"How much does it cost" & Often Overlooked Expenses

“I’ve got some songs…”

“Let’s record something”                   .

“We could sell a ton of CDs”

“I’m sure we can make some money”

“Let’s call a studio and get some prices.”

The most common question I receive from prospective clients who have never recorded before is "How much does it cost?"

The short answer is "it depends on the budget."

In the previous post I provided some ideas on how to start figuring out how much you can spend on a recording project and allowing for bigger picture items.  The primary concept being: It's hard to know how much you can spend on the overall project until you figure what you anticipate getting back out of the project: either directly or indirectly.   Today, we are going to identify some budget items that extend beyond the cost of recording itself.  Oftentimes, knowing these expenses first will make it easier to know how much you will have left over for the most variable of all costs: the time to actually record and mix. 

Yes, you need to pay for the studio time and/or the engineer's time to record and mix.  We'll cover that with great detail in the future.  Beyond that, the following items are required for almost every project and are sometimes overlooked when initially figuring out costs.

• Media:  The "stuff" you record on to and where your recordings are stored.  Typically this is one or more hard drives while recording and then CDs for the final mix.  Don't be surprised; the hard drives that meet the specifications for most recording projects are more expensive than the ones you will typically find at local retailers.  The studio you choose can advise on the drive particulars.  [Watch for a future posts on selecting studios and media.]  If you are recording to analog or digital tape, then expect higher media costs.
• Backups: Your hard drives will fail.  It's not a matter of "if" but "when".  Allow for additional backup media and the time to backup.  Optical media (CDs, DVDs, etc) are a little more durable, but nothing is guaranteed.  Don't take chances.  Murphy shows no mercy.
• Mastering:  I suggest that you do not master with the same engineer or in the same room where you mix.  If a studio combines mixing and mastering in the price, press for details.
• Duplication, Printing and Packaging: You want more than one, right?  How many copies you will need should have been estimated during the  'big picture" phase.  Remember to account for extra cost items such as bar-coding, shrink-wrap, full color printing and inserts.
• Artwork: This is different then the cost of printing, which is often folded into duplication and packaging, but rather the design process and/or the rights to use the artwork on the CD, packaging or promotional materials.
• Marketing, Promotions and Promotional Material:  You need to get the word out.  Even sending emails to both of your adoring fans takes time; time you could be using to make money on something else.  Whether it is putting up flyers for the locals or flying to different locales, know how you intend to market and allow for this in your budget.
• Distribution: Selling CDs out of your trunk?  Remember to allow for a decrease in gas mileage due to the extra weight, an increase in towing costs since you decided to ditch your spare tire, and extended-stay motel expenses for when your significant-other throws you out.  As distribution models are constantly changing, you still need to allow for delivering the product to market - even if it is just buying your brother-in-law dinner for selling your CDs and merch at gigs, shipping, or fees for on-line retailers.  By the way, if you leave CDs in your trunk, then you'll need to double your anticipated duplication costs.  Why? Try it.  You'll learn the answer in July or August.

To recap, if you take the time to figure out what you want the project to do for you, leading to knowing how much you can spend on the project, and are aware of the required expenses that are beyond the studio time itself, you can then have an idea of how much you have left over to record and mix.  At that stage, and not before, you will know how much you can budget for the studio time; providing the answer to "How much does it cost?"

You then need to make sure you stay within that portion of your budget.  With that, in future posts we will get into optional studio expenses, allocating time to various portions of the project, using time efficiently, the biggest time wasters, and so much more.  We will learn why big money is spent on big projects, why spending less may cost you more, and the pro and cons of lower cost.  Yes, we will also cover a lot of tech stuff.

I want to cover the areas that are of interest to you.  So, please leave your comments, be in touch and check back often.

Looking forward,

Rob