Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I suppose the spread (number of libraries where a same track can be found) is also a factor, right?
Actually Rob’s beautiful backyard seeded an idea…
As we can actually do our work from any place, why not move?
I am wondering what this ideal place could be: It would combine sunshine, lower taxes and nice locals. (i live in a country with a crappy weather, that takes away close to 60% of everything that is earned, and with high living costs). I am still here because I love the people there.
The only limitation is that it must be in Europe, or accept without too much fuss Europeans residing on their soil and follow/tolerate occidental values.
Any suggestions?
I thought I’d jump into this very interesting thread.
IMHO, it’s up to every person to see what fits specifically for them. Money is not all (i.e. you make and are used to 150K but you are unhappy, then, reorganize your life so that 40-50K suffices and allows you to do what you love)
If one feels he is made for music, and is unhappy with his situation, then with preparation, he should go for it. Life is too short, tomorrow you could get hit by a bus.
I am living this story right now.
I dumped my full time job 5 months ago, while not even having knowledge of the library world. I was so fed up with my job, not its core that I loved (I was a research scientist), but by the environment of a corporation (being bossed around and with company policies conflicting my personal ethical standards, especially in terms of environment and sustainability). Even when I switched on 4 days, I was so tired that I just couldn’t be productive enough. In 3 words: I was stressed and unhappy.
All I wanted to do is music.
And besides, life is too short. I’d rather live as a tiger than a worm.
So I evaluated my savings, and decided to give it a shot. I have 2 to 3 years to get up at 30k$, what I need to survive. The 2 first months was a study on how I could do that (Recording artist? DJ? Composer for movies? Etc.). Composer won.
I Started to submit the few full blown tracks I had (about 10) in September to libraries and organize myself. I have now about 24, and 6 or 7 more to be released this month. And I just set up officially the company end November. Congratulate me, I already got 4 placements!
As a researcher I was also a project manager, I apply the techniques I learned during these 10 last years to my project. Objectives, milestones, monitoring. Hopefully by end 2015 I could be living from my craft.
I also have a plan B, I teach High Level physics that helps lighten a little the financial burden and it allows me to disconnect a little, which helps refresh creativity. I am having a lot of unexpected success with that (student marks going from 50 to 90%), so if the music doesn’t work, that could.
So at least I try.
Later, could to be late…
My point is that, for those that do not need to cover all family expenses (singles, or with wife working), with preparation, they should go for their dream. You only live once… and life is definitely not meant to be a continuous frustration.
It reminded me of my “band days”. Crappy place in the Center of The Hague, yet full of energy. But when the singer had brought some coke at the rehearsal, it got me so p****d off, that he got really scared lol! Never again I saw him bring that stuff within the band again and, he told me later that my violent reaction made him stop being a user (we are very good friends).
A joint from time to time is pleasurable, but beyond that, the harder stuff is so destructive. Shame that the music world, that wonderful place we are so lucky to live in, keeps being polluted by destructive drugs like this.
Did you meet / play for some of these legends that recorded at Sound City?
Thanks for suggesting this film, Art. I spent a really nice TV moment especially when travelling through these musical times when I was only a baby :-).
You did hang out over there? Impressive! Any crispy stories to tell?
Have you checked Meetup Groups (meetup.com)? That could also be a good start to meet people doing your thing when visiting a new area.
Just did some Black Friday shopping. Ouch! to the bank account, but a lot of creative fun coming up !
The Propellerhead shop has good deals on Rack Extensions (From 30 to 50%): I just got Revival (an Organ) for 50% of the price (39 Euros). Checked it now, just wow, it’s worth every penny!
Loopmasters also has 30% on many interesting sample libraries
I have got the afternoon free to look at my new toys now :-)!
Happy Shopping all!
Look what I found today
Synths
discoDSP – http://www.discodsp.com/ – 50% off all products including sound banks / Until Dec/2
Rob Papen – http://www.robpapen.com/Latest-news…ber-punch-.html – 15% off the Punch drum synthesizer instrument for Windows and Mac. Blue synth discount. Until Nov/30
Arturia – http://www.arturia.com/evolution/en…deal/intro.html – Buy MiniBrute or SparkLE and get awesome free gifts
Votan http://www.votandsp.com – 50% off Telepathy synthesizer for Mac OS X and iOS / Until Nov/30
Camel Audio – http://www.camelaudio.com – 10% off all Camel Audio plugins and sound libraries for new customers
Icebreaker Audio http://icebreaker-audio.com/2013/10/22/bundle-sale/ – Bundles are 50% off
ToonTrack http://www.sweetwater.com/store/sea…high2low&pn=all Huge product sale
iZotope http://www.pluginboutique.com/product/4-Synth/629-Iris – Iris sample-based synthesizer 25% Off / Until Dec/1
Cakewalk http://www.pluginboutique.com/sales – Rapture 52% off – Dimension Pro 62% off
LinPlug http://www.linplug.com – 33% off all products / Starting Dec/1 – $50 USD off Spectral synthesizer / Starting Nov/25
Native Instruments http://www.native-instruments.com/e…samplers/razor/ – Razor 1.5 Additive Synth 50% off
Reveal Sound http://reveal-sound.com – Spire Synthesizer 30% off / Until Nov/30
Native Instruments http://www.guitarcenter.com/ – Komplete 9 Ultimate $200 instant rebate – http://i.imgur.com/VfDch3e.jpg – From Nov/29 to Dec/1
Prime Plugins http://primeplugins.com/archetype-i…ents/arc-5.html – 20% off ARC 5 synthesizer
Dope Kitz http://dopekitz.com – 40% Off Virtual Instruments / Construction Kits / All Drum Kits / Use Code: Turkey at checkout / Until Nov/30
MaxSynths http://www.maxsynths.com – Everything 50% off / Until Dec/2
FXPansion http://www.fxpansion.com – DCAM Synth Squad – $99
KV331 Audio http://www.kv331audio.com – SynthMaster 2.6 – 50% Off Thanksgiving Sale / From Nov/26 to Dec/2
Samplers / Sample Based
Bitword http://www.bitword.com – All Products are 40% off / Place coupon code FALL2013 at checkout / Until Nov/30Tikov http://www.tikov.com/softrave/hang4.htm – Hang VSTi 50% discount / From Nov/11
Prague Sounds http://www.praguesounds.com – Kontakt Solo String $80 discount
Diginoiz http://www.diginoiz.com – 50% off Autumn Sale / Until Nov/30
Wusik http://www.wusik.com/ww/products/wusik-4000/group-buy – Wusik 4000 + Free Wusik Station Pre-Order Group-Buy
MeldaProduction http://www.meldaproduction.com/download.php – Percussive November discount – 50% off Mdrummer and plugins related to drums / Until Nov/30
Black Octopus http://blackoctopus-sound.com – 50% off all sample packs Nov/28 – December/2
Sound Magic Audio Technology – http://www.supremepiano.com – €30 discount coupon on add-ons / effect units when buying Chinese Instruments, including Erhu, Pipa and Bawu / Some effect units discounted / From Nov/22
Westgate Sounds http://westgatesounds.net/sale.html – Anomaly VSTi is on sale at a 40% discount with more to come / Until Nov/30
D16 Group http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-…software-vst-au – Drumazon TR909 Emulation $30
East West http://www.jrrshop.com/eastwest – All EastWest (except the Hollywood libraries and StormDrum 3) 50% off MSRP
Toontrack http://www.timespace.com/product/EZ…ownload%29.html – 70% off the EZkeys Upright Piano / Until Dec/2
Soundiron http://www.soundiron.com – 30% / 50% off sample libraries / virtual instruments / Until Dec/2
8dio http://8dio.com/#instrument/black-week/ – Up to 40% Off / Until Dec/1
Toontrack http://www.timespace.com/productlis…month_2013.html – 50% Off Metal Expansions / Until Nov/30
Ample Sound http://www.amplesound.net/en/purchase.asp – Winter Sale 20% off
FXPansion http://www.fxpansion.com – Geist Sampler $99 / Tremor Drum Machine $99 / BDF Eco $29
Universal Sampling http://www.universalsampling.com – Kontakt Libraries 30% off everything / From Nov/29 to Dec/2
Effects
Tonebytes http://tonebytes.com/offers/ – From Nov/6
Sonnox http://www.sonnox.com/pub/plugins/autumn-sale.htm 40% off Sonnox plug-ins and bundles / Until Nov/30
Sonnox / Waves / URS / Celemony http://www.sweetwater.com/store/sea…high2low&pn=all Big sale
iZotope http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/A…tbuystores34-20 – iZotope Studio Bundle. Alloy, Nectar, and Ozone 5 Plug-ins / 30% off
Waves http://www.pluginboutique.com/produ…ignature-Series – Tony Maserati Signature Series 70% off
Minimal Systems http://www.minimalsystem.com/pioneers/mastering/ – 50% off all Mixing and Mastering plugins
Rob Papen http://www.pro-tools-expert.com/dea…0-discount.html – Rob Papen RP-Verb / RP-Delay 50% Discount
Sound Sets
Time+Space http://www.timespace.com/news/2964/…s-november.html – Iris Altered and Modular sound sets are both just £22.95 / €26.48 each – that’s 40% off! / Until Nov/30
Ridium Sound http://ridiumsound.com – 40% off Massive Sound sets / Until Nov/26
Leap Into The Void Sound Design – http://liv.mikaeladle.se – Buy three and get 30% discount. Buy four (or more) and get 50% discount plus Massive unlimited subscription / From Nov/20
Ableton https://www.ableton.com/en/packs/ – Season’s greetings – 20% Sound Banks
Camel Audio – http://www.camelaudio.com – 10% off all Camel Audio plugins and sound libraries for new customers
Leap Into The Void Sound Design http://liv.mikaeladle.se – Bundle of The Void Native Instruments Massive Sound Sets – Buy three and get 30% discount. Buy four (or more) and get 50% discount plus Massive unlimited subscriptiond
Audio Mind Project http://audiomindproject.com – 37% Off Pure Energy Bundle for DCAM: Synth Squad / Until Nov/30
Random Wave Music http://www.rwm-synth-soundbanks.com – Ultra Analog / z3ta / Alchemy / PPG Wave sale
Alonso Sound http://www.alonso-sound.com/massive…et_details.html – NI Massive Dreamcatcher Soundset / $10 off
Patchpool http://patchpool.us2.list-manage2.com/subscribe – 30% off all single products. Info e-mailed on Black Friday
Impact Soundworks http://impactsoundworks.com/impact-…oup-buy-bundle/ – Reason ReFill collection Group Buy – As little as $99 (72% off)
Samples
Dance MIDI Samples http://www.dancemidisamples.com/on-sale-this-month.html – 10-20% discounts from selected products / Until Nov/30
Groove Bits http://www.groovebits.com/specialdeal/index – Autumn Sale up to 40% off / Until Nov/30
IK Multimedia http://www.ikmultimedia.com/xtgb/ Xpansion Tank SampleTank Libraries Group Buy
Xclusive-Audio http://www.soundpackflyer.com/shop/…um-bundle-trio/ – Drum Bundle TRIO 60% off / Until Nov/28
Chuck Russom FX http://www.chuckrussomfx.com – 50% off your entire purchase. Discount automatically applied at checkout / Until Nov/30
Fox Samples http://fox-samples.com/sale-items/ – 40% off sale
Sound Ideas http://www.sound-ideas.com/sound-id…ly-special.html – Black Friday 50% off sale – Until Nov/30
Bolder Sounds http://boldersounds.com – Annual site-wide Sale / Kontakt / RMX / REX / EXS24 / Until Dec/1
Nine Volt Audio http://www.ninevoltaudio.com/products/store.html – Apple Loops / REX / Kontakt / Acid WAV / “Going Out of Business – Group Buy” : $199.99 for 31 Loop Libraries and 7 Sample Libraries
Loopmasters http://www.loopmasters.com/sale/show/306 – 20% off sale on selected Loopmasters House & Garage samplepacks / Until Dec/3
Loopmasters http://www.loopmasters.com/product/…rum-Loops-Vol-2 – 33% off sale on selected Loopmasters House & Garage samplepacks / Until Nov/29
Spitfire Audio http://www.spitfireaudio.com/category/news – 20% off Kontakt “Producer Portfolio” range / Until Dec/4
Sounds and Effect http://soundsandeffects.com – Hidden Objects Percussion Kontakt / Reason / EXS24 – 25% off / Until Nov/30
The Recordist http://www.therecordist.com/ – 25% of all sound effects libraries / Use coupon code BLACK25
VSTBuzz http://www.vstbuzz.com – 72% off Zapzorn Solo Kontakt Bundle / Until Nov/26
Sonic Zest http://www.soniczest.com/bronze.html – Bronze Percussion Kontakt instrument / Two bronze percussive instruments / Promo price: $10
NaviRetlavStudio http://naviretlav.com / Up to $70 off Navi Retlav Studio ReFills for Propellerhead Reason software
John Leonard Sound Design http://www.johnleonard.co.uk/styled-5/immersive2.html – All 5 SFX libraries for $120.00
The Recordist http://www.therecordist.com/ – Black Friday sale: 25% off on all SFX libraries / Use coupon code BLACK25
FatLoops htt://www.fatloops.com – All packs 50% off – Use coupon code BLACK50 at checkout
Kontakt http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-…n-concert-grand – Berlin Concert Grand for Kontakt $19.00 / many Kontakt pianos for sale
Home Grown Sounds http://hgsounds.com/product/kosmos-classics/ – 50% off Kosmos 800+ samples – Kontakt 4/5 / Crossgrade from HG Complete $10
Loop Loft http://www.pro-tools-expert.com/dea…sions-4900.html – Hunter Harland Bunker Sessions And Pro Tools Sessions £49.00
Hosts / Audio Tools
Cakewalk http://www.cakewalk.com/page.aspx/F…udio-&-Producer – Free VKFX ProChannel Module with SONAR X3 Studio & Producer / Until Nov/30
MusicDevelopments http://www.musicdevelopments.com – HOLIDAY SALE (40% discount!)
Ableton https://www.ableton.com/ – Season’s greetings – 20% off when you buy Live 9 with Push
Feelyoursound http://feelyoursound.com/xotopad/ – MIDI multitouch controller Promo Price 14 EUR / $20 off
Cakewalk http://tinyurl.com/m92pmrp – Savings of up to $264 on Melodyne / Overloud / Blue Cat / Addictive Drums / Waves Renaissance Maxx Collection SONAR X3 Producer bundles / Until Nov/30
Presonus http://www.presonus.com/products/studio-one/buy – 50% Off Studio One and upgrades / Until Dec/2
iOS / Android
Votan http://www.votandsp.com – 50% off Telepathy synthesizer for Mac OS X and iOS / Until Nov/30.
Hardware / Musical Instruments
Korg http://www.korg.com/Promotions – From November 1st, 2013 through January 31st, 2014, Korg USA is offering mail-in rebates on select products
Sam Ash http://www.samash.com/sam-ash-gift-guide – All kind of hardware
JRR Shop http://www.jrrshop.com/sale-specials – Sale specials – All kind of hardware
Walmart http://www.walmart.com – Black Friday sale: $100 gift card with iPad mini purchase, $75 with iPhone
Target http://www.target.com/c/target-black-friday/-/N-5q0f2 – Black Friday sale will include $479 iPad Air with free $100 gift card
Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Deals/b/ref=a…rd_i=B00563TEF8 – Black Friday in Musical Instruments
Korg http://www.proaudiostar.com/landing…ns-savings.html – $300 Rebate on Kronos X (88-key) / $250 Rebate on Kronos X (61 & 73-key) / $50 Rebate MicroKorg / $20 Rebate on Pitchblack Poly 7
M-Audio http://www.thomann.de/de/m-audio_venom.htm – Venon 63% off retail price
Elektron http://www.elektron.se/news/discoun…select-machines – 10% discounts on the Analog Four / Octatrack / Machinedrum UW / Monomachine
RME / Wampler / Akai / Presonus / AKG – http://www.jrrshop.com/add-to-cart-for-25-off – http://www.jrrshop.com/add-to-cart-for-20-off – http://www.jrrshop.com/add-to-cart-for-15-off – 25 / 20 / 15% off discount after adding products to cart
Guitar Center http://www.guitarcenter.com/Countdo….gc?icid=400838 – One-day-only deals / Until Nov/27
Apple http://www.macrumors.com/roundup/black-friday/ – Huge Apple Mac / iPad / iPhone and accessories deals page
Ableton http://www.pssl.com/Ableton-PUSH-Ha…roller-for-Live – PUSH controller $450
The Link didn’t work in my post. Copy paste this
http://bit.ly/17XRqJ6Excellent article.
I´m watching this guys´ vids. Interesting thoughts that makes us all scratch our heads. Thx DI for the link.
I try to combine both… Main stream enough to have a chart-like sound, but original enough also so that my touch is recognizable.
Aaah, when I was a Teenager, the only recording apparatus I could afford was one of these tape recorders with integrated microphones lol. I had to wait for my first salary at 26 (I very did long studies) which went all in the first affordable digital 8-track, a Fostex DMT8 VL, the second month, a Korg M1 second hand that could then be piloted by an ATARI-1040 with Cubase V1.0 (I still have the latter in the corner of my studio btw… no collectors around here ? 😉 ).
Memories memories…
I started to investigate this biz only 6 weeks ago. Before that I had a day job which I decide to quit (taking too much time and energy away from music). When reading this thread I am amazed by the speed that some complete a track. 3-6 hours? For me, science fiction.
While I was working, I was at 10-12 full blown tracks a year (I mean chart-like quality and learning the production process along the way). I understand that I need to speed up my process. My goal is actually to arrive to Art’s productivity: About 50-60 tracks a year. Top notch tracks, of equivalent quality to the best of the best. For now, in 5 weeks, I came up with 4 tracks.
I need to love the track to be able to work on it effectively. So I can’t imagine and would not even know how to lower quality for quantity. I understood perfectionism is kind of the enemy of the library composer, but I can’t help it. What I do needs to be better than just good!
My process is for a full blown track (4 minutes):
Composition/idea generation: 4 hours
Arranging: 6 hours (in 2 sessions)
Preliminary mix: 1 hour + rough mastering (30 minutes)
Quarantine: from 3 days to 1 month (I don’t work on it – just listen to it from time to time)
Fine tuning + Mixing + Mastering: 4-6 hours (in 2 sessions)
Edits (about 8-10) + eventually remixing them a little + mastering : 3-4 hoursThe reward is that I have 100% acceptance out of 20 submissions in good non-excl libraries. There is something in me that resists changing that process to become a production machine making a track a day… Maybe I should approach the high-end exclusive libraries… Maybe I will learn along the way how to optimize…
