Never see the End Product These Days?

Post by **TapeOpLarry** » Wed May 23, 2012 12:40 pm

Has anyone else noticed that over the last 5 or 7 years that you get sent less and less final copies of albums you work on? Like not even Bandcamp links? We're missing so many CDs done at Jackpot! that it'd cost an arm and a leg to buy up the copies. It just sorta hit me the other day, damn! This happening everywhere?

Tragabigzanda · Post by **Tragabigzanda** » Wed May 23, 2012 2:16 pm

Happens all the time. I think it's because so many records remain unfinished, or never get pressed to physical copy. But then I'm not a real well-known "mixing guy," more of a "tracking guy," so I see a lot of records mosey on down the trail without any clue where they're headed...

In general, when something is devalued out of the gate, I think people are less inclined to promote it. A redundant sound-of-the-moment band recording on a shoe-string budget (with ODs done at home) is mostly just having fun with each other, or maybe more interested in learning about the process (either of which is fine by me). But they don't have a huge impetus to promote, or even share the music, with those who might be interested in hearing it, nor those who actually worked on it! I'm guilty of this myself as a musician. It's easy to feel, as an artist, that you're in a constant state of development, rather than having a clearly defined image/direction/sound.

What drives ME crazy is when the artist is already planning their NEXT record when we're not even finished tracking the current one!

chris harris · Post by **chris harris** » Wed May 23, 2012 3:58 pm

Happens here all the time. I know the records are being released. People just don't bother to bring them by. I usually go to the local release shows, too! But, the band rarely thinks to offer, and I don't wanna ask for one on the night that it's so important that they sell as many of them as they can.

Teacher's Pet · Post by **Teacher's Pet** » Thu May 24, 2012 5:05 am

You should contact the record label and identify yourself & explain the situation. I predict they will be happy to send you some samples.

LPs are a much higher unit cost than CD, so it's possible you may only see the CD, which are much cheaper per unit.

Copies on the merch table at a show were probably purchased by the band, from the label, so let them keep those and hit up the record company.

There are always allotted promo copies, and they will be happy to spread them among music folk who will appreciate them, share them, talk about them, etc.

I work for a record company and there is usually a sort of wall between us and the recording studio people, as they are finished by the time I start, and we don't really overlap or have any contact.

If an engineer or studio contacted me I would not hesitate to hook them up 100%. It doesn't cost much and it's good business, reflects well on the company, makes folks happy, etc.

As a graphic designer I have worked on tons of stuff that I never get to see printed/finished. They take the files and forget about you forever... Totally lame and frustrating.

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Thu May 24, 2012 6:23 am

Wonder if providing copies is worthy of being included in the studio's services contract?

Like, "$xxx/hr. and 3 copies of each format of any published release."

Nick Sevilla · Post by **Nick Sevilla** » Thu May 24, 2012 6:50 am

I always get the artist to send me a few copies after it is finished.
I have not been left in the cold yet.

Cheers

Recording Engineer · Post by **Recording Engineer** » Thu May 24, 2012 9:52 am

Out of the last 15 years, I've only received a handful of final products... And the bigger the project, the less I'm a part of it and it seems the less chance there is that it ever actually gets completed!

DrummerMan · Post by **DrummerMan** » Fri May 25, 2012 8:25 pm

vvv wrote:Wonder if providing copies is worthy of being included in the studio's services contract?

Like, "$xxx/hr. and 3 copies of each format of any published release."

My situation is a bit different, but since I do usually work in the context of a contract, I always include a clause that I will get xxx (usually 3) number of copies in it's final commercial packaging, plus (in my case) a QuickTime of the final product that I can easily cut up and use for my own promotion. Having it in writing definitely helps me when I'm sending someone the 5th email asking for the QuickTime.

Of course, I'm almost always in at the end of a project so am in contact w producers/directors more than I would be if I were tracking an album.

....by the way, Nick, I gotta get you a copy of those masters...

Nick Sevilla · Post by **Nick Sevilla** » Fri May 25, 2012 9:16 pm

....by the way, Nick, I gotta get you a copy of those masters... Wink

Thanks Geoff,

I hope it all went well...

Cheers

Post by **TapeOpLarry** » Sat May 26, 2012 8:50 pm

"Record Labels"? "Contracts"? We deal with very few of these, and of course Merge, Kill Rock Stars are such are not a problem to get copies from. We deal with artists directly in most cases, and even with stuff on labels we deal with artist's management and not the label.
I was just mostly wondering if others have seen this same effect - that they see a lot less of the end products than they used to. I think we do!

fossiltooth · Post by **fossiltooth** » Mon May 28, 2012 9:42 am

TapeOpLarry wrote:"Record Labels"? "Contracts"? We deal with very few of these, and of course Merge, Kill Rock Stars are such are not a problem to get copies from. We deal with artists directly in most cases, and even with stuff on labels we deal with artist's management and not the label.
I was just mostly wondering if others have seen this same effect - that they see a lot less of the end products than they used to. I think we do!

I think that if this trend exists it's because people -- especially young, self-financed musicians -- are more and more likely to see the "final product" as a link on a website rather than a CD.

My clients usually send me CDs, and I like to have them so I can encode them into iTunes at 320kbps instead of 256kbps just because I'm superstitious and because it's nice to have a physical commemoration of some kind. But to be honest, I'd be just as happy with a handmade piece of driftwood with seashells and burlap glued onto it, along with a credit in the virtual liner notes and a good-resolution digital download.

Of course, as far as commemoration goes, nothing beats the appeal of vinyl -- Especially colored vinyl. But to quote Wayne Coyne: "I can't wait until music is a liquid they pour directly into your brain." His band (Flaming Lips) released a recent album as a USB drive embedded in a large fluorescent rubber skull. Now that's a "final product" I'd love to have in my studio.

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Mon May 28, 2012 9:45 am

Really? A doily?

fossiltooth · Post by **fossiltooth** » Mon May 28, 2012 11:08 am

vvv wrote:Really? A doily?

(For anyone scratching their heads, the original version of my post said I'd be equally happy with a handmade card, doily, or any number of odd items before I edited it for brevity.

Let that be a warning to anyone who quotes me within a few minutes of my first posting: I'm a compulsive editor [strike]when it comes to eliminating unnecessary words[/strike].)

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Mon May 28, 2012 11:45 am

Well, I liked it better in the original.

But yeah, I know what you mean, happens to me some, also, and I didn't notice how fresh yer post was, sorry.

Aiight, I'm back to shopping for anti-macassars ...

Brett Siler · Post by **Brett Siler** » Tue May 29, 2012 11:40 pm

chris harris wrote:Happens here all the time. I know the records are being released. People just don't bother to bring them by. I usually go to the local release shows, too! But, the band rarely thinks to offer, and I don't wanna ask for one on the night that it's so important that they sell as many of them as they can.

This is usually the exact situation for me too. I'll usually ask them once and if I never get one i don't usually press the matters. I have a copy of the music anyway.

Message Board

Never see the End Product These Days?

Never see the End Product These Days?

Who is online