Finger Tips

Ever had this happen...? You've got one or three gigs coming up and you're looking forward to them and everything's peachy keen but then well, you're maybe not quite thinking straight and you spot this tiny bit of skin on the middle finger of your left hand and before your brain can throw on the brakes, you pull off way more than just a tiny bit of loose skin... in fact... as you pull away... you realise the whole callus came off. Then you get home that night and you start rehearsing and before you get half a bar in your finger is sending searing zingers right up your arms...

Has this ever happened to you? I've done it before but never this close to three gigs in a row...

What's the quick fix? The McGiver trick that'll regrow that most important part of your finger? Clear nailpolish?

I panicked and contacted my old friend Rick Watson (who also happens to be among the best guitar players I've ever had the honour of playing with). Within minutes, he responded with this:

"Go to any Running room store, buy some fake skin (it's used to heal blisters). That or a band-aid is probably your best bet."

So there you have it. Fake skin... whod'a thunk?

Calling All Indies: The Time Has Come

This is it.

I've read countless posts on innumerable indie music navel-gazing blogs all trying to say the past few years had been the turning point for indies and, well, all kinds of other hogwash that applied exclusively to the indies that just happen to have indie contracts from indie labels that are "indie bed" with the majors... Balderdash.

Truth is... there's been nothing out there for the true indie... The guy like me who happens to have 600+ songs written and zero intention of becoming a rock star but like every artist, still wants his creations out there.

I've personally grilled Derek Sivers (past owner of CDBaby) as well as Tony van Veen new CEO since Discmakers took over (4th Q 2008). CDBaby is the number 1 place for indie music on the planet and quite likely the universe. Still, when a disc manufacturer buys out an on-line music retailer, it doesn't take rocket science to add 2 + 2 together. Here's what I told Tony:

When I heard the news of the merger, my thoughts went immediately toward the possibility (probability?) that CDs could be burned on-demand. The "never out of stock" idea is sooooo enticing and the respectable stature of DiscMakers would only add to overall buyer confidence.

Certainly this would be a paradigm shift not only in the way you do business but also for the industry. Quite frankly, I dare say this would toss the entire CD manufacturing world on its ear. Not something to take lightly or to just jump headlong into.

But really... What better company to do that than one affiliated with CD Baby?

God bless Tony, he responded, as he does nearly all blog comments, and said he was taking the company in that very direction in the 1st Q 2009.

So, did he?

Well, not by my "true indie" standards. Check it. The only 5 or 10 CD packages available have limited options (2 panel insert in black jewel case only) and are only available within the continental US. Anything else, for example, 10 CDs in clear jewel case with a 4-panel insert and double-sided tray card would be so expensive as to force you to sell your CD at roughly $25 a disc just to stand a chance at breaking even. Sure hope you don't have any studio & mastering debts to pay off...

I'm going to call an all stop here cause if you think I'm dissing CDBaby and Discmakers, I'm not. If you think I'm dissing Derek Sivers or Tony van Veen, I'm not. CDBaby and Discmakers are both fantastically professional companies with clear minded goals and solid mandates to help their segment of the music business. If anything, I'm just frustrated by the lack of that final step that would have truly brought the indie onto the playing field.

Enter Audiolife.

For no cost whatsoever, I put an Audiolife store up on my site and wherever else I want (Facebook, MySpace, various blogs, etc) that sells whatever music and swag I care to create and upload.



If you think that's cool... just wait... it gets better.

For a few bucks more, you can get a full album set-up from CD Baby (about $55 US) which includes a Soundscan recognised barcode (look it up) as well as distribution to every single digital store on the planet (iTunes, Napster, Amazon, MSN Music, Amie Street, to name but a few - actually, right now my OUCH CD is available on 46 stores...) and then you can (and this is the part I absolutely LOVE) you can upload your CD to Audiolife and for a fraction of a fraction of a fraction (that's not a typo) of what it would cost us produce your CD, Audiolife will produce the 5 CDs that CDBaby usually asks for up front and ship them directly there for you at a stupid-low cost of probably about $40 US. Compare that to conventional CD manufacturing costs that get you no barcode and no digital distribution and no swag... well... you get the picture.

Better still, you can upload "preview" versions of your CD onto Audiolife in order to generate funds to pay for your barcode and album set-up and you're on your way.

With Audiolife, if you want some CDs for a show (and I've done this myself with OUCH and the quality is 100%) you can get your CDs and even T-Shirts at cost. Sweet!

But the best part, the cherry on top, if you will, is the fact that once I've finally managed to coax that potential buyer onto my site and I've gotten them interested enough to click on my "store" link, the only thing my potential customer sees is my stuff. Just... my... stuff... No one else's. Not even a "People who bought Luc's music also bought..." Which means there's no chance that my potential sale will be distracted by "This week's new arrival" or any other competition.

I've been waiting for a business model like this for years. This is, I think an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of something that truly presents the "new music business" those bloggers had been pontificating about for years...

This is it. It's the Mom & Pop type music ebusiness if you know what I mean.

So here's the True Indie business model... the absolute cheapest way to go about it (that I've found in 30 years+ of searching):

a) Make music (see other posts on this blog for help doing that).
b) Upload it to Audiolife.
c) Put your store up in free places like a blog, Facebook, MySpace, etc.
d) If you're lucky enough to get sales, hook up with HostBaby and get yourself one kick-butt web-site or two.
e) Hook up with CDBaby (through your already established HostBaby connection) and get yourself a real bonafied CD (complete with Barcode and presence on iTunes, Napster, and a gazillion other places).
f) Upload the new version of your official CD onto Audiolife.
g) If you are lucky enough to make even more sales, then you can start entering that other level of indie and that's when you'll want to get connected with the professionals behind the scenes at Audiolife or the folks at Discmakers who can and will take your music (and your look) to new heights.

But seriously... Audiolife is where you need to start and if Brandon Hance (CEO) has anything to do with it, this is where you'll stay because, as he puts it:

"...we can do manufacturing for you as well. Whether you need short run orders or a bulk purchase, Audiolife can facilitate the manufacturing process end-to-end. Our aim is to be the one stop shop for artists."

One stop shop. Revolutionary.

Check it out... soon.

See how I integrated it... (still lots more to upload)

The eMail said "Calling all Bands, Artists and Musicians!..."

"...Your time has come. Opportunity is knocking... don't pass it up! Go to ***********.com and sign up for a one-year FREE membership and start building your profile."

Okay. So, obviously being incapable of learning from past mistakes, I took the bait. Here's what followed:

----- Original Message -----
From: Me
To: Them
Sent: Monday, March 09, 2009 10:50 PM
Subject: Re: Calling all bands

> I've signed up and went through the motions not once but twice and still
> haven't received my confirmation/activation eMail. Now I'm starting to worry
> this might have been some kind of scam to gather personal information.
>
> What gives?
>

To their credit, I got a fairly quick response... from the Memberships Director personally with instructions on what I should try. Upon responding things still didn't work, I got this:

----- Original Message -----
From: JR
To: LN
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 6:38 PM
Subject: try now...

Hi Luc,

I've reset your account,

Your login username is: **************
password: *************** (case sensitive)

When you log into your account, please update your Profile information. Go ahead and upload photos and images. If you have songs recorded, I encourage you to submit them to our ***** Radio. Don't forget post events, and jobs, etc. But most of all, please stay connected with us.

Because of what happened I've given you 2 years Free membership. I apologize and thank you for registering and for your patience.

Thanks,

JR,
Memberships Director

Okay so a free membership's not bad. Trouble is, that's when the real trouble started...

Thanks JR,

There seems to be a problem with your login page. Once the proper username and password are entered it redirects you to a second login page that looks and acts just like a Password Recovery page (see screen print below). Ignoring this and entering the proper username and password a second time does prove successful, if somewhat perplexing.



Travelling further into your site, I am instructed to read through and fill out legal agreements to accompany the music I send you. Understanding that not all musicians hold university degrees I can forgive the odd grammatical error. However, when the legal agreement you expect me to sign looks and reads no better than a loosely and hastily cut & pasted eMail, or the jumbled thoughts on so many blogs, then you have a real problem.

I'm sure your heart is in the right place and I love getting in on the ground floor on these types of things but there is no ground floor. You have a website that was launched before it was tested and legal agreements that frankly don't do much to reassure my music would be in good hands. On the web, one strike and you're out. I gave you three: registration, login & legalese.

My advice, which is literally worth less than the paper it may or may not be printed on:

1. Stop sending out eMails to musicians.
2. Retain a lawyer. If you have one, fire him/her and get your money back.
3. Ask your new lawyer, preferably one well versed in the music industry, to write up new agreements.
4. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one cannot be appointed to you so get someone who knows spelling and grammar at or above an 8th grade level.
5. Hire a webmaster. If you have one... threaten to take away their triple mocha latte if they don't get the site working properly.

As for client support, you get full marks for well-written, timely eMails and that personal touch.

I wish you every success with your venture. As of right now, I am in no way compelled to create a profile on your site, let alone upload music.

I will be removing all direct links and names and will blog this on indiediy.blogspot.com. I'd be happy to track the progress you're making in rectifying these issues. Please feel free to write a comment or two. If you comment, you may be letting the reader know who you are and what company you're with.

Regards,

Luc

And that's where we stand today.

Many of these places are well-intentioned. They have as many dreams and aspirations as us musicians do. Many of them are musicians.

We should all just get together and jam. Forget this tangled web.

Disillusioned

It's been a long time since I've posted here and I've fallen far behind the timetable I'd set for myself and the hopes for this humble little self-help page. Funny thing is... I fell prey to the very things I stated I'd debunk here. The very companies that offer zero value for the dollar and serve only to cloud the path to whatever limited success one might garner; those very same companies took something even more valuable from me...

My time.

Every one of them would have you to believe they are THE source for success... they are the ONLY place where ALL the music industry GURUs swing by... the talent agents, record execs, they're all spending their days and nights surfing THIS ONE site and for that magical $39.95 a month, YOU TOO can have it ALL except for the fact that the $39.95 is the most basic entry fee and gets you one crappy non-flash semi-useless web-page and you'll NEVER get featured on their home page where ALL their FRIENDS (a.k.a. those who are stupid enough to pay for the $69.99 monthly upgrade and still sign away 76% of their earnings on downloads) are FEATURED monthly TOTALLY at RANDOM.

Or better still...

That place called BubonicSquids? ...no... IconicDibs? ...no... Con-Ick-Bids? ...hmmm...

If I was to answer/bite/fall for every one of their "last chance / last minute / last ever extension on this once in a lifetime leads" I'd be dumping roughly $120 to $200 per day on an outside chance that some guy might, just might, stop by and briefly try to mispronounce my name before moving on to book the guy with the payola in his hands.

"Ah Luc!" you'll say "I'm so much better than you!"

No you're not.

And even if your are, you might as well save up all that monthly and daily cash and put it in a savings account. Someday you'll have enough to buy yourself a record exec and you'll be on your way.

You'd do better buying shares in Nortel than wasting your hard earned cash on all these bogus "web portals to the promised land"...

You'd also save something far more precious...

Your time.

DIY Studio:Part 5 - "There's Pain... and there's Motrin Pain..."

Brace yourself... Mom & Dad (or whomever else shares the household with you) will be pleased as punch but you'll be cussing ten ways to Sunday because all the sound will be staying in and crashing repeatedly into your sensitive young (you're young, right?) eardrums in sickening barf-inducing fashion. If you just plop yourself down in your brand new finished studio thinking you can start playing right away, ...uhm...how do they say... "You'se got another thing comin'!"

Now's the time to start surfing and reading up on home studios and the management of acoustics. There's plenty of sites you've already come across before getting to mine that talked about how to manage sound inside your studio. Like I mentioned in Part 4, my studio has enough freaky angles to break up the sound naturally. Therefore, I don't know what's best. Though, if I had had to come up with a cheap solution, I would have learned to make quiche, omlettes, or whatever else takes a lot of eggs and pasted the empty egg cartons throughout the studio. Seriously.

It's your choice. You can go to great expenses and buy all kinds of contraptions that'll almost work as good as egg cartons or carpet remnants, so, if it's "the look" you're after, then by all means, invest. Otherwise, go to your nearest carpet manufacturer/installer and buy some trimmings for a few bucks and you will be playing music in your studio by this time tomorrow.

Luc

DIY Studio:Part 4 - Freaky Angles

If you're working with a perfectly rectangular room, that's actually not so good, but in the event you do have obstacles to drywall around, go wild. Building angles (in corners especially) will deflect sound at the source and encourage it to stay inside the room.

I have a particularly neat contraption I built around the main line in for my water. The mudder I hired (okay... I couldn't do it *all* myself) called it the Voyageur Space Station (from Hell). Whatever... it works great because a peak juts out of the wall right where the bass drum is. This effectively deflects the sound and distributes it nicely throughout the room.

Next up: Insulating Concrete Walls

Luc

DIY Studio:Part 3 - Lighting Fixtures

I opted to install wall sconces - my wife thinks it was because of my sensitive side, but actually, it was for practicality - since you want to minimize the noise going up, try to punch the fewest holes in the ceiling. Thus, opt for wall mounted lighting or, better still, no lighting at all and bring in table lights and such and plug them into the many outlets you'll have installed.

You are pre-wiring tons of plugs, right...?

Now, a word of warning... when I put in my lighting, I thought I'd get fancy and put in a dimmer. "What better way to echo whatever mood of music I was playing" or so I thought. Unfortunately, that blasted dimmer introduces a hiss into my recordings and causes my electric guitar to become something resembling an AM radio transponder. I'm sure encasing the wiring in insulated conduits *before* installing drywall would have done the trick, but in my case, it was too late.

So anytime I record, I turn off the sconces.

Luc

DIY Studio:Part 2 - Air Vents & Air Returns

Here's a little diagram that shows the type of box I built for both the vent and the air return. The yellow stuff represents old socks (tip: wash first!). I only managed three intersecting angles within my boxes but the more you can get, the better. If you're actually making the vent coming in, you may also be able to recess the entire contraption into the ceiling or preferably high up into the wall (mine is jutting down from the ceiling and had to be drywalled - not easy). Note: Regarding the air flow arrow in the diagram, the air flow for the cold air return would actually be opposite as it would also be trying to leave the room.

Next up... lighting.

Luc

DIY Studio:Part 1 - Studio Walls

***Remember to check your local building codes before doing any of your own renovations; and, get everything inspected by a certified professional before putting the final touches on your project.***

[click on images to enlarge]

Top View

1. Build & install your wall with staggered 2x3 or 2x4 studs on 2x6 headers

2. Weave your Fire&Sound batting insulation
3. Install your Soundproofing Drywall (usually green in colour) ***some people recommend gluing the drywall onto the studs in order to avoid using screws or nails which might conduct sound right into the framework. The green drywall texture is, in my opinion, not really conducive to this approach (it might break apart and fall off before you get to the next step). If you want, just minimize the use of screws by putting in just enough to hold the sheet in place. Seriously though, you'll be screwing the latts through into the studs in the next step anyway so......

4. Install your horizontal 1x3 lattes with screws going into each alternate stud (since every second stud is recessed)

5. Install your drywall using as few screws as possible.


Other Tips:

• Use screws wherever possible since nails shake loose prematurely particularly considering the nature of the sound vibrations that will be going around.
• Holes are our enemies!!! A hole the size of a dime can apparently reduce your soundproofing effectiveness by as much as 25%. I'm not sure if that's true, but once you've put this much effort, why take a chance?
• As I said before, always check your local building codes before doing any of your own renovations; and, get everything inspected by a certified professional before putting the final touches on your project. Always use CSA Approved (or equivalent for your country) materials.
• When prepping holes for lights, fixtures, or wall outlets, make sure you cut as precisely as possible and backfill with extra sound batting around the junction boxes. Beware of fire codes/fire hazards!!! Consider using CSA Approved expanding foam to fill gaps - I used this in tough spots I couldn't reach to fill by hand.
• When using screws, some people recommend pre-drilling your holes and filling them with caulking... a nice touch, I'll admit... if you've got a couple years to tack onto the length of your project (I didn't do this).
• Don't be fooled, this is going to be expensive. Cost out your materials first and then add 25% - that'll be your final cost. For a perfectly rectangular 18x12 room with two windows and one door, I would estimate a base cost of $3000. Add 25% and that gives you $3750 - of course, that includes the cost of industrial carpeting, soundproofing the ceiling as well and all your wiring and lighting and whatever hardware you require. It adds up pretty quick.

In my next post, I'll show you how to build soundproof boxes to fit over your air vents and air returns.

Luc

Future posts...

To give you an idea of what I'll be discussing, here is a short list of posts I plan on making:

1) Building your own sound-proof studio (hope there's a Home Depot near your house!)
2) BOSS BR-1180-CD digital recording studio
3) Yamaha and Ibanez Guitars
4) Peavey Amps
5) JVC Recorders and Stereos
6) Compaq Computers
7) Audacity Software
8) HostBaby
9) CD Baby

Well... that oughta keep me busy here for quite a while.

Stay tuned

Luc

What inspired me to start this...?

Frankly, I'd been answering all the same questions over and over again and thought if they were all in one easy to find location, I could just point people there. I didn't get around to starting it until I came across this great post by Rick Barr on the CrunchGear site.

As I wrote a comment I thought, 'here I go typing the same stuff all over again'. So I decided to start this blog. Still, Rick did such a wonderful job outlining a lot of equipment similar to mine, I thought it only fair I give him a nod here.

Here's my reply to his article (am I allowed to quote myself?)...

Great article.

I couldn’t agree more about BOSS Digital recorders. I have the BR-1180-CD (http://www.bosscorp.co.jp/products/en/BR-1180CD/) and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

I already had an Shure SM-58 (who doesn’t?) but I also sprung for an Audio Technica Studio Condenser Mic which, honestly, is a difference of night and day in terms of dynamics (http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/wired_mics/53b8b7998922fb02/index.html). Mind you, I built myself a sound-proofed studio which helps a lot. If you’re in an area where there is any kind of ambiant noise, don’t bother with this condenser mic. It’ll pick up *and amplify* the pics I fiddle with in my pocket as I stand there singing. It’s that sensitive.

You say “The 4-track and microphone are pretty much all the hardware you will need…” but I think a cheap old second hand stereo (the kind with the big floor speakers) plugged straight into your digital board is a great (cheap) way of getting a feel for the sound quality and level you’re aiming for. Most of us (I think) grew up on those big monsters, so we know what they should sound like. Saves you having to burn a CD or transfer your stuff out onto some other media in order to really have a listen.

The kicker (pun intended) here is that the BR-1180-CD version comes with its own integrated drum machine that does everything described above. But if you can’t go that route, you might as well check out the open source option posted in a comment above. I like open source… here’s why:

Once you’ve transferred your files onto your computer, I recommend Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/). It does everything those other (co$tly) options do. No question. I’ve done it. As an example… a few years back I hired a recording engineer to digitally remaster some old songs that I had on cassette from many moons ago. It cost me $400 for one tape and the resulting CD is nowhere near the quality required for resale (or radio for that matter). With Audacity, I spent $0 and was able to digitally remaster the same songs to the point that I’m actually considering not re-recording some of them. It’s that good.

The money you save on not buying any software will make the cost of the BR-1180CD more attainable.

Good luck!

Luc

DIYreview: "Sure Reminds Me"

Before I start describing equipment, methods, styles etc, let's start with a song review so you get a feel for the level of quality I'm talking about here. "Sure Reminds Me" (link below) successfully climbed the charts on several indie music sites like SoundClick and Mixposure, sitting comfortably for some time in the top 10 and being featured in a Folk Spotlight for several weeks running.

Before we get started though, let's lay some ground rules:

Music Lover Reviews: The sky's the limit. Say what you want, good or bad (just keep it respectful without any trash). Compare it to mainstream music and tell us how you think it measures up in terms of sound, style and quality.

DIYer Reviews: I expect a bit more from you. Considering you're here to share in the learning, whatever you say in your review will help everyone learn more. I don't think you need to listen to the song over and over again; a lot can be said for first impressions, particularly in this business. Like the Music Lovers, say what you want, good or bad (keep it respectful without trash). Compare it to mainstream music as well as your own. Then, score the following criteria:
Scoring: x out of 5 (1=poor ... 5=excellent)
- Style (within the chosen style, how fresh sounding is it?)
- Lyrics (do they come across clear enough to get your attention)
- Musicianship (quality of the performance)
- Hook (how memorable is the song?)
- Sound (how close is the sound to mainstream?)
- Mix (do all the parts mesh/compliment each other nicely?)
- Bonus (bonus points for whatever you like/dislike - make sure you specify)

Okay... now that the business stuff is out of the way... let's listen to some music, shall we?

Words & Music by me. All instruments & vocals are real and performed by me with the exception of the drum arrangements done on a machine (more details on that in a future post).

Click here: "Sure Reminds Me" (at CBC Radio 3)

Luc

Not an Indie Musician but you like Indie Music?

Stick around! There'll be plenty of free listens that will need objective ears. 'DIYreviews' will introduce a new song done specifically in the DIY way discussed here. Music lovers are free to review the songs for content, lyrics, style, whatever. Who knows, you might score a free download or two here and there.

Luc

Why 'IndieDIY"?

Why did I choose this name for my blog? Simple, really. It seems to me that most Independent Musicians out there don't realize just how easy it is to be independent. Frankly, based solely on the glut of companies tripping over each other to offer "Fantastic Services Never Before Available to Indie Musicians for Just $29.95/month (plus $6.99 per submission fee)" one has to wonder where the meaning of "independent" has gone.

Therefore, 'IndieDIY' is here to remind Indies that, if nothing else, we are independent do-it-yourselfers first. Let those companies target the 'hobby' musicians with disposable incomes to burn. Meanwhile, you and I will be here discussing our successes and failures, learning from them, and saving our hard earned cash.

Luc