Manufacturing & Marketing Your Own CD, Part 1
Part 1 of 3: Manufacturing
by Shelley Jacobson
A dream that many of us have as songwriters and artists, is the dream of one day recording and manufacturing our own CD.
I'll always remember the day the Purolator truck backed into my driveway as I was waiting for my much anticipated order of CDs that took me roughly 3 years to write and record. After the initial thrill and high wore off, I began to feel a little pressured and even uneasy. It was really strange. I had finally achieved a musical goal that I had been chasing for years, and yet as I stood starring amongst the boxes of CDs piled on top of one another, I remember thinking to myself, "okay...now what?"
I learned quite a bit from that project, and I hope I can share some information with you so that your project will run smoothly.
Finding a Manufacturer
Call at least 10 manufacturers and get quotes (have them fax or email the quotes to you so you have it on paper) on your project. Make sure that the people you speak with give you detailed answers to your questions and don't make you feel uncomfortable about asking any question.
One company that impressed me when I was calling around was the RDR Music Group. They are based out of Toronto. I spoke with Joe Wood and he was the greatest. He took the time to answer all of my questions, and when he said he would get back to me on something, he did. I know that he has been on the other side of things before - he was a starving musician once also.
I finally decided to go with Joe at the RDR Music Group partly because I trusted and felt comfortable with Joe handling my project, and also because the RDR Group also deals with distribution of your project as well as manufacturing. (I'll cover that end in part 3 of this series)
Getting Ready to Forward Your Material
Proof your master! Before sending in your master, listen to it from start to finish. Make sure you don't have any digital pops in it (I had to send my master back 3 times because of digital clicking). Also, listen to the overall levels. Make sure they are all the same and that you don't have any noticeable drop outs or gains within the mix. Joe informed me that some of the masters he has received have been 10 dBs lower than what they should be. Check your fade outs carefully to determine if they fade out too abruptly. If your engineer expanded a track on your project, even though the levels seem to be within the same level of the other tracks, you might possibly get the illusion of that track sounding louder than the rest on the CD.
Go through your master with a fine toothed comb. After all, you spent so much time and energy, not to mention money, going over and over your material, you don't want to rush things at this stage of the game, although it's really hard trying to keep your excitement from taking over.
Once you are happy with the master, make sure you have a back up copy just in case it gets lost by the courier or some other weird circumstance. Murphy's Law is amazing. Nothing ever happens when you are prepared and ready for the worst possible scenario, but when you aren't prepared...yup...you guessed it! Murphy's a good bud of mine too. I know him well.
Master Formats
Most manufacturers accept the following formats: (always check with them first)
- DAT
- PCM-1630
- PCM-Fl/601
- Analogue and digital open reel
- Cassette
The quality of the material and the master is totally your responsibility. Remember: Garbage in, Garbage out.
Track Sheet
You will need to provide your manufacturer with a track sheet when forwarding your master. Go over your track sheet carefully before forwarding it along with your master. Check to see that all of your tracks are in order and aren't missing. Also make sure you put additional information on your track sheet such as sudden stops within a track, hidden tracks, etc...
Check Your I.D's
If you are using CD-R format for your master, check your I.D's carefully. Make sure your indexes are in the proper places. Never write on your CD-R with pen, always use a soft marker and write on the clear plastic in the center of the disc. Again, always check with the manufacturer and ask what they prefer with master tape preparation.
Recording Time Allowed
You are allowed to record up to 78 minutes of music for a CD, and 45 minutes per side for cassette.
Once your master is received by the manufacturer, the engineer usually listens to it and makes note of any noises or mistakes on the master and the track sheet. If additional equalization, sweetening, or level matching is required, you will be looking at an additional fee on top of what you will be paying for the cost of manufacturing.
When they are ready to begin making your CD, they start by cutting a glass master. The cost of cutting a glass master is usually waived if your order is for 1,000 or more CDs. Otherwise you will be looking at a fee between $250-500. Most companies hold on to the glass masters when your project is completed and recycle them.
It usually takes up to 8 working days to press your CDs.
Stay tuned for part 2 of 3 on "Manufacturing Your Own Cd" where we will be dealing with "Graphics and Film".
