From Demo to Delivery (The Mastering Music Series)

Front Cover......Page 1
From Demo to Delivery: The Process of Production......Page 4
Copyright Page......Page 5
Contents......Page 6
Contributors......Page 8
Preface......Page 12
Acknowledgments......Page 14
Introduction......Page 16
Section A. Preparation......Page 20
CHAPTER 1 Song Production: The Marriage Between Composition and Audio Production......Page 22
WHAT IS A SONG?......Page 23
IS A SONG JUST A COMBINATION OF ITS INGREDIENTS?......Page 26
WHAT'S THE POINT OF WRITING A SONG?......Page 30
HOW DO WE IDENTIFY WHO THE SONG IS FOR?......Page 31
CONCLUSION......Page 38
FURTHER READING......Page 39
CHAPTER 2 A. Pre-production......Page 40
INTRODUCTION—WHAT IS PRE-PRODUCTION?......Page 41
AN INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE PRE-PRODUCTION......Page 45
PRE-PRODUCTION IS TO PLAN!......Page 51
PROJECT MANAGEMENT......Page 55
FURTHER READING......Page 59
EXAMPLE: LISTENING FRAMEWORK......Page 60
FRAMEWORK ANALYSIS......Page 63
FURTHER READING......Page 65
CHAPTER 3 Capturing, Shaping, and Creating the Performance: The Engineer's Role in the Process Ahead......Page 66
INTRODUCTION......Page 67
RECORDING AND TRACKING SESSIONS: SHIFTING OF FOCUS AND PERSPECTIVES......Page 68
SIGNAL PROCESSING: SHIFTING OF PERSPECTIVE TO RESHAPE SOUNDS AND MUSIC......Page 73
THE MIX: COMPOSING AND PERFORMING THE RECORDING......Page 74
SUMMARY......Page 87
FURTHER READING......Page 88
Section B. The Sessions......Page 90
INTRODUCTION......Page 92
PREPARATION......Page 93
SETTING UP WITH THE PRODUCTION TEAM......Page 98
RECORDING......Page 104
OVERDUBBING......Page 106
MIXDOWN......Page 109
A FINAL WORD ON PROFESSIONALISM......Page 111
FURTHER READING......Page 112
CHAPTER 5 A. The Mix Session: What's Going On?......Page 114
WHAT MAKES A GREAT MIXING IENGINEER?......Page 115
METHODS OF LEARNING MIXING......Page 119
MIXING ANALYSIS......Page 120
REFERENCE TRACKS......Page 122
FURTHER READING......Page 125
CHAPTER 5 B. The Process of Mixing......Page 126
MIXING AND THE PRODUCTION PROCESS......Page 127
THE MIX AS A COMPOSITE......Page 131
WHERE DOES THE MIX ENGINEER START?......Page 132
MILESTONES......Page 139
FINALIZING AND STABILIZING THE MIX......Page 140
FURTHER READING......Page 142
CHAPTER 6 A. What Is Mastering?......Page 144
MASTERING WAS…......Page 145
MASTERING IS…......Page 146
WHAT CAN BE DONE?......Page 147
DELIVERY......Page 148
THE LOUDNESS WARS......Page 151
FURTHER READING......Page 154
INTRODUCTION......Page 156
WHAT IS A GOOD TONAL BALANCE?......Page 157
EQUALIZATION TECHNIQUES......Page 158
OTHER REFINEMENTS......Page 164
THE ART OF DYNAMIC RANGE......Page 168
THE ART OF MANUAL GAIN-RIDING: MACRODYNAMIC MANIPULATION......Page 171
FURTHER READING......Page 174
CHAPTER 6 D. Dynamic Range 2: Dynamic Manipulation......Page 176
COMPRESSORS AND LIMITERS: OBJECTIVE CHARACTERISTICS......Page 177
MICRODYNAMIC MANIPULATION: ADJUSTING THE IMPACT OF MUSIC WITH A (DOWNWARD) COMPRESSOR......Page 182
COMPRESSION AND LIMITING IN MASTERING......Page 183
FURTHER READING......Page 191
CHAPTER 7 Putting the Album Together......Page 192
HOW TO PUT AN ALBUM IN ORDER......Page 193
SPACING THE ALBUM......Page 195
PQ CODING......Page 196
EDITING......Page 199
FURTHER READING......Page 204
Section C. To Market......Page 206
CHAPTER 8 Product Manufacture: How the Record Is Made......Page 208
CHOOSING THE RIGHT FACILITY AND MANUFACTURER......Page 209
CD MANUFACTURING......Page 210
CD BURNING......Page 215
DVD BURNING......Page 220
CD AND DVD HANDLING AND CARE......Page 221
VINYL DISC MANUFACTURE......Page 222
PRODUCING FOR THE WEB......Page 227
FURTHER READING......Page 228
CHAPTER 9 Publicity and Radio Promotion......Page 230
LABEL PUBLICITY......Page 231
THE LABEL PUBLICITY DEPARTMENT......Page 232
TOOLS OF THE LABEL PUBLICITY DEPARTMENT......Page 233
TARGET MARKETING THROUGH THE PUBLICITY PLAN......Page 237
TELEVISION APPEARANCES......Page 242
COMPARING PUBLICITY AND RECORD PROMOTION......Page 243
GETTING A RECORDING ON THE RADIO......Page 244
INDEPENDENT PROMOTION......Page 245
GLOSSARY OF PUBLICITY TERMS......Page 246
REFERENCES......Page 247
CHAPTER 10 Music Distribution and Retail......Page 248
INTRODUCTION......Page 249
THE BIG 4 AND MORE......Page 250
MUSIC SUPPLY TO RETAILERS......Page 252
ROLE OF DISTRIBUTION......Page 253
NATIONAL STRUCTURE......Page 254
TIMELINE......Page 255
ONE SHEET—THE SOLICITATION PAGE......Page 256
DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION......Page 258
THE MUSIC RETAIL ENVIRONMENT......Page 259
GLOSSARY......Page 272
FURTHER READING......Page 275
Section D. Doing It Yourself......Page 276
CHAPTER 11 The DIY Approach......Page 278
EQUIPMENT......Page 279
STUDIO CONSIDERATIONS......Page 285
FURTHER READING......Page 288
INTRODUCTION......Page 290
TYPES OF RECORDING......Page 291
PROS AND CONS OF EACH METHOD......Page 296
FURTHER READING......Page 297
CHAPTER 13 Evaluating Sound Quality......Page 298
INTRODUCTION......Page 299
GOOD SOUND IN A POP-MUSIC RECORDING......Page 300
GOOD SOUND IN A CLASSICAL RECORDING......Page 306
TRAINING YOUR HEARING......Page 307
TROUBLESHOOTING BAD SOUND......Page 309
FURTHER READING......Page 319
MUSIC MATTERS…......Page 320
TUNING!......Page 321
TIMING......Page 322
MIX EVALUATION......Page 323
MASTERING IS FOR MASTERS!......Page 324
FURTHER READING......Page 325
D......Page 326
I......Page 327
M......Page 328
R......Page 329
T......Page 330
W......Page 331