Writing it down saves you time and money.

I Want A Record Deal

I Want A Record Deal! 

“I have talent and my friends and family say I should be a star. How can I get a record deal?”
This is a great question one with many variables it is not a “one size, fit’s all” response. The reason is because there isn’t one simple answer. I believe we need to ask better questions and start with the end in mind. Let’s outline the steps. (Remember we’re starting with the end in mind.)

1. I want a record deal. Question to ask yourself: Which record label? The more specific you are about answering this question, the less overwhelming it will be to chase this monster.

2. Present project to label exec. Question to ask yourself: Which exec handles the signing of NEW artists? This position is known to have a high turnover rate and it’s in the your best interest to stay up to date on who handles what at the label you are trying to get signed to. A few ways to do this is to join an industry related forum, subscribe to the trade journals, follow the labels social media, and be part of a music publishing house.

3. Create a buzz. How? We know that social media is at the forefront of creating exposure. It’s free and easy. Yeah but everyone is doing it. I’m all for being tapped into the network but the tried and true best way to create a sense of value is to show face. Let your potential audience know that you are real and that you don’t just exist in cyberspace somewhere. Create people connections in addition to virtual ones. I’ll be writing more articles on how to create a buzz with specifics in the future.

4.Create a budget. There’s nothing more discouraging than starting something and putting a complete stop to it because you ran out of capital. Proper planning and budgeting keeps momentum and spirits high during the process of achieving a record deal. Isaac Newton, regarded as one of the most influential scientists of all time states “An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.” Don’t let proper planning and budgeting become an unbalanced force to stop you from achieving your goals.

5.Record the demo professionally. Why? High quality recording equipment has become affordable to everyone. The labels expect to hear a demo that sounds professional and can't be differentiated from a multimillion dollar facility. Your potential fans want to enjoy the experience of listening to an established major artist as well as your track without a change in quality. What will make your recording stand out? It’s not the equipment per se, it’s the experience behind the boards. You want to hire someone that will get the best performance out of you. There’s a notable difference between what you hear and a trained professional hears.

In summary, record your demo professionally, find out where you’re going to record it at and how much it will cost. Create a budget for the recording. Once you have a project that you’re proud of, do the market research by engaging fans and gathering feedback. Build a strong fan base while pounding the pavement and getting connected with the A&R you have researched within the label you desire to be signed too. The steps sound easy but they take a lot of work. If you fail get up and continue. I leave you with this quote: “Failing to plan, is planning to fail”