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OT: Advice On Producing and Publishing An Album?
I am considering assembling some tracks into an album. Questions...
1/ What parameters beside adjusting volume on all tracks should be considered?
2/ I assume I just assemble the tracks in a new Cubasis Project. Any tips?
3/ the best place to publish?
4/ How do you go about physically getting the album up and running?
Thanks!
Comments
Mastering will be very important, it's not just about volume, and with it being an album you want/need all tracks to have a coherent feel to them.
Also with point 2, there is no tempo track in Cubasis so you need all songs as audio (either as a mix or individual tracks) unless of course the whole album is at the same tempo.
1) All your tracks should, in theory, be mastered to a set volume level of around -14LUFS. You need a plugin that is able to meter LUFS to achieve this, AFAIK the only option in Cubasis is Klevgrand Grand Finale but IMO the metering is sub-par because it only offers momentary readings and not integrated readings that sum the whole track.
2) Personally I just do it on a track-by-track basis: as I mix the individual tracks I also make sure they conform to -14LUFS at mix time, before I export them. Usually when you submit your album to an aggregator you have to submit individual tracks, not one long continuous album, so I think it makes sense to keep the track separate.
3) I'm not an expert on this, there are quite a few options. I use CD Baby because it's pretty comprehensive, but it might not be the cheapest.
4) If you submit to a distributor like CD Baby they will take care of getting the album onto iTunes and Spotify etc... As for marketing the album, or indeed getting anyone at all to listen to it, that's up to you to spread the word and it's not easy to get any kind of attention at all. Personally I'm deeply grateful to every single listener
Thanks @richardyot and @AndyPlankton. Fortunately, I am not concerned with very many listening. If a few do, that’s great. As far as the volume, if I match the stereo output levels in Cubasis will that do it?
What about Bandcamp? Does one upload the music themselves and can it be a single track?
Thank you!
Bandcamp is great - and you can let people stream for free. Also it won't cost you anything either so it's a great option if you're not looking to get onto Spotify or iTunes.
You still upload individual tracks though, I'm sure that's what's expected everywhere.
If only it were that simple
You should be using a LUFS meter of some sort and level those....but you also need your ears, depending on how different each song is in terms of instrumentation and overall sound, simply balancing the output level may not give you a good balance overall. Is one saong more bass heavy than another type of thing.
I used MusicDiffusion.Com for a single release as a test a while back and it worked well, a small cost per track or album, They do not do promotion but they do handle uploading to all major streaming platforms, as well as getting the required UPC codes for your songs. I think they take 10% of any royalites.
I got my marketing wrong when I did this....I had plenty of views and likes on the Instagram post that previewed the track, but only ever got a single stream on Spotify from one guy at work LOL
@AndyPlankton @richardyot... so you are saying there is no app that accurately measures LUFS?
Currently it's only possible in Auria I'm afraid, with FabFilter Pro L2. It is supposed to be coming as an AUV3 at some point, but who knows when.
There is now a Lufs meter in Analyser & Tuner AUv3 Plugin by 4Pockets.com. It has made a huge difference for me. All praise LUFS!
Cool I didn't know that! Can it meter an average reading for a whole track?
You can just do it by ear too, you don't HAVE to use a LUFS meter to match levels. Just be sure to listen on a couple different systems when doing it if you can.
Personally I like cdbaby for releasing to different platforms, maybe not the cheapest but I like their reporting and customer service. Bandcamp is great too if you don't want to be on major outlets.
For that I believe you set ‘trace’ to ‘infinite’ and play the whole track. Not really sure though.
@AudioGus , Thanks!. I came across this, but not sure it will monitor sound recorded or just external sound via the mic.... it's a freebie.
SLUFS by nikolaus altmann
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/slufs/id1060607836?mt=8
I think BandCamp is ideal for you to reach your audience. Check it out. You just move
audio files from Cubasis to their site and assemble them into a "album" listing and set a
price for downloading. You can price it at any price point including $0 but accept donations for example. That of course, creates a perception but is useful if you just want to know how
many people would make the effort to download which is an important form of feedback on the work.
CDBaby is great to work the process of having tangible products... even if tangible means buy a download code. You can sell the cards with the codes for example. Its possible BandCamp has a similar level of service.
I think the act of assembling your music into a "package" will be empowering for you. I wish you Good Fortune defining a nice box for your art. Fortunes are measured on many scales.
Thanks for the advice and encouragement, @McD. I will think on it and probably select some tracks as a start.
I've just sent a CD off to be duplicated professionally again for the first time in years for a Jazz big-band I recorded.
Last time I got one properly done you could send them wav or aiff files and they'd make it from there ( or you could submit a CD-R but they do have block errors so it's not the best idea really ) - but these days you have to submit a DDP file! I'd never heard of it till they asked me to submit one.
Luckily Reaper can make DDP files so I was able to make one in there on my mac without too much bother.
I am going to use CD Baby for the next album I make with my folk band. You just pay a one off fee and they will get it onto all the services: iTunes, Spotify etc and they can manufacture CDs as well of course. If you pay a higher one off fee they will also collect fees from streaming things like YouTube etc. There are alternatives like DistoKid and TuneCore where you pay an annual fee and they keep your tracks up on iTunes, Spotify etc. - but I think these work out more expensive in the long run - especially if you want to keep your tracks up for a long time.
Also - Bandcamp is a good easy way to get started too. I've enjoyed setting those up and they look good.. even had a few sales too
Thanks @ricksteruk, I have made a few cds in my time and have the cartons to prove it! I will look intonCD Baby, but probably go with Bandcamp.
I don't know how to do an album, but I did just publish a single song digitally a few days ago on Spotify and others via cdbaby (it was that or distrokid... for one song, cdbaby was cheaper by $5 so they won my business). An album seemed a bit pricey. I'm at least as much an engineer as artist, so the mixing and mastering aspect is something I've invested in as much as I'm able for a serious hobbyist, including time spent reading, watching dozens of hours of videos and practice.
Bandcamp is without a doubt a great place to start. Soundcloud doesn't hurt, either, for exposure. If you can market yourself, then Bandcamp, and you can always later decide to pay for a service to publish broadly - ideally with money you make from Bandcamp!