13 Reasons Why Recording an Album is a TERRIBLE IDEA!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 มิ.ย. 2024
- Is your band considering recording a full length album? ARE YOU INSANE? Or do you just really like wasting money? Here are THIRTEEN REASONS why that's an extremely bad idea!
0:00 Your unsigned band
1:01 Your ego vs Bank Account
2:50 Nobody knows who you are!
4:54 Your band isn't anything new
6:27 Your band might not survive
8:21 Is your music REALLY that good?
9:31 Get to the point!
11:26 Step off the assembly line!
12:57 Go to Namm
13:31 Do a 3 song demo
14:22 "Done" is better than "Perfect"
16:45 Will anyone remember?
17:56 Have something new. Always.
18:56 It's a business.
About Spectre Sound Studios:
I'm Glenn Fricker, engineer here at Spectre Sound Studios. I love making records, and after doing it for sixteen years, I want to pass on what I've learned. On my channel you can find tutorials on how to record guitar, bass, real drums and vocals. There's reviews and demos of tube amps, amp sims, drums, mics, preamps, outboard gear, Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar, and plugin effects.
We've covered Moon on the Water, played Bias FX, given you the absolute best in Stupid Musician Texts, ranted & raved about bass guitar, and this channel is where The Eagle has Landed.
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Watching this while mixing our debut album 😰😭
That's pain hahahaha
Good for you guys.
This is honestly Glenn's worst take yet.
You'll enjoy your album for years on end and whether it's 20 or 20,000 people that enjoy listening to your album, it will at least EXIST.
People genuinely enjoying your work feels good no matter how many people listen to it. It will feel worth every penny and moment spent in the studio.
I see what Glenn is on about but yeah, sometimes music is for the artist and putting it out is just to see where it goes. Good luck!!!
Just split the album into 2-3 EPs or a mix of EPs and singles, so you can stretch out the release schedule over several months..
Take your best shot. Glenn has blasted most of my gear at one time or another and it doesn’t change me doing my best with what I have.
Damn. Ten years down the road, we'll hear from the experts: "Do a 30-second preview. If there's any demand then, do a single."
It's already true, plenty of instagram and youtube musicians gain a following first just based off of short clips and THEN record albums which are mostly successful because of the existing fanbase
@@cornstar1253 seems pretty fucjing active for a dead genre. Here's a tip. Judt because something isn't in the top 40 doesn't mean it's dead.
I mean, to be fair, that's pretty much what's going on with TikTok
@@bt3743 no. Its just proves that it is no longer relevant to most people that buy music. A trend continues until it doesn't. With the exception of death metal, hard rock is a dying genre. If the trend continues it will be relegated to the annuls of history like big band or free-form jazz.
They already do that for tiktok
Alternative title:
Don't PRINT albums, don't make PHYSICAL COPIES.
Making an album is a great way to get more streams, especially if you home-record it.
I would like to make physical copies as it's nice to design the artwork and everything
How does home recorded get more streams? I'm not being facetious. Just interested in what you mean.
@@Anonymous-is2qb he didn’t say that. He said making an album is a great way to get more streams. More music = more streams. Additionally, it’s even better if you’re able to record it at home.
@@Anonymous-is2qb this video is about how making a full length album is a waste of time if youre trying to sell physical copies.
recording your music at home is cheaper than recording it at a studio, so its the better option for most bands.
Assuming you're home recording, maybe rather than releasing in album in full, split it and release in parts over the course of a couple months maybe, that way you can build hype around your music. Or rather than doing a full 12 songs just do 8 or 9 songs.
My band made an album and it makes me happy and brings me a sense of accomplishment even if nobody hears it. I think that's reason enough to make an album
how much money did you spend?
Yes, 100% this.
Most musicians are going to end up working desk jobs or whatever in their later years, and how cool to have an album to show for it.
@duder link to the album?
I agree. Yeah, my old band recorded a 4 song EP about ten years ago, toured from Silverlake, CA to SXSW and then broke up about three months after the SXSW showcase but hey, at least I have something to show for the effort. lol. th-cam.com/video/7l8qwOW14m4/w-d-xo.html
Congratulations and I'm in the same boat with you. We don't sell out stadiums, we don't do tours, but I am at peace with what my music is representing.
If you're doing an album, do it for one of two reasons:
1) You have something genuinely excellent. An album which starts to get reviews from the bigger boys will get vastly more exposure than two or three good singles.
2) You want to do it for yourself. Which is a great reason.
Spent 2020 developing a personal studio and learning the ropes. Developed on all my music skills. Created enough RELATED material to make a unified album. It definitely isn't wise to have 4 or 5 knuckleheads walk in and waste thousands for the sake of crunching 9 lackluster songs. Which is ultimately why my band collapsed and made me enjoy putting out stuff only I can be accounted for. Done is definitely better than trying to reach perfection.
Yeah just want to do it for myself so 80% of this flew over my head.
th-cam.com/video/EQoCMYvx1S0/w-d-xo.html
A lot of Bands that record indie albums come from affluent families, a lot of the good ones., its not a bad thing.
The STrokes come from wealthy families but made incredible albums. But yeah, if you don't have good finnancial baking, don't even try. This is why DJ's and Rappers are popular right now, super cheap to make and just post your music on soundcloud and tik tok. Production has increased but the quality has decreased a lot. As a rock band it's hard to find a bassist and guitar to synch with , so lets say you make a good album, the next album will be sort of hard to make and to capture that same essence.
So don't make a BAND album, start going digital . Create your own band, then when you need to do a live show just hire a temp band and mix up your shows.
I think we fear digitization, but if you could use it , it could work in your favor. like asking your fans what they want to hear next.
@@chibiromano5631 Nobody cares anymore. You could make an album on par with The Wall nowadays and nobody would even listen to it unless you forced them. Nowadays all people care about is sexy "music" videos.
"Done is better than perfect" is one I can easily relate to. Dicking around with everything for months and months because you're trying to make it "perfect" is going to turn your project into a musical black hole from which no art will escape.
Exactly, you can always remake it.
That's deep
I always sat down with a plan, and then kept the mistakes. The unexpected is the best material.
Exactly
This is EXACTLY what put my band to a halt. One dude wanting a $10K production sound when everyone had a shoe-string budget. I'd love to play live again, but recording on my own has its rewards and merits for sure right now.
"You're not even The Shaggs!" He really went there 🤣😭🤣😭🤣😭
The Shaggs have sold more albums than a lot of bands with actual musical ability 😂
The Shaggs are fucking killer. No collection complete without it.
albums may be “dead.” but i’d rather have a good album than a good song so as an artist im going to push myself. fuck the rules.
Everybody wants to make a classic album. Everybody should pursue that goal.
@@IsGoNu The goal should just be making good music. The format that follows is subjective to the personal taste and/or route they want to take.
@@Enterstainers That’s right. My comment was directed to those who love classic albums. 😉
Gotta disagree on this one in concept yeah everyone would love a (perfect) album but to say that more than a song is kinda silly as an audiophile we should seek out the best sounding tracks regardless of what order there in on a album or if we don’t like the artist beliefs, we should listen to a song as it is in its most natural form, without restrictions as restrictions limit creativity
If your band is not famous and you still want to do a full album, It all comes down to how much are you willing to spend on entertaining yourself
I’m never going to be successful, but I still want to record an album to fulfill a dream.
Never say never.
@@areyoujelton you just did twice :)
I’m 42 and youngest in my band, we ain’t going on VMAs. Lol
Rel. Just do what makes you feel good dude!
Do it.
@@whitemeadowsounds7198 exactly. Making music makes me feel good, just like building something out of wood. If other people get to enjoy it, that’s a bonus!
I'm a 55 year old musician. At this point in my life, I have no delusions of being a rockstar. Creating my own personal musical masterpiece, self-producing and releasing it as an album is a bucket list item for me. I honestly don't give a damn if anyone but my friends and family buy it. However, by writing, recording and producing it myself, acting as my own label, I'd only have to sell about 1/20th the number of albums in order to realize the same profits I'd see from a label deal.
same situation here
Agreed!
As an admittedly older guy who still buys albums and listens to them all the way through, this makes me sad.
Thumbs up, (I'm # 4) but it doesn't make me sad.
as an 18 year old who buys albums and listens all the way through, this makes me really sad..
Album or nothing i want to hear a collection of work not just one track
don't blame the messenger
I'm in my mid 20's and listening to albums was still a thing back when I was a teenager. It's ridiculous how fast things have changed.
And albums are a lot more rational. Why just 1 song and not 10? But we don't live in rational times.
It's what people want and we have to adapt. Our current society sadly has terribly short attention spans.
I’m personally worried about everyone quitting albums and writing singles contributing to the diminishing of our attention spans. I understand you can’t get more concise than a single/demo, but whose to say that in the next decade, making demos is going to be just as useless as writing a full album?
it is true, so it was when the loudness war begins
Most albums up to the late 60s were pretty much singles put together onto an album and music was fine back then. Literally CCR spit out albums every six months, each were pretty much all their singles they've released throughout the six months time period.
You are saying singles cause short attention span. Any evidence. Big long boring albums will kill your attention span; that's why people are listening to singles.
Could be a chicken/ egg argument. I'd blame the big long crappy albums. Singles with a bunch of filler. So of course: people went to buying singles
@@HouseboundPerspectives that’s a good point but we’re not talking about movies are we? But if you’re bringing it up, yes movies are getting longer, but is everyone really spending the entire 2 hours watching the movie? Or are they on their phone? And just because it’s long, doesn’t mean it’s a good movie.
@@peterwelsh1932 Not entirely, I’m saying if the trend continues snd the album dies out snd only becomes a sort of compilation/glorified playlist. I admit I was a bit harsh when I typed that but I sincerely hate the idea of albums dying out.
My debut album (and only album) will be 60 minutes of me having a mental breakdown with a remix of Alex Jones rants as my backing track.
Put me in your mailing list...I want a vinyl copy.
I’m interested
@@Dgarig665 5 likes plus your comment? Oh yeah, this is doing numbers
@@Malum09 It's like you're taking what you learned and putting it to use in real time...
@@Dgarig665 Glenn screaming actually works!
Protip: you can record singles, then put them all on a compilation album later on. Unless you re-record everything it likely won't sound consistent, but as long as the levels are matched I don't think there's a big problem. Electronic musicians usually vary their sounds, and they usually won't be criticized for this exact reason.
That’s a fantastic idea!
Absolutely agree! A compilation mix and master should level the songs somewhat to fit a full length album and is the best of both worlds.
Good idea!
Call me crazy, but... maybe, and just maybe, an album was exactly this. A compilation of... previously released single songs O_o
@@j.rodi.brodibe4886 you're not wrong. Many musicians when talking about the songs would usually say, "yeah this was originally a left over from our last album"
Some of this breaks my heart. The album as an art form has always been one of my favorite things. I am still in the habit of sitting down and listening to an album all the way through. I love that experience. Especially the first listen of a really well done album. There’s nothing like it.
He was talking about if you want it to be financially profitable. The reality is amateur album recording is far far easier than it was 20 years ago. I'm making an album as a hobby. It won't sound polished, but it will have meaning.
I genuinely feel that part of the reason people don’t SEEM to listen to albums anymore is external: the way the record industry modeled things and how streaming platforms focus so much on singles and playlists. Artists allowed that to affect their creative decisions, and then before you knew it finding a record that was worth listening to all the way through got much harder.
The point is, don’t let anyone make your creative decisions for you. Fuck that. Do something that genuinely excites you and chances are there will be other people out there that are excited by it too.
Also, concept albums are making a comeback. The biggest artists in the world (the Taylor Swifts) are making concept records these days. The album as an art form is not dead and never will be.
@@dixonhill1108 yeah, ive watched few of glenns videos and they really dont resonate with me since I am not looking to become a huge rockstar and are instead completely comfortable in the metal and punk underground where there is still audience for cookie monster vocals, loud and noisy albums and all that stuff. As far as I am concerned, from my underground pov, albums are doing fucking great, new cool stuff is constantly released and physical media is really healthy with most stuff getting pressed onto tape or vinyl at some point. Is it financially viable? No, not really. Does it make you new metallica? Fuck no. The biggest point here is to know what your musical or artistic ambitions are, what your audience is and what are the realistic goals with those two. If you honestly are looking to become a major artist then Glenns videos will certainly be useful, if you are comfortable in the undeground then less so although even then he does have some good points that apply to underground artists too.
We recently recorded a marathon 8 hour session at a local studio for a four-song EP we want to release fall/winter 2021. We decided to record the music live off the floor, no click track. Completely raw dogged it. Drummer nailed it completely. After the music was recorded, the engineer pulled up a metronome and played it with the track. There was some variance here and there, but nothing obviously noticeable without a click track playing. It was amazing. Guitarist added the second guitar parts, solos and dropped in a few spots to fix glaring mistakes. But over 95% of his live track remains. Bassist/vocalist nailed his takes, (I know, SHOCKING!), and his off-the-floor vocal tracks will be augmented in the next recording session. It was truly fun! Greetings from Baltimore, Maryland, USA and Fuck You Glenn!
"400 days into your evaluation copy of Reaper"
I take offense to this absolutely true statement.
Idk, me and my boys are still buying cd's of local bands and bandcamp, Just to support artists
❤️
I haven't bought a CD in over ten years that i didn't personally know the artist.
That's the thing though (and I mean no disrespect), you're doing it to support local acts, and good on you, but you aren't the typical modern music consumer.
I dont even care about being modern consumer or being connected with comm. I Just bought what i like or feel potental. Just respect
I am actually seeing this happen a lot more, especially with vinyl and it makes me happy. Having a physical copy of something is just so much better and I think more people are starting to realize that.
"Your band might not survive the process" - this is so true. If all the members aren't 100% ready to do their part and work their asses off, you're up for a nightmare ! I have memories of an album where 50% of the instruments were recorded in just a couple of weeks, while it took almost 2 years (!) to get the other members to finish recording their parts.
Haha so true.
2 years🤣
This is really good advice. This guy totally changed my mind, and I don't even have a band. Heck, I'm not even a musician.
🤣👍
I’d really appreciate it if I’d you could check out my bands new demo? No album unfortunately 😂 th-cam.com/video/lxdWngfS7XU/w-d-xo.html
@@ryanjones2121 Normally I find it disgusting when someone shills on another person's video but your demo actually sounds pretty cool, I genuinely like the song and I don't even like that genre.
OK, some GENERAL thoughts on this - coming from 12 years MARKETING artists and 2 years reactivating my OWN artist project:
1. If you're a NEW band or artist, CONSISTENT singles is the way to go. 100%. Lower the barrier to entry, make it easy for people to get acquainted. A simple model would be 3-5 singles, released once or twice per month (depending on your ability to create supporting content), that could lead into one or two EPs per year (great if you have more).
2. At some point though, especially once you've built a small but REAL following, you may feel like you can't fully express yourself in disjointed 3-5 minute chunks. You may want a wider canvas to express more of your perspectives, viewpoints, musical influences, etc.; which a single just can't do. An album creates ROOM for you to do that.
3. Furthermore, a realized album is a way for fans, the media, and potential fans to take you seriously. You're capable of producing a BODY OF WORK, not just quickly exporting every half baked individual song you make. It also is a great way to plant a flag that says "I AM HERE" - in terms of your sound, your themes, your perspective, etc.
4. It's much more powerful to lead someone into an album as a way to "learn more" if they hear one of your songs on a playlist, in a commercial, etc. As opposed to disjointed singles.
5. Albums have potentially more staying power than a single. Some of my favorite artists became my favorite artists because I heard a song on a playlist and it had me dive into past albums where I was able to literally hear and feel their evolution as an INDIVIDUAL. It made me invest in THEM, more than just the music they made. Some of these albums were years old; didn't matter. As one of their more high value listeners, they provided me something I was able to sink my teeth in.
6. From a marketing standpoint - albums are great "tentpole" items; i.e. they're something you can always build OTHER stuff around. Tours, merchandise, behind the scenes content, commissioning remixes, music videos, etc.
7. Also from a marketing standpoint, you don't have to drop an album like a boulder and expect it to make waves. No, it's all in the release strategy. You can treat each track on the album like a series of singles, but at least you're able to always refer back to the idea that you've presented a body of work; that all these singles are part of a larger whole that you are encouraged to dive in to.
Those are just quick rants (ha, can you tell that I'M working on an album right now?!).
Hopefully this helped someone.
Good luck to you and yours.
those are some really good points. just want to add that it's harder to get reviews for singles and EPs compared to albums
Super insightful, thanks for writing!
Great writing there...I also think if you have 'disjointed ' material an album can solidify you as an act that has no rules right out of the gate and then be more easily accepted when you release different material.
Those are some ACTUAL real points. Great job. Couldn't agree more.
Especially point 3. Very true.
PS: Yeah, totally random thoughts, wouldn't have guessed you're working on something right now xD
Also albums and EPs give you a physical item to sell, nobody buys singles, lots of people buy albums on vinyl, cassette or whatever nostalgic physical media happens to be popular right now. (of course if you do decide to release on Vinyl you will need to pay to have your record mastered specifically for vinyl)
I miss when albums were almost like one piece of music, one song leads into the next song. That is something we lost.
It's something YOU lost... It's still out there.
Tesseract is mad at you right now
Listen to The Flow on my channel, I think ypu will love the full albums
I still generally approach albums this way. Fuck it.
"That's Pretty Gay unless you are Pink Floyd!"
-Seth Putnam Probably
Valid points but many musicians think in terms of albums the same way that filmmakers think in terms of movies. That's their art come what may. It's like telling a painter not to paint because no one will buy it.
That said, it might be better if some bands didn't record full-length albums since they never manage to come up with more than 2 or 3 decent songs in the same year.
Release albums on vinyl. The world needs more of those. With super awesome album art. It’s an art-form that’s dwindling. Just don’t expect to make any money or to become famous or anything. You’ll lose money. Do it because records are cool, not because you think your band is going to get big.
Who gives a shit? If it is about leaving your music to anyone who would like it, no opinion really matters. The music BUSINESS is dead, not music. Recording is just a way to preserve your work, not everything is about MONEY.
The music business isn’t dead, that’s just what artists with a bad product and/or bad management tell themselves as copium. There’s zero barrier to doing this as professionally as anything else
@@dawgie1253 Exactly. And the fact that people have the audacity to romanticize struggle is appalling. I'm a professional and my landlord doesn't accept "preserved work" as payment.
This!
So, maybe just don't treat music like an investment but just a little but expensive hobby I guess. I just enjoy making albums and music in this format. I know this will never pay back. I don't expect that. It's just a fun afterwork activity
This is the attitude I've adopted. I've put out 3 albums through Distrokid that will at best pay for the yearly subscription fee. Plus I like the album format mostly because it's like taking a musical journey and I grew up on it.
Who pay your taxes?
Not everyone plays and writes music for money some do it simply because they love it so why not record it as a sense of self accomplishment 🤷🏻♂️ success is all about prospective and your goals…with your mindset..might as well not become a musician to begin with..it’s an expensive passion
Thats right. If your goal is to listen to your own music, its OK to put money on it whithout caring if there is an audience to it. Its a hobby.
But of your goal is to get an income out of it, the music INDUSTRY, you have to take it as a business. In this case, the recommendations of the video are useful.
Because that's stupid. If you want a sense of accomplishment, have a good wank and get over it.
If you're going to spend the money on professional studio time, you need to have perspective.
People like you are all very much about the art, right up until the bill comes in. It's all about the art, and making your album is all about the art, until your band leader is demanding you fork up 3 grand so you can have that professional sound and sense of accomplishment, at which point you always fucking bail. Hell, you're a bass player, convincing you to buy some fucking strings is a step too far.
If you're the only one who's going to listen to it and it's only for a sense of accomplishment do not waste anybody else's time with it. Record it yourself and maybe you'll even learn something doing it. You can set yourself up with the gear and Reaper for cheap, Reaper, 60 dollars or free, an SM58 or SM57, 100 (but you should have one already), an interface, less than 160, and a mic stand, $50 for one that won't fall over.
You don't play and write for money. But you also don't record for no reason. If you're going to record and mix and master, you have to have a sense of what you're willing to invest in the project because you're not getting it back.
It's exactly the same as a live show. Losing like 60 bucks on fuel and flyering and promoted posts on social media for a small bar gig isn't that bad, you'll live with that, and it's sustainable moving forward.
Deciding that for that same small bar show you need to hire in an outside lighting package, your own monitors and FOH engineers, an LX designer, and also hiring in some monitors that haven't spent the last 15 years having drinks poured down them when they're not being stood on, for around 8 grand total, will kill you.
You've got to have perspective. It's not being greedy or making things about money to consider these things. Only people with so much money theydon't have to worry can act like this. Everyone else has to make these decisions responsibly. Your goal is to be able to continue making music. Get the stars out of your eyes and listen. You won't be able to make music if you're forced to work 3 different retail jobs to make ends meet because you're in debt because you overspent on your album. That's the sort of stupid decision that ruins careers and lives. You consider money, because unless you learn to do it yourself, literally everyone else in this chain will be thinking of money and you will be left out, ignorant.
Every great independant producer or musician knows this and is great at it. Steve Albini, Ian Mackaye, Ben Weinman, Kurt Ballou, Fat Mike. It's still about art, but it's also about being able to continue making it. As Kevin Smith, love him or hate him, said about why he's allowed to continue making movies? "Because I've never lost money on a picture". Because he's aware of what he should spend and what the result of it will be.
@@kalreynolds5829 lol you think I’m going to read your novel?
Actually had Sony ready to sign a band I was in to a production deal, but at the last second we got some really good insight from someone who had been through the same thing, and helped us to realize that they were just planning on signing us and shelving us so that they could promote another band that was sort of like us. So, Sony BMG was running around signing and shelving everybody that sounded anything like the band they were trying to promote. So for about 50 grand, basically they were trying to screw us out of the ability of recording and releasing our music unless they gave us the go ahead, which they likely would never do. . We ended up shining Sony and just doing it ourselves. Probably the best idea, because we for sure weren't going to be the next big thing, we had one tune on a TV show soundtrack and a couple of tours with some known bands. Not the next Beatles LOL
Having had friends of mine signed and shelved I get what you're saying. My friend at least learned how to record and that is what he now does. He couldn't even play a live gig with us for fun for three years. I sell a few albums every time I play live yeah I'm not a rockstar but I have fun.
I don't like that albums have died. I still buy albums and I listen to the whole thing the majority of the time. Now everyone's best shot is being a one or two hit wonder. As if music hasn't gotten lazy enough.
This whole thing is a movement to kill art. Album groups Zep, Cream, Pink Floyd and Sabbath existed in SPITE of the industry, who just wanted to sell 3 minute singles while pushing products on the radio. I love albums. Says something about the health of a free society when artistry and creativity have been abandoned. This shit isnt accidental or organic. The EVIL BASTARDS behind the scenes are social engineering degradation and decay.
@@saltpeter7429 So this means we all got to go against this shitty trend, and write actual cool songs. We got to bring back real music with real actual human emotion, and stuff that people relate to.
Well most bands suck now. They want to be a brand, a product. Stay in a tiny box, have one style. This means they will be thrown away and forgotten by next year like a pair of old shoes. The great 60's 70's bands were practicing, and rehearsing, jamming, much more than todays lazy mainstream uncreative uninspired musicians. Bands then were reaching in all directions constantly pushing themselves beyond their limits, and had songs very different from each other.
@@michaelcraig9449 yes indeed. I try. I'll never be Eddie or Randy, but perhaps I can pull off some decent johnny Ramone riffage! Lol. Kind of goofing. You have a great point, we dont ask for our Rock and Roll back, we make it.
@@michaelcraig9449 And in most cases, you can recognise a classic band instantly when their record plays. They all made their instruments sing... except the drummers lol
The reason I recorded an EP with my band was so I could have something to be proud of. Recording all my bandmates including the drummer myself and then doing all the mixing and production myself too has just been a really rewarding journey. Yes, it cost a whole bunch of money and yes, nobody outside of my immediate circle will every listen to it but just having made it and the skills I learned along the way are the real reward for me. :) Glenn's "how to record heavy drums" playlist has been a god send btw.
I think recording an EP all in one pop is a good idea instead of Glenn's suggestion on recording just one song. The prep work for going into the studio is a bit tedious, so I prefer to record 5 songs with the same production, and releasing the songs sporadically. Just because you recorded 5 songs doesn't mean you have to release them the same day. It also saves studio time because you don't have to load in, set mics, etc. to record each song. Set up once, and lay down the tracks.
You did it for personal satisfaction. That's always a great approach. If others dig it than that's great,a bonus. The main thing is YOU'RE happy with it.
Get it on TH-cam and post a link!
Congratulations...your EGO has been stroked.
Damn, I pretty much only listen to albums.
Playlists are nice, but they’re like being at the buffet. It’s fun to have a bite of Chinese food, followed by a bite of French, then Indian. It’s novel.
But most of the time I want a coherent meal that has some deliberation, and makes some culinary sense!
Albums can be released digitally on Spotify, etc. I think you mean "releasing a CD/record is a terrible idea" not "recording an album is a terrible idea". An album is just a complete music release meant to be listened to in its entirety.
Nearly every musical artist ever releases albums, and primarily digitally.
Exactly, recording an album in today’s streaming landscape can still prove to be successful. If you know how to promote each individual song on the project you can potentially garner more streams than you would if you just released a single 🤷♂️
I think if you want to get through the music INDUSTRY, you cant take out the part that this is a business. If you want to make it a source of income and INVEST your money in whole recordings without caring if theyre going to pay back, you could just be losing money.
Why would people listen to you? And there’s no need to fake your taste in music, but you can put your touch on something trendy for some songs and go with a totally personal vibe on some others. Or make some strategy, covering a trendy song with your style… maybe.
IF YOU PUT YOUR MONEY ON SOMETHING, ITS ALWAYS BETTER WHEN IT PAYS BACK.
THE KEY IS TO BUILD AN AUDIENCE FIRST.
If you have an audience, then your albums will be heard.
@@SciFiGodfather Releasing a full length metal album is nothing like releasing a hip hop mix tape.
Well said 👌🤘
Yeah, bur the costs of production rise with an album instead if a pair of singles. And if you dont have an audience, that money will be loose.
So if you want to make it for a living:
1. Build your audience.
2. Make more bigger projects, one at a time, just so you can profit out of them.
But if you have the money or you know how to do it and have the tools, you can do it as a personal goal, though it will most probably not be useful for a living.
You couldn't bust out this video 2 years ago? F u Glenn 🖤🤘🏽
Your views on Releasing an album were fully focused on the economic side of it.
If money isn't the focus, there are other things:
1) Getting people to talk about your work more. Helps getting an audience. I noticed, our local underground music reviewers don't usually review singles. I am under the impression that bands who actually released something longer than singles get a bit more expososure and maybe respect (Unless the singles are really good, maybe?).
2) Having something physical for concert attendees to get from you musically, not just T-shirts. If someone says "I wanna hear more", giving them a CD or a thumbdrive with the bands logo on it is cooler than navigating them to youtube.
3) Experience and Fun.
4) Artistic expression.
If playing in a band is a fun hobby, and not primarily a business, then "It's a Terrible business decision" isn't really an argument.
All sorts of people spend a lot of money on their hobbies all the time.
I've been playing music for 15 +years, and I've spent plenty on gear. I also made quite some money from playing shows and weddings, but I'm not sure i earned back what I spent yet. And I regret nothing. I'm doing it, cause I love doing it, and I loved it since I was a teenager. For the most part, I don't play to earn, I earn to play. It's kind of like saying "Don't buy that kebab, as you won't make money back from it". But... i love kebabs.
The way I see it is that I'm in my early 40's now and haven't "made it" yet, so I probably never will. It's just a fun hobby at this point so all of my decisions are artistic rather than economic. I record at home with free plugins so even a single paid download from Bandcamp means that I'm making money. It is what it is and fuck you if you don't like it .
This is my thought too.
I'd also add that if your band wants to play bigger places like festivals and what not, festival managers are more than likely going to ask for an album of your band. That way they're confident that you can play a normal 45 min set. They're not just going to give you a spot unless they've seen you live before (which if you're unknown is unlikely).
I just put all of my mics up my ass now. I get more pleasure and use out of them that way.
This. And honestly some of the best music comes from bands who make music because they love it and not as a tool for making profit. ...And those bands are often enough the most down to earth guys who really care for their fans and musician community in my experience, even if they are incredibly lucky and actually take off. This whole term of music as an industry has at least a couple of very rotten ingredients.
honestly, getting a CD would get me annoyed and I would say to myself, what a dinosaur! I'd rather have a small card with your band's name and logo and a QR code linking to your Deezer / Spotify / Website.
Metaleheads are probably keeping the album format alive, cuz we like albums, not Spotify sensations.
That brings back some memories. I owned and operated a few studios in the early 2000s and again in the 2010s. The bulk of bands did not make it through the recording process. It's in my experience, they finally realize how bad their bass player actually is. Then the guitarist decides he/she will record the bass. (Also pretty bad at bass) then the drummer realizes that click tracks are "just out of time" and the whole band claims that the 2 bpm tempo change is deliberate 🤣
Are good Bass players rare?
@@joriankell1983 somewhat. The problem is there are a lot of guitar players. The least advanced player usually gets "stuck" playing bass. Even some bass players that know their way around the neck very well, have a rough time understanding that there must be a bass note under every hit of the bass drum. This is truly the key to a great sounding record.
Each to their own really. I almost never listen to individual songs. Even if I find a song I love on album I'm otherwise not so keen on as a whole, I will rarely if ever return to it. An album is something to really get into, can create an atmosphere, a flow, take you on a journey... and some other shit too. The album certainly isn't dead. There are hundreds coming out every week. Being commercially successful or not is another thing entirely. I wouldn't want to create something I'm not interested in listening to, so albums it is.
On a business level (or even, on a massive artistic level), we need to aim to a big amount of people though. I'm pretty sure there's people who'd rather listen to 6 hours of continuous white noise than to an album, but that doesn't make it to release hours of white noise the "optimal" decision.
So, ¿are you really representative of a big part of the population?
Not saying that people who don't fall under the mainstream don't deserve to have music done for them, or anything. Just saying, vids like this aim to a wide amount of people, so they have to consider what is working for most and not for the niches
This is targeted to bands/musicians that doesn't have a fan base.
I buy a lot of CDs. I listen to them mainly in my car but I always listen to the whole thing as it is meant to be.
You are not the entre world
I was a senior in high school when we released our debut album and we basically learned the hard way not to rush on music production! We were opening for Kreator and Accept and thought if we didn’t have the album done by then, then we would be done for or something. Barely anyone watched our four song set and we’re left with an album all these years later that was poorly recorded and quickly mixed. Moral of the story kids, big shows will come and go! An album lasts forever!
If you seek commercial success, a short Tiktok is enough nowadays. However, if you want to be artistically considered, the album remains the reference format. It’s long and lets you develop a precise message. In the same way that TV shows did not kill movies, music albums will continue to live for a while
I love your videos man, I take all of them into consideration and put forth many, many of your ideas and thoughts into how I write and network music. 🤘🏾 You’re the man Glenn
One of my favorite producers said something that always resonated with me: Never call anything you give the public a "demo". It plants seeds of doubt right out of the gate.
Even if you're not satisfied with the end result, fix it or keep that shit to yourself.
I've thought this too. It definitely puts out "unfinished vibes" from the get go
I'm guessing some bands would sell themselves short and call their "demo" a "demo" only because it was financially cheaper to record the song live in a basement and since mics, yet it ends up sounding much better than the mixed studio version. Don't be ashamed to be a "live" band.
Nah, I get excited when I hear a decent demo. Noctambulist, ██████ and Sunless have fantastic demos and I've been buying their shit since.
Just finish making an album of original music 3 years in the making. I'm very proud of it. Don't care if nobody else wants it.
Ever since I started thinking like this about my music, I became 10x happier
@@Sergio-nb4hj Yes! Do it for yourself, give it your best! Create a new work of art!
I like listening to albums, even from new bands. I don't agree with the angry video man.
"You're not even the Shaggs!!!"
I'm now currently standing outside, looking at the stars, prepared to pull the trigger.....
Make album, watch it fail, make another album, watch it fail. Keep making albums, because only a few who try, can. It's creative, it's fun, it's a learning curve. The whole music industry just wants money, not music. As a musician and producer myself who is crazy into music am to pm, everyday I've learned that most people aren't mad about music like we are. That's it. Just make your music however you like if it makes you feel good. Just don't spend what little money you have on a fantasy. The industry will take your money and promise you something that doesn't exist. Do it for the love. Simple. Albums will only die, if people stop making them. Be it whatever format that might be. Keep the faith.
I don't know, I still make albums and doing just fine. But then again, I do everything by myself, from top to bottom, and I enjoy doing that.
Me too. The pay-off is that having stuff out there has landed me great projects for film end credit songs and collaborations with big bands. Glenn's commentary here is disturbingly small-minded.
Yet, everything he said applies to you too.
@@morbidmanmusic there's truth to that - if you want to become a rockstar and make money, then forming a band and spending thousands in a studio with an album is not a wise choice.
Fricker likes to project his failures, and maybe just the worst luck of any producer, onto our dreams and purses. At least he didn't push Dr Flip-Flop Fauci's "science" on us today. Depressed now, I'm going to find something fun and upbeat to listen to. Not a plug, but XEL Ohh is like the Bob Ross of music.
Honestly you’re right man I’m just gonna release four solid songs on an ep no one will listen to instead of hashing out 12 songs on an LP no one will listen to
Yeah, it makes a lot more sense :D
Exactly!
Do it for yourself not for other people. If you don’t want to make an LP because you think nobody will listen to it, you’re doing music for all the wrong reasons
@gxdfiend well then work harder and finance it if you want to make one, it’s literally that simple lol, instead of bitching on the internet about how albums are a thing of the past 😢.
@@josephgreble5 yeah I agree I would more than likely record it all myself as I have been and possibly get it mixed and mastered and shell out a few for that.
This is a great video. Really informative and just fun to watch too. ❤️❤️❤️
Glenn Fricker has some great stuff. Very insightful, helpful and real . I like how he's brutally honest and doesn't sugar coat stuff
"Done" is better than "Perfect" is just a simpler way of saying "Great Art is never Finished, it's abandoned."
My plan for my band was to release one song every 4 months. This would make 12 songs last for 3 years. A single usually takes a month or two to catch on and maybe another 2 until people are sick of it, then we'd release the next. This would also give us time to write and record new songs as they come and we can still continue working our dead end jobs.
My music works much faster, people are sick of it before the end of the first listen
*cough cough* Wintersun *cough cough*
@@stevec6427 then you only have to record half songs you can save half your recording budget
Bout like this little painting ive about 5 more sessions on. Goddamn 90 hours in! Still not finished
Will the music be relevant in 3 years? Imo get good music out ASAP...it loses magic
i'm perfectly capable of paying attention with the bong still in my hands thank you very much
'Tis the only way to truly listen. Or with mushrooms, whenever possible 😊
I LOVE discovering a new band and then listening to their album all the way through, in order. It's a much better experience, but I know I'm the exception and not the rule.
excellent video! great insight and suggestions. very much appreciated. thanks
Maybe this will sound too "I was born in the wrong generation", but if a single comes out from a band I like, I will maybe listen to it once, if that. I usually prefer listening to full albums. If they don't release something with at least 4 songs, it's not going to get playtime in my car.
While I get from a business perspective why a single might be a better idea, from a listener's perspective, I would much rather see a band put in a little more time and release something that's at least 15-20 minutes long.
Especially when the band ends up putting the single on an album later on, but they change it slightly, and the single version was better
We recorded a 9 song album, but we didn't have any CD's made. We went with distrokid and just released it digitally. Most people listened to CD's in their vehicle, and most modern vehicles don't have CD players anymore. Easier and more cost effective to just have the music available on all the streaming platforms.
The people that do buy CDs, buy them for the higher quality. Even if you rip them "lossless" to your computer, the quality is better than something downloaded from the internet. There's also the physical aspect, you actually have something to hold and keep for life, with artwork included too.
You're probably right in what you've said, I'm just pointing out that CDs do have their place. Whether it's worthwhile putting one out these days, I really don't know.
@@Dave-Rough-Diamond-Dunn I guess one safe approach would be to keep the number of prints to a minimum. And do reprints if the demand is present.
The trap here is that it gets cheaper the more you decide print. So do you pay more with more chances of selling what you have, or do you pay slightly less and risk having a bunch of surplus?
@@nostrace That's the problem isn't it? Strangely enough, my parents buy a lot of CDs at gigs. In their view, it validates the artist, to them, good artists will have a CD to sell, if they haven't, they're probably still at beginner level. If they really like a band, they'll buy several, they often give me CDs of bands they've seen and liked. They're an older demographic, as indeed I am too, but it seems like the people they go and see get a lot of extra income from the CD sales at gigs. I guess it's similar to buying a tour t-shirt at a Metallica gig, it's a momento of a good night out.
I guess the CD could be a single, but as far as I've seen, they're always albums or EPs.
I guess it comes down to if the demographic you're going for would be more likely to buy a CD at a gig, or online, or are more likely just to go on a steaming site.
Interestingly, when I studied at the School of Audio Engineering in 1987, even though CDs were a new thing, our lecturers said they had already been superseded and would just be milked until the new format, that had already been developed came out, which was basically buying a "memory card" with the music on. Basically, like buying a USB drive with the album on it. Personally, I think I'm going to go that way myself. Still packaged in a case with a cover with artwork etc, but with a USB drive inside rather than a CD.
It could be that guys the age of Glenn and I don't have a bloody clue about what's going to fly these days, but it's all food for thought. 🙂
With all it's sales way down, the CD still is the way to make some money, since you can sell autographed copies of it online. I still believe that the CD is the way to go. My band released a new album this year, which was distributed worldwide by a small metal label, and we sold it online, shipped copies to many places and countries. It did make me some money, since the streaming paychecks are terrible.
Great video. Wonderful words of wisdom. Not only is making a full length album a lot of work, expense, and take a lot of creative effort, but it also quickly exhausts your new creative ideas. If your album flops, all of the hard work, money, and effort you put into it is gone and you will have to start all over again with something completely new as well as a new production budget. I like the "take it slow one single at a time" approach. That way, you could test the market while you continue to build your fans base. If the single flops, you would not be out of as much money and you would not have exhausted all of your fresh creative ideas. You simply go and reevaluate what you need to improve on based on the feedback and results from your last release. Then, come back with a new single after learning from the mistakes made during the last single release. Best of all, you would still have the money and the creative energy to do it!!!!
Hi Glenn - just wanted to say that I love the video and 100% agree with everything you've said. Ive been recording music as a solo artist since I was 14 and have worked as a studio engineer and live audio tech for a venue for a couple years as well. You hit the nail on the head with everything you've said - I guess for me with my career personally, I'm not interested in selling my music or trying to treat it as a business. I just create things I enjoy and that brings me the most peace at this point in my career. I think for me I've accepted that it's okay to put things out in the universe that are suboptimal but express who you are as a person, and that's okay too. I think that viewing music from a business standpoint - you're 100% accurate. But expressing who you are creatively is always worth a listen in my book. The double edged sword of modern technology is that it gives every Jack wagon (myself included) the opportunity to make and release music on a "professional" level. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that it's okay to be suboptimal if you enjoy what you create
Great points Glenn!
My idea is simple: as your band grows - your releases should grow. Start small - release singles, then maybe drop an EP later when you have decent following. When band is big enough, then its better to stick to album-tour-album-tour cycle, much easier to plan stuff, especially label releases, merch production, etc. More to that - fans will be ready spend their time to check out new album from well known band. In other cases your band has a chance to be discovered in Spotify Discover weekly playlist, but only one song can get there. So stick to singles first.
As a musician that grew up in the romantic era of album making I admit it's really hard to give up the excitement of the album making procedure that you fell in love while you were dreaming of being in a rock band. It feels like saying to a book writer write chapters not whole books. It feel's inconsistent. Like having 10 different shots instead of one trusty [insert favorite drink here].
Unfortunately what you say about the way people consume music nowadays is a big truth. So I am trying to find motivation by thinking "Will more people come to our shows and sing along to our songs this way?" If the answer is yes I am all for it. But in the end feels like a business need for adaptation that somehow takes some of the magic. Probably it's just me.
I believe new bands that didn't experience the album way of making music will do better and I wish them the best of luck!!
EDIT: The example with the book might not be the best one but I wanted to highlight the even bigger incoherence I feel when working on singles without having the bigger picture(album) in mind. Hope this clarifies that.
Just a note on the author anallogy: "back in the day" (19th to early 20th centuries) the writers would release chapters weekly or monthly through magazines or newspapers. Much like comicbooks sometimes compile many monthly editions into a single release every month, with each title having 16 pages. So you get, for example: Batman #18, Man of Steel #7 and Green Arrow #28. Then next month on the same magazine you'll get Batman #19, Man of Steel #8 and Green Arrow #29.
@@drakonyanazkar Οh I didn't know that. Thanks for clarifying this. Much appreciated!
They will be all standing there in front of the stage with surgical masks standing 6 ft apart. It's over in many parts of the world. Just wait until they release the giga- variant.
@@cornstar1253 In Greece there were some shows recently that were not very bad in terms of "safety measures". Still not optimal though. For indoor shows though you need to be vaccinated to attend.
@Christopher Grant I am not talking about concept albums. Again the example with the book obviously wasn't the best. Thanks for your perspective though.
My two cents: If you're decision on making an album is primarily based on the thought of how much you have to spend and how much you get out of it later, don't make the album. In fact, maybe switch from music to investment banking or limited edition sneaker retailing. I'm pretty sure Aphex Twin did not think about financial sustainability when he spent his money on his first synthesizers. Minor Threat or Sonic Youth might have had non monetary reasons to start their bands too.
I released 6 albums in the last 12 years and no, I don't have a lot of money, but yes, I've been living of music for the last 10 and hell yeah, I would do it all again.
Don't do it for the wealth. Do it all for the love.
Bingo. Success is nuanced and there are many, many versions of it depending on your goals. For me success is living life doing what I love...period. Money is nice and the way things are going for me lately, I may very well be making a decent amount off of my production and mixing abilities to compliment my musical ones. We have a pretty vibrant music scene where I live and I am starting to garner quite a bit of attention with my micro studio and production abilities. I'm currently working with a country artist and a I am producing tracks for a lot of the local hip hop guys. Say what you will, it's money and they pay well for original and completely fresh material that in all honesty doesn't take me long to make. By this time next year I will most likely have pulled my connection strings to get a live project into the festival scene which is where all the money and exposure is. A local band here called "The Werks" throws a huge festival called "The Werkout" that draws huge numbers and some pretty large acts. I had a pretty successful stint with a band called Entropy back in 2011-2014 and then life had some bull shit Injad to go through before I was ready to make another serious go. Anyways I just wanted to share a little with you and that I completely agree with your take. I don't like this guy very much. He's obviously Jaded and I bet working with him in his studio would be a session full of wise cracks and negativity. In my studio I craft an atmosphere of encouragement and belief in oneself as a person and an artist without blowing someone's head up and being delusional about who and what they are. I have respect for everyone who comes in as they are putting notnonly their money into their stuff but their life energy! If you can't respect people for who and what they are as artists, even if it isnt your personal kind of sound you have no business helping someone craft their project. Peace man.
My two cents: Do not ever listen to someone like this guy. Minor Threat literally ran their band like a business and started one of the most important labels in heavy music. They didn't just make something to make them happy, they took the industry and made it work for them, literally starting their own way of distributing music, just like how they made their recording process simple by DIY.
They are the exact opposite of your thinking. They knew they weren't going to get a bunch of label money and didn't want to be tied down with those strings and so they found a way to make it work financially.
Because it is a financial decision, and your first thought should be that. Most independant musicians who have had success will tell you that, they had to work at it and think about it constantly. Because if you don't think about the money because it's crass and unartistic to do so, the thing that will kill your band will be the poor decisions you make with money. Don't go into debt to finance an album-how are you going to tour and promote it if you do that? Boom, poor decision killed your career. Don't spend money on what you don't need: DIY was about making it work, finding budget ways of accomplishing things, and thus having full control over your own creative process, try to record as much on your own as possible, and be a producer.
Sure, you do music to do what you love and create something, but if it's all about that why do you need to make an album at all, you can just play the song right? Making sure that you're sustainable, that you can keep doing it, is important. That doesn't mean everything has to come back as a profit or you have to sell out, but it does mean that you need to have an idea of what things are costing you and not get stars in your eyes and pay for a bunch of studio time for an album nobody listens to. Go and watch an episode of Grand Designs, and you'll see exactly where this attitude gets you. Someone is so focussed on their idea of a dream house, that they get a bunch of money from their family, their life savings, and then, when the money runs out, a massive loan, to build that dream house. It runs massively over time budget and costs them so much they can't pay for the loan. They sell the house because it's the only way they can avoid being forclosed on. Their dream house has become a nightmare they will never live in, and they wasted the last few years, and probably ended up divorced.
Very valuable video. I've veen following the singles strategy since 2018 and it's totally changed everything for me. The constant practice and sharing leads to continuous improvement in quality and what works and doesn't work about sharing stuff. I'm a homestudio synth music producer and now after 3 years in that routine I'm better and more versatile than ever. I've evolved in 3 years more than in the first 17 years. Albums I'm still doing because they make sense to me artistically, but they are more like a by-product of what I'm doing as my main thing, which are live performance videos for youtube.
Brilliant video. The “Single…then EP…then album” strategy is simple but genius. Great advice. Love the vids. Keep em coming brother.
You're right on the money side of it, business wise it's a bad decision especially for everybody without a massive following.
But if your state of mind when making a record is doing something for yourself, having fun among other things is to me what counts the most, as a person who isn't doing it for the money.
Those people end up making money by accident a lot of the time anyhow! Artists who create primarily for themselves but don't overindulge too much often come out with those timeless albums we love to this day.
Facts. Imagine it’s 2008 and you hear someone saying “you shouldn’t buy that HD camcorder to make home video with because you’ll never earn back the money you spent on it from the videos you’ll shoot on it.”
The point of spending the money in the first place is to make memories. Have good times. Most people do full lengths because it’s a fun challenge and a big accomplishment. Nobody should get in to music for the money.
You really gave me the best advice I didn't know I needed. I'm subbed.. please keep up with the brutally honest advice; we need this.
thanks Glen, smart and entertaining video as always!
"THIS (holds phone) is a combination between an encyclopedia galactica and a meth lab" 🤣 LOVE this channel
I was faced with the same dilemma years ago (as a solo musician) and did some math. After seeing the numbers I decided it would be better to put that cash into studio gear then I wouldn't have to pay for recording time. Am I famous? NO. Have I learned a ton? ABSOLUTELY! If you are serious about producing music (as a musician) think of ways to best utilize the limited funds you have. It is a brave new world! Invest in your career as a musician, use the money to further enable yourself so you can reduce costs in the long run.
And theres me... recording on a cheap phone😆.... i don't love music or guitar enough to buy equipment.. but i do post regular because its easy
Agreed a million percent!
@@gtrriffs Even if you don't have the gear practicing instruments, songwriting, recording, etc is still valuable. There's no point producing if you don't have any practice creating. Even if it's just small ideas it's important to record, watch back, learn, and improve.
Great insight, Glenn. Thank you.
Thank you Glenn. Very informative video. Love the outtakes at the end. 😂
Who was the streamer using a pirated fabfilter? That sounds hilarious.
Wondering that myself. Pushing like for an update 😂
WE’VE ALREADY SWEPT THAT UNDER THE RUG!!!
Surely someone’s gotta clean under there eventually though…
How do you even recognise a pirated version of fabfilter?
@@NightPaddle maybe he opened up his ilok during the stream and fabfilter wasn't in there even though he was using it in his DAW
@@TheManWithNoName686 Fabfilter doesn't use iLok, but I believe it shows the registry name at the bottom of the plugin. If it says TeamAir, you're fucked!
It absolutely depends on the genre you're in. Especially Metal of any kind: the fans want albums. Vinyl, tape, CD, whatever. It's about owning a physical representation of the band. And most of the fans of the 80s, as you said, don't want anything new, that's why as a new band: why would you want to try to reinvent something that's been working? There a ton of bands that carry the 80s Metal atmosphere and that's what the fans want. For example Power Trip, Violator, Lich King etc.
A statement which is clearly supported by sales numbers. Albums by unknown metal bands are flying off the shelves.
@@SpectreSoundStudios Green have you ever spent any time actually looking at the people that support some of the various sub genres of metal for example I'd argue most people who are into black metal won't be interested in the releasing singles approach there are forms Facebook groups entire websites apps all dedicated to promoting and sharing album collecting as a part of a community and culture if releasing albums didn't work why does this exist the information in this video seems to be strongly focused on gen Z consumerism and completely ignores the fact not everyone is a part of that it is entirely possible to make a living playing music for a smaller audience music doesn't have to hit the top 100 charts to be successful
@@SpectreSoundStudios I would take a look at the raw black metal scene. I have friends (who are currently not popular artists) but sell out vinyl records instantly. 300 - 600 records (or more) in 20 minutes. Same with cassettes. I think doing singles or EPs only, for genres that are accepted more by a mainstream crowd makes sense though.
I wouldn't even say it's about the physical copy. It's about consuming the album as a whole. Albums have moving pieces and tell a linear story in the same way a good song does. The "physical copy" thing is a vanity IMO aside from covers or vinyl art. Only putting out singles is feeding into this low IQ, no attention span instant gratification culture that's plaguing society.
@@jeremyh6686 You're onto something, but use some fucking punctuation so we can all read it.
Love your videos Glenn
Just hope that you still feel the amazingness of all the gear you possess and the studio you keep it in
I had a studio for one year in Lewisville, Texas and wish I still was there
That was many years ago
Great video, thanks for the advice
Doesn't have to do with this video but yesterday finally I recorded my first decent drum tones!!! Thank you very much Glenn for all your tips, your videos really helped me!
Awesome! Very happy to help!
Wait a minute lmao, who Df got caught during a live seminar using a “stolen” fab filter plug in 😂😂
5:49 Coal Chamber was founded the same year as Korn, they were simply little known. So they are definitely not the late 90s Korn copy because they themselves were in exactly the same place and time when the korn was made. They took part in the creation of this genre and had their own separate sound. Apart from low-tuned guitars, they literally don't sound like a Korn in any way...
Agreed. Coal Chamber sounds absolutely nothing like Korn. Period.
Mid tier nu metal regardless, whereas Korn is top tier so who cares
I needed to hear this. THANKS BRO
"Survey says N.F.L. "
(Efilnikufesin's opening riff starts playing)
Nice fucking life!
I’m always glad to hear someone urging bands to record together. Musicians feeding off each other is something that’s really lacking in a lot of music now. It’s so much more real and organic sounding. A lot of people who play in bands are much more comfortable this way too and play better with the band than laying down a track alone.
One thing I read is that Maiden tends to always record live. And you really hear that "live" vibe on their albums, which then shows how tight their live albums are. I unfortunately play Euro-styled metal in the States, so I'm pretty much stuck recording everything myself for the music I want. Does it lose some "organic" process? Probably. But it's definitely made me a better musician, given that the accountability only lies within myself for my efforts. And it's made me really develop and listen to how and what needs to be written.
@@stevenspringsteel9622 that definitely makes it hard to record live when you’re playing all the instruments yourself. Then again no one is going to understand what you’re doing on each part better.
this is eyeopening! Thank you Glenn!
You rock baby. Great Styleoute comments are so musically insightful
I got the notification. I thought it said "Why recording an Australian is a terrible idea"!
Can't argue with that! 😁
GOD DAMN , I LOVE YOU GLENN , MADE MY MORNING THANK YOU AGAIN.
You’re very welcome! I hope you enjoy the episode!
@@SpectreSoundStudios Yes I did and ya know what, you do AMAZING .You, Ola, and stay metal Ray are the three channels I wait with excitement for each one , and your one of those fav's of mine that really help's my mood , and shit let's be real here ,you say it how it is take it or leave it but, it is also your integrity ,you have values ,and believe in the RIGHT THING , that matters to me ,doing the right thing cause it's just that THE RIGHT THING. and like they say in the old days, ya got heart, FAH Q, Glenn.
Great video Glenn!
I still look for albums. I mostly decide to listen to a band based on the artwork, and if I hear amazing screams or guitar riffs or read not so radio friendly song titles.
And yet, I dearly miss the pleasure of getting a double album from the record store, with inlays, lyrics and great covers. If nobody makes albums anymore because it's a stupid thing to do, they will never come back. So I'd say, let's all make albums.
Yes, Zappa called it the "fondle factor". You have something tangible in your hands, not a CD where , if you get lyrics you need a microscope to read them. Albums used to have posters too. It was good marketing.
I don't know. I still prefer albums. Having a ton of singles to sift through on Spotify on an artist's page is just not something that i like.
An album is not just about putting a bunch of songs together, but also about making a single, cohesive image. Would Octavarium work as a correction of singles? Would Rust in Peace?
They wouldn't because things were different when these albums came out. Still, they do have singles. Even The Beatles released singles and nowadays it makes more sense than ever to release a single first, generate interest, build a following and then, if there's demand for ir, release a full album.
+1 Me too. But Glenn's got a point here. We got the same amount of "exposure" releasing an album as we got releasing singles. But the point is: think this through, what's the best for your band right now? Don't just do an album because of your ego.
Yeah if they care the story and music will go hand in hand with the message. Vice versa
@@johnnyy.janezic4927 I do albums because of storytelling. The ego is sold separately.
That was the meaning of the video those bands were formed in the 80s when it was more fruitful to make an álbum cuz u actually sold them than 2021 when u would probably burn up all your songs in one álbum that catch no wind
Coming from someone who was in a signed band over 20 years ago, this video is on point. We have to constantly evolve or we'll get left behind
With my music, I'm wanting to build a studio and put together a live room simply cause I love making music. I don't care if my music never takes off in the realm of popularity, I know I just wanna leave something behind for when I die. I'm perfectly content painting houses for the rest of my life. It's fun, and I enjoy it, but if music succeeds, then awesome! Won't make it my #1 financial priority. I'm going to record a lot of EPs and 20-30 minute albums, cause not many people listen to 70 minute records anymore. 20-30 minutes has worked for decades. It worked for Sabbath, it worked for Priest, and hell, look at the Beatles!
Really appreciate the much needed honesty here. I think Ola said something similar about albums which pushed me to release a single instead of wasting years in trying to make the perfect album. The song will probably drown in the youtube algorithm sea but hey at least its fucking done, I know what I can do better and I can move on with my life.
How in the fuck would it be a waste to have the “perfect album,” if it actually is great and you love it. Even if nobody buys it, I still don’t see how that’s a waste. And if you want, you can still put out singles from an album anyways.
You could end up with the perfect album from focusing on your growth and recording singles too. After some time doing that the bands sound can be crystallized. Fully formed and through the passage of time better songs will be on development. And then you'll have an album that sounds more like you that sounds authoritative.
Amen. Better to have something actually completed and released than to spin your wheels kicking the can further down the road and having nothing to show for it.
Man, hearing 'the album is dead' is a tough pill to swallow for those of us who grew up consuming music this way. It hurts because it's true. I always would play through new albums in one sitting the first time, not allowing myself to skip through. Seems quaint now in these days of Spotify etc.
Can't even find CD's in the stores anymore. Nothing worth buying anyway.
As a fellow canuck, i love glen and the channel. Best content by far on the tube. Absolutely no bullshit even if it breaks your heart to hear reality.
Never knew that you worked with Woods! David Gold was one of those talents that were taken from us too soon! 🤘
I know I'll never go anywhere in music. But it gives me joy, so I'll keep trying to write and get better. Glad I found this channel has helped with understanding
In 2002, I was in Illinois tracking drums for my band’s full length album being engineered and produced by Matt Talbot of HUM at his professional studio. The place was huge. It at one time apparently was REO Speedwagon’s private practice/recording place. We’re talking all analog. Huge old Neve 24 track printing to a Studer 2 inch machine. Tons of drool worthy outboard rack gear. One of the most incredible experiences I’ve had as a musician. That album never saw the light of day because soon after? Our bassist/vocalist quit. After coughing up that huge investment? He threw in the freaking towel! I might of had a hand in that seeing as I used to basically be a freaking Animal Muppet back then, but yeah. Other than the overall learning experience and later networking obtained? It was a financial blunder, and foreshadowing of what was ultimately on the industry horizon.
The hindsight icing on the cake however?!
Mat was in a side project at the time called Centaur, so after the second trip to Illinois for post mixing we all chipped in a combined $250 to buy him a guitar pedal called…
Yep. A freaking Klon Centaur.
Gold Horse one at that. Literally gave away what was to become the most hyped “holy grail” overdrive of all time.
FML!
Caught up with Matt on their last tour, and apparently some low life stole it.🤦🏻♂️
I died a little inside after hearing that.
Anyway…
Thanks for keeping it brutally honest as always Glenn! Actually the first time listening in the car! The intro freaking slaps! No low mud whatsoever.
Stay gold man!!
✌️❤️🤘
This was informative and hilarious 😂
Our band learned this the hard way. Except it was with a 4 song Ep. We dropped the Ep about a month ago and after spending so much time (and money) sitting on it we lost all the hype we gained and it’s tough trying to get us back out there. Definitely sticking to singles for a while!
I've been working on a personal album since the start of this year. Just me, don't have a band - and I'm making it myself out of my own pocket. It's to try teaching myself the ins and outs of music production and songwriting. I was going to go with that single release strategy, whatever ends up being my favorite from the album - then, releasing the whole thing for free when it's all finished. I don't feel right charging for what's basically my baby deer walking attempt at mixing/mastering. Besides - the long term goal is to also use it as a portfolio to get into freelance music production for indie game developers.
I was honestly waiting for the Distrokid ad at some point
Thanks for your advices Glenn. They are Gold to me.
awesome video and a whole lotta truth! I have a Zoom L20, 4 pc band, we're all in ears, everything either mic'd or direct. Should we focus on getting a good recording out of that and master it in a a DAW as best as we can and go with that before investing time and money in a studio to record a song or two?