Audio Fidelity

Since the development of digital recording, there has always been an argument over which is better: analog or digital. It is always interesting to me to see a remastering project; a project where they take old analog recordings and mix them digitally. While I was at Full Sail University studying Recording Arts, we went over analog in many of our classes. In one particular one, we went over “baking” analog tape. The process is tricky and can easily ruin the entire recording.

Audio Fidelity specializes in remastering old classic rock and pop albums. Currently they are working on a James Taylor album. They have remastered many of his albums before dating as far back as 1970. The album they are working on now is Mud Slide Slim.  As the Mix Magazine article says, they have been lucky with the analog masters. They are in good shape so little to nothing has been lost from the original recordings.

It is very interesting to see a company that specializes in remastering analog recordings. It’s not something I have come across before. After reading the article, I wanted to look into Audio Fidelity more. Audio Fidelity has remastered many well known, bug name artists old recordings. Examples would be the Beach Boys, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Marley, and Stevie Wonder.

President Marshall Blonstein has been working in the recording industry for many years. He has worked with many record companies including Island Records and Artanis Records. As his biography on the Audio Fidelity site says, he was one of the first to recognize the potential of the CD.

Through years of experience, it seems the team at Audio Fidelity has perfected the art of remastering. They have brought many old recordings back to life and will continue to do so.

References:

About us. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.audiofidelity.net/content/about-us

Marsh mastering remasters james taylor for audio fidelity limited edition. (2012, March 2). Retrieved from http://mixonline.com/news/marshmastering_remasters_audiofidelity_0203/

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SOPA

Since the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) was first brought up in congress, there has been a lot of protest for it on the Internet. As an idea, this act is fantastic, but put into practice…well, that’s a different story.

Though parts of the industry are for this act because it is to stop online piracy, it is not the best way of stopping or hindering piracy. Put into action, this bill would censor a lot of the Internet. It could go so far as shutting down social networks. Without a real way to communicate easily and quickly, this would cut back a lot on how people share music, movies, and every other part of their lives. The also would not have the same easy access to music on the Internet. Without people spreading the word of new music, sales would probably plummet. They could lose just as much money that way as they do through pirating. The act would also take away a lot of promotion and advertising. It would be harder to promote concerts and shows, not only for big labels, but small local bands as well.

SOPA would revert the industry to times before social networks and YouTube. I do not think the industry could really deal with that kind of revert. They would have to find a new way of promoting their artists and bands. Local bands would have a hard time finding shows and then promoting them and getting the word out. Times have changed a lot and with a censored internet, word will not travel nearly as far. People would have to get used to other ways of communicating again. A lot of promotion would have to rely on word of mouth. I do not think that it would work too well. It would take a long time for people to adjust and there would be a drop in the entertainment industry during this time.

Overall, I think they need to look over this act more. It has a lot of aspects that could cripple many business and industries. 

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Album Sales Growth

 It is no secret that the recording industry has been struggling. Thanks to digital downloads, various forms of pirating, and other losses, album sales have not been too good. Since 2004, the industry has not had a positive album sales growth. That is, until this past year. After seven years, sales have finally gone up.

Though the growth is not a gigantic amount, it still is a great sign for the music industry. Since 2010, album sales rose by almost 1.5%, close to 4 million album sales (Christman, 2012). As I said before, this is the first time album sales have raised since 2004.  Music sales all together were up this year. Sales are up about .1 billion since 2010 (Christman, 2012). There were even more musical releases this year than the previous year. After 2010’s loss in album sales, this gain is very good to see. Album sales were down 12.8% in 2010 (Morris, 2012).

Many are giving a lot of credit to Adele for this gain. She had both best selling album and best selling song. Her album 21 sold 5.82 million copies since its release in March (Morris, 2012). Of course it was not only her album sales that made such a difference. There are many, many other artists that deserve credit. Hopefully this will pave the way for even more gain in 2012.

This rise looks good for the recording industry. Hopefully it continues to rise this year and the years to come. It has been a long time since sales have gone up. The industry is starting to do better with the changes in technology and the way music sells today. Physical and digital sales must be taken into account now instead of just physical sales. As long as technology does not throw another curve ball, the recording industry should continue to grow, once again, and expand even more.

References:

Christman, E. (2012, January 4). Soundscan's year-end charts: The numbers behind the first positive album-sales year since 2004. Retrieved from http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/soundscan-s-year-end-charts-the-numbers-1005793352.story

Morris, C. (2012, January 4). Album sales post first gain since 2004. Retrieved from http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118048134

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Stefon Harris

The TED speech I watched was Stefon Harris: There are no mistakes on the bandstand. His speech was not just words, but music. The first six minutes are just the band playing music. This was a great way to start his speech because it caught the attention of the audience and provided an example of what he talks about.

He shows the passion of the bandstand through his speech and his playing. He talks about mistakes in jazz as opportunities instead. Without reacting to it, you continue to make something beautiful out of it instead. He also describes it as accepting others ideas.

Through his musical examples and words, Harris inspired the audience. He inspired them to look at music, and possibly life in a different way. Take things and make them into a melody instead of the end of the song. It all depends on how you react to them. He talks about micromanagement. That is not how bandstand music works. You have to just let it flow instead of forcing it.

This has given me a new perspective on things. Instead of having a poor reaction to a mistake, turn it into something better.

Resources:

http://www.ted.com/talks/stefon_harris_there_are_no_mistakes_on_the_bandstand.html

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THE RIAA and Piracy

The Recording  Industry Association of America (RIAA) offers a lot of information to members of the  recording industry. One thing they are very popular for right now is the fight against piracy.  Internet and physical piracy have been a problem for the recording industry for years. Internet piracy, however, has really taken a toll on the industry over the last few years.

On the RIAA website, they provide a lot of information on piracy. They list examples of Internet piracy, who it hurts, and even some things they are going to help stop piracy.  This section is not limited to online piracy; it also covers physical piracy. Though physical piracy has been overshadowed by internet piracy, it is still a problem in the music industry.

The RIAA has many studies on piracy and how to make it stop or at least make it have a lesser impact.  There are many articles about the effect that piracy has had and on what they are doing to make it stop.  They have many statistics on piracy over the years.  They also have many studies on the subject.

If the RIAA is successful in cutting back on piracy, it will have a very big impact on the recording industry.  First, the industry would start making more money again. It is no secret that the music industry has taken quite the blow to their annual income. With less pirating, the industry would not be declining.

As a result of more money for labels and studios, they would be more likely to take risks on artists again. This could open up the industry to new artists and genres, not just trending ones. It could also mean more money for the real artists. 360 deals would no longer be necessary, though I am sure they would still be around. Bands could start making more money from touring again instead of the labels taking most of it. 

References:

http://riaa.com/

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Troy Germano opens new studio

Troy Geramon, part of the Hit Facotry family. He runs a Studio Design Group that has built numerous famous studios. He is now building a new recording studio in Tampico, Mexico. The owner of the studio is Jose Reyes. He is also Germano’s strategic partner. This studio will be called RG Germano Studios Tampico (Brown, 2011).

The environment one records in is very important. Unfortunately this is often overlooked.  Nowadays, there are many home studios. When I say home studios, it’s not always a real industry professional with the proper equipment and knowledge to make a great sounding track from home.  Often times a “home studio” is a person with a Digital Audio Work Station (Ableton Live, Reaper, Logic, Pro Tools, or even Fruity Loops or any other DAW) and a cheap microphone or two. Though it is possible to make a great sounding recording with these things, without a good sounding room or the proper technique, you might end up with nothing good at all!

Recording vocals in a closed in area can make it sound dead. Many at home studios, when first starting out use closets to record vocals. The end result, if you don’t know how to use plug-ins to fix it, can sound terrible.  In the end, it is just not a quality recording.

Geramon’s studios provide a much better environment for recording. With proper sound and acoustic treatment, a studio can sound fantastic. Standing waves can be eliminated. The boxy sound of a closet used as a vocal booth is eliminated, as well. With Studio Design Group, they build the studio completely to guarantee a great sounding room. Having a great sounding room saves an engineer a lot of work. He or she does not have to spend time fixing errors from the room in the mix. They can just focus on mixing great sounding tracks!

References:

Brown, J. (2011, October 27). Germano teams up on large-scale recording destination in mexico [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.sonicscoop.com/2011/10/27/germano-teams-up-on-large-scale-recording-destination-in-mexico/

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