Ok... I have a secret to share... my website not only tells me how many people come through my site, it also lets me know what they were searching for to get here. Many people have found my first post about whether to do EPs, singles, or albums... but tons of people search about costs.
I've held off writing this for a long time... mainly because I couldn't decide how to approach it (and keep it under 250,000 words) and because there are so many things to take into consideration. If you've ever read "Confessions of a Record Producer", a highly recommended read by the way, there's a great section discussing REAL WORLD recording budgets. ... the scary ones where EVERYTHING is accounted for... those $100,000+ ones! ... well scary because you might be realizing now quality costs money... and how your hobbyist friend with Cubase probably isn't going to help you record the next Bohemian Rhapsody... based on observations at least. So I'm going to approach this from a typical 5 piece (drums, bass, guitars X 2, vocal) band perspective, since I work on these types of projects quite often. First question out of the gate... who is producing this donkey show? Are you hiring a producer? Self produced? Co-Produced? ... and I already hate writing this... that last bit alone I can rant about for an hour... 2 of those 3 options are kinda stupid. ... anyway, you should choose this at the beginning and sorta stick with it... UNLESS you pick self produce or co-produce. If you pick either of those, know that during the process, eventually someone (typically the engineer) will be producing the project... making sure it gets done, to the best of your ability, on time and somewhat on budget. It just depends if you decide to let them know upfront AND decide (or at least attempt) to pay them for their expertise. I'm also just going to talk about the cost of a basic rock song "time wise" and then we can multiply that for EPs/albums. So... basic studio time (engineer included! very important!) necessary to record a 5 piece rock band rock song! ... that rocks. DRUMS - I'd give 45-90 minutes to record, 90 minutes to comp/edit... so let's just say 2 hours. *Note: I'm not including setup time for drums... or anything for that matter. Drums typically take half a day (4-6 hours) to get the actual drums set up, mics on, sounds, and to get comfy. Obviously you don't have to setup each time for every song, but some studios charge, while others don't for drum setup... oh wait... this is the charge everything budget! Except for this/setup times. BASS - Anything longer than 45 minutes tracking bass on a 3 minute song and I start reaching for the hemlock. I talk a lot though and I'm a nice guy so let's just round it up to 1 hour. GUITAR - This is where it can get tricky... sometimes you can blast through 6 tunes in a day, sometimes you're grinding through 1. Typically you can do 2 songs worth of basic rhythms/leads in a 10-12hr day. Why does it take so long? Because Bohemian Rhapsody is a masterpiece and we care about being in tune. Tuning means you care. One song is a half day so let's say 5 hours factoring in my legendary storytelling. VOCALS - This can really vary from producer to producer... I typically get through a lead vocal in 1.5 hours, then another hour to do any harmonies/doubles. Factor in another hour to comp/edit, 2-3 hours to edit further and "fine tune"... and then you probably got yourself a half decent vocal track... or at least one that makes Axl happy enough to stop mentioning they woke up with a sore throat that day. So vocals, 5 hours. DRUMS - 2 BASS - 1 GUITAR - 5 VOCALS - 5 ========= TOTAL 13 Hours! ... oh wait... what about mixing and mastering? MIXING - Straight up... if there's a place to spend money on a recording, outside of drums, it's mixing. That being said, don't think a great mixer can polish your el cheapo, home brew, aural ass blast into something it was never meant to be in the first place. I take good recordings for granted because I think they're pretty simple to do at this point... considering you have the right ingredients to begin with. A great mix will really bring out a songs best... while a bad mix can ruin something that could've had a chance. Most mixers need a few hours to prep and organize (and edit if necessary) the mix session... or have their assistant do it overnight... and then a day or two to mix and pick away at the tune. So... to keep things simple... let's just say 10 hours total. MASTERING - Mastering is important, especially on projects more than 3 songs. Get a fresh set of ears on the tunes... don't be fooled by people who are mixing and "mastering" their own mixes. Yes, eventually we will be mastering more of our own mix projects, but we aren't there yet. If it's a serious project, don't be cheap. Bottom line, they have higher hourly rates... 2-3 times most recording studios... so we'll say 2.5 hours to be safe and compensate for their hour. DRUMS - 2 BASS - 1 GUITAR - 5 VOCALS - 5 MIXING - 10 MASTERING - 2.5 ========= TOTAL 25.5 Hours! ... and mastering screwed up my alignment... thanks mastering... you always find a way to make me feel bad. ... what about producer fees? PRODUCER - Well... I'll be honest... most bands below a certain level flat out refuse to understand how producers can charge for their time and experience ON TOP OF recording, mixing, and possibly mastering their project. That's the day and age we're in though. Typically, if you were to pay for a producer, just plop another $1,000-$3,000/song onto the budget. For the sake of this example... we'll just say 15 hours. Roughly the time spent up until mixing... plus a couple hours to cover some of their psychiatric costs. DRUMS - 2 BASS - 1 GUITAR - 5 VOCALS - 5 MIXING - 10 MASTERING - 2.5 PRODUCER - 15 ========== TOTAL 40.5 Hours! Now... keeping this simple, here in Toronto, I'd say the average studio hourly cost is $60/hr for a place with a competent, experienced engineer. Again, rates vary, do your homework, and adjust your expectations however necessary... but know full well you're going to get what you pay for at $15/hr, while you might not need a room (for an entire project at least) that's $100+/hr. $60 hr X 40.5 hours = $2,430 Now... in my mind at the beginning, I really wanted to just say $2,500/song... and doing this quick budget, I'm amazed at how close we got. Now, minus that ridiculous $900 producer fee ($60 X 15 hours) that no band can ever seem to understand because why in the world would you think someone who brings a general overview and years of experience to make sure the project gets done on time, on budget, and to the best of everyone's ability is worth something... and you'll find yourself at $1,530. ... but again, this is the EVERYTHING counts budget... so $2,430 it shall remain! Single - $2,430 5 Song EP - $12,150 12 Song Album - $29,160 ... and for those of you bad at math and/or can't read between the lines. Single - $1,530 5 Song EP - $7,650 12 Song Album - $18,360 So there you have it... how much does an single, EP, or album cost? That's the ballpark I think a decent sounding, professional, commercially viable product typically costs these days. Of course again, MANY (and I do stress the word many!) other factors can come into play, especially political ones... but you simply need to weigh the pros and cons with these types of investments. Still, always remember is not the cost of the hour but the value brought to the hour. If you can get the end result you want for less, perfect... but just because one person can work wonders in an hour, doesn't mean they should charge the same as someone who's completely inexperienced and realistically takes 10 hours to do the same job BUT working for $15/hr. By all means, make records with them though... by the way... what's your time worth? - Mike ***Note: Stuff like strings, drum skins, alcohol, session players, rentals, time off work, FOOD, etc, have been left out... but everyone should factor them into their own budgets... they can really add up if you're aiming for "cheap as possible"... which always works out costing more in the end because you didn't prepare and usually scrambling to fill gaps in your project... and that's your own damn fault for not doing your homework!***
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Mike Langford - Official BlogBeing on both sides of the glass, I get the chance to wear many hats in the music industry. This is a place to share my thoughts, views, predictions, rants, stories and news! Categories
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