The advantages of stem mastering your music

Most musicians and bands are aware of the benefits of professional audio mastering, the final stage where a mastering engineer with a lot of experience will enhance, quality control and optimize a piece of music before it’s  release. Mastering is usually performed using a 24 bit stereo interleaved file of the producers final mix down. The mastering engineer can equalize, compress and adjust other parameters of the mix to aid translation across all the varying types of audio system the music will be played on.

Stem mastering is a type of mastering that differs in that it uses groups of instruments such as bass, guitars, drums, keyboards, vocals. There are a number of advantages to stem mastering. The ‘collections’ of instruments allow the mastering engineer to create a master with more targeted corrections and enhancement to the equalization, tone, depth  and balance of the mix down.

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2 Lessons Serj Tankian Can Teach Bands About Kickstarter

Serj Tankian, best known for fronting System of a Down, has fully indulged in his own artistic endeavors since System went on hiatus in 2006. His solo projects have ranged from releasing his second poetry book to an orchestral performance of his critically acclaimed debut solo rock album Elect The Dead.

Now Serj is planning to record his first 4 act symphony called ORCA with The Das Karussell Orchestra at Brucknerhaus in Linz, Austria on October 28th, 2012.

To pay for this project, Serj has personally launched a Kickstarter project for ORCA.

WHY DOES SERJ NEED HELP FUNDING ORCA?

The dude is ranked 26th in the Hit Parader’s Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time. He’s sold bazillians of records in his career. Why the heck can’t he just write a $25,000 check to cover the costs of this project?

Answer: This Kickstarter project serves a much larger purpose for Serj than just raising funds, more on that later.

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MWL Live Web Series Seeks User Submissions for Web Series

As you may have heard MWL Live is making some big changes and we need your help! Beginning September 21, 2012 we will be airing weekly episodes full of great music and entertainment! Each episode will feature a segment called “Public Domain.” This segment is dependent on our fans and show-goers everywhere! It is your job to submit clips of ANYTHING in ANY FORMAT (via Dropbox to katie

@musicwithoutlabels.com)! The most entertaining clips will be featured in this weekly segment! 

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Creating a Booking Contract or Performance Agreement

Last week, I received several questions about bands or venues cancelling last minute and what the repercussions were. Between that and taking law classes at night, I’ve had a lot of contracts on the mind. Hopefully this will help answer some of your questions about band contracts, if you need them, and how to create one.

I’ll cover some of the more popular questions below:

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Home studio tips

The home studio environment can be incredibly sophisticated these days, very much capable of recording, editing, mixing your tracks to a high standard in the comfort of your own tailored musical space. I would like to present some ways of optimizing the home studio environment and ensuring that it is as productive and good sounding as can be.

If there is one area which will provide multiple benefits it is acoustic treatment of walls, corners and ceiling. Basic acoustic treatment can ensure both your recordings and mixes are better. Acoustic treatment does not come across as one of the most interesting of purchases for the home studio but you will hear the benefits on every recording and mix.

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How to be a gracious host (of a touring band)

I just got back from an extensive (somewhat grueling) tour of the East Coast that lasted most of the Summer. We recently hosted a touring band ourselves and I was awash with flashbacks: carrying in sleeping bags and pillows, late-night snacks, the excitement over the possibility of showers - ah, the memories.

This is for people in the smaller towns. Those who get excited when bigger bands come through. But the bands aren’t big enough to stay in hotels. So maybe you’re opening for one, and maybe you’ve offered them a place to crash. Here is my list of the 5 best things you can do for that touring band, in chronological order!

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8 Ways To Increase Your Publicity As A New Musician

Band Exposure is not as easy as everyone could think, but once we know what is the right thing to do to increase exposure everything would be easy.  Below are some effective jaw dropping tips that new musicians should know and use to increase their exposure.

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Free Music Streaming: Monetizing The Listening Experience

People want free music. Artists want to make money from their art while supplying people with music, be it free or otherwise. Could Spotify, Rdio, and MOG be the answer? Does our use of services like Soundcloud, Bandcamp, and Reverbanation handicap the revenue potential of those services?

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Mixing On Headphones

Headphones are of course an essential part of any studio and tracking would be near impossible without them on most occasions, but what about for mixing?

There are a few consideration to bear in mind when considering going about mixing your next masterpiece on a pair of cans, firstly, the accuracy of balanced frequency representation is a must here.

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Why Are We Waiting For Failure?

I think the problem with the pop music industry is that there is so much negativity around the people that become successful. Everyone is quick to hate, Justin Beiber, Rebecca Black, One Direction, Lady Gaga. We are waiting for them to fail, to be exposed and to be brought down to their knees. Like the recent publicity around Lady Gaga who is now apparently ‘fat,’ or the numerous articles bagging out Justin Bieber for throwing up on stage. What a weird, jealous and selfish society we are living in…

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World’s First Virtual Music Conference And Trade Show Attracts International Speakers, Exhibitors and Artists

Nashville TN - Indie Connect, an education and networking organization for independent musicians, is looking to break down the distance and financial barriers that prevent musicians around the globe from capitalizing on the opportunities that exist for them. On January 15-17, 2013, they will be presenting the first global, totally interactive, completely online music conference and trade show. The ‘IC Virtual Music Conference and Expo’ will feature 3 days of international networking, over 35 speaker presentations from industry experts around the world, a virtual music-business trade show, artist and record label showcases, contests and much more.

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How to Market Your Band Effectively

So you’ve managed the (not inconsiderable!) task of getting your mates together, figuring out who can play what instrument, discovering that your vocalist can’t actually sing and hurriedly recruiting another, and you’re well into practicing for your first gig. Lamentably, however, most music scenes are not very accommodating to new talent. It is important to remember that it is less a case of “build it and they will come” and more a case of “build it, market it and they will come”. Skip the marketing, and the reality is that you’ll be disappointed to find there will be no-one at your first gig. So how can you ensure your band’s popularity?

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Are you engaged?

From BRASH! - A Music Marketing Blog

Getting involved with your following

When I speak of being engaged, in a Marketing perspective it doesn’t mean to “Put a ring on it”. As we all know, you can be engaged with people by becoming involved whether its in a business aspect or a relationship.  As an artist, you should want to have engaging conversations with your fans, interested media outlets, and industry professionals.  This will help you to expand your brand and exposure in the industry.

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Are Musicians Using "All" Of Their Creative Talents When Promoting And Marketing?

I was looking at a new Comic Book released by a Major artist the other day,
and started asking myself the question…

Why do so many independent artists limit their online promotional
activities to spamming Facebook and peoples email addresses with links
and postings that simply say: “hey check out my new track!”

Is that really the boundary of their creative marketing ideas?

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