Bands: we're broke, we can't afford what we want to do, we can't record live drums because money, wah wah. Glenn: here's some financial advice. Bands: its not about the money! Wah wah!
wouldn't it be hilarious if i created the perfect scenario for my lame joke!? because i totally believe that not being financially able to accomplish some of your goals is somehow the same as spending very little to record an album? somehow? don't ask how. oh! and for some reason i think spending thousands on a good drum set is the same as spending $60 on a DAW and $30 to put it on streaming services lmfao. oh.. o-oh wait i'm turning into glenn ahhh!! *transforms* Ah hi hello everybody, I'm glenn and i think that "recording my first album" means paying a big time producer to do it, and having every piece of equipment to perform live, and literally putting out physical CDs on store fronts!! i totally don't realize I can't record an album for next to nothing and pay a few bucks to get it on every streaming service ever!! even tho i'm literally sponsored by a company that does that 😳😳😳
Musician's can be such a contradiction sometimes. If you want to make a living from music then you have to take the financials, branding and business side of things seriously.
My old band ended up at 2 venues that wanted a cut of the merch profit. Easy fix, we announced on stage our merch was free and at the table mentioned we accepted "donations" outside at the van. And said why
There is a secret trick out there, that cuts down production costs and enables new bands to record their album in a nice studio: rehearse the shit out of your music and record it live. Not only does it sound better, it also saves a ton of time and money. As a bonus: you become a better musician.
I remember a tip I heard on an Adam Neely video where you can have everyone open a sound recorder on their phone and put it in a different part of the room to mix together later as a super cheap live recording method
At that point it's easier to just invest in a cheap sound card, a free DAW and a few mics, actually compared to live recording you can probably get away with an overhead for the drums. Music has changed since live recording was the thing, technology has changed. There is no way on earth you'll get anywhere near the same quality from a live recording then a simple recording setup at home, live recording is great for low-fi or genres where it's not the quality of the sound that matters. Unless of course you can get a DI recording from the mixing table at the venue you're playing live at, but that is easier said than done.
Punk, Thrash, Death, Black Metal capitalize on nostalgia that's why cassettes still get sold out. If you are in a Djent or Metalcore band, you have a totally different market where releasing videos and singles periodically is a smarter move. It's basically a parallel thing with the tube amp vs digital gear market.
@@doctorjoyboylove Lol tell that to the touring successful musicians who use Kempers and AxeFX in the studio and live and no one cares. Literally Glenn said that in the first minute of this video.
@@doctorjoyboylove If something sounds better but takes you a year to dial in and set up, really at what point is it worth it? Efficiency is part of the working music business and sorry to say, if you don't think so you're probably not a working musician or producer. I promise you not 1 person gives a fuck about how you got the sound, especially if you delayed a gig by 2 hours to dial in your ideal sound with the mic and cab and tube amp you so preciously had to have. At a point it's not worth it and doesn't matter.
@@Sweetmanthanks I wouldnt say CD is dead, but its not that popular anymore because of streaming. What we are listening to today on streaming and downloads originates as recordings based on the CD technology and its standards, so while the physical CD is not very popular anymore the album recordings are made to the same standards, so CD kind of lives on in streaming and downloads it is just converting from a physical format pretty much.
@@Stefan- agreed, I still buy CD's, occasionally, to build my collection and to support the bands/artists that I like. There's almost nothing better or intimate (musically speaking) than putting one on and listening to the full album something that's rare these days with the "playlist" format. I also rip the CD's and copy onto a usb stick so I can play my tunes in my car stereo which helps with making the CDs last a whole lot longer.
With today's technologies, producing an entire album at shockingly low cost is possible. I've done, what, 7 albums now for the last 9 years or so and I really didn't need to spend much at all. With no shade towards studios like Glenn's, I feel bedroom producing really made full scale projects more viable. It does still, however, take a lot of time and effort. You might not have to spend thousands of dollars, but you still need to offer a lot of blood and sweat, especially if you want to go through the route of self-production.
Yeah, songwriting is definitely the easiest thing to miss the mark, but I'd argue the *real* entry barrier would be production, unless you hire somebody to do that (but then again, adds up to the cost). It took me almost a decade to learn what I know and I still cry on reference mixes. LOL
As a one man band I invested a lot of money on recording and audio production. Releasing only 4 song EP s and presenting every song with a video on internet was the way to go for me. I had no intention or illusion to recover the money, all I do is just out of pure passion. My intention was to go now for a full album, but still, some of your arguments from video 1 - that I was already thought of in the past - are indeed too strong to ignore. I liked the video, I would love to show it to all that "bashed" me for not releasing a full LP. :)
I just watched some of your videos. Did you do them yourself and if so what program did you use to make them? I'm in the same boat one man band. But no vocals just instrumental stuff.
I've recorded an album all by myself. Nobody listens to it but I'm proud of what I've done. The good thing is that I recorded it in my home studio so I didn't have to shell out money.
Same here. It's fine I got so little playbacks of my music. I already have the main listener for my music. It's me. It's not selfish, I just do music that I'd absolutely would love to listen to if it was done by someone else. Also, I just like the process.
@@ZethKeeper Dude I have the exact same opinion as you. I don't listen to my own music thinking it's me, but I write music that I would like to hear. My friends (jokingly, hopefully) call me a narcissist because of that, but I've told them the other fact. Also I released a single last Friday and it has 5 views (none of mine) lol. I listen to my own songs in Bandcamp where you don't get views from listening to your own music, because I want to see the actual number of listeners, even if it's 3 or 3000.
Your point on signing merch: fun story about that! I recently joined a band after their previous guitarist quit and after a brief period of getting myself up to snuff on enough of their back catalogue to play live, we started gigging. We played a local festival of all Canadian metal bands from the Maritimes, and even though I hadn't recorded a damn note on the albums, the fans were still asking for me to sign the album/t-shirts because they enjoyed my performance! I used this time to network and help rebuild the band's reputation a bit. We're currently working on recording our first album since the pandemic started, doing it all DIY at home and this is also my first experience tracking a 10-12 song album. I'm super stoked to finally have something with my name on it to share.
Yeah, I've gotten the "I wasn't even on this record that you want me to sign!" bit before. I'm like, dude, I just want your signature on something/my favorite album of the band you now play for, #1. Be grateful that you have someone that wants your signature on something. And #2. I'm not going to bring multiple releases based on who's on what album, and have them all signed separately lol
My story about signing: Well-attended show at a college, and for first time ever lots of requests to autograph flyers for the show. I was feeling pretty good, until I found out a teacher was giving extra credit for students who could prove they were at a live event by getting an artist's signature!
@@kodypelletier7852 Thanks man! Always down to have more folks check out our stuff. I play in Doom Machine from NS. All previous material has their old guitarist on it, but we've got the new album with my playing/vocals coming out early 2022 so keep your ears peeled! \m/
@@JanderVK Oh for sure! I was just caught off guard that someone wanted my signature at all haha. It's a trip being seen as a "celebrity" (I use that term incredibly loosely), especially where I had only been in the band like... maybe 6 months by that point. Honestly, even though we're a small band from buttfuck nowhere, it's cool to have people support you as "the new guy"
Making music, planning and recording albums, creating a cohesive body of songs and having a project and finished article at the end, kept me going through my call center years. I remember that feeling of hopelessness and the crushing weight of thinking, "is this it? is this my life forever now?". During those times making music, especially metal, was a life line of creativity and catharsis that stopped me taking a final exit. Now I have a job and career I like, music is still there and I can chose if I am making something for catharsis or for fun. I put the project management and work skills I learned in the call centers into making music in an efficient way that kept me moving forward. I took those skills into my current career and they have been a huge help. I still record albums, and have multiple albums in several projects planned or in progress. I put them online rather than making physical copies. Once the album is on bandcamp or spotify and public, it has finality and I can move on. It also makes them convenient for me to listen to later. I have no interest in making a career from music. Being able to take what I hear in my head, make it into a solid recording, and then listen to it when I like is more than enough for me.
My band fits almost all points: We all have day jobs, we're doing it for the art not the money, we have no expectations, we sell decent amounts of merch on gigs and bandcamp. Also, I'm not gonna say the psychological side it's not relevant
I took note, Glenn. It's good to do the whole process: release a single, generate some interest, and then release an album. 8 songs that each one is worth. And play a lot live, to sell the album. Obviously you don't have to suck. The cd is today's souvenir along with the t-shirts. Cheers!
CD are the thing you buy from your friend band because you are too polite to tell them it's just a piece of plastic that take place and collect dust, and there is 100 more convenient ways to listen to their music if you wanted to
I just want to explain this bands personal experience. So with our first release where we really tried (good a great producer, it sounds great, and the songs were just more focused) we only did a 3 track single. And released 2/3 tracks individually and released them as a group. Now even on a 3 TRACK SINGLE, we had this one song called Endless Cycle gain a bunch of traction. Has 12k Spotify streams (not completely massive I know) and gotten us some legit fans from discovering this one song. The other songs? Still not even cracking 500 streams yet haha. I get why an album can be a fun endeavor and why people would do it for fun, but when we started viewing this from a business standpoint, stuff actually started to happen. Also idk how much this effects it but endless cycle is the only song with a lyric video we’ve done so we’re getting them done for all the songs on the upcoming release lol. Everything the band released within the last 10 months was written all at once, all 9 songs. But the one ended up as a rough demo, we refined the rest of the songs to get them tighter, then had a super good release that was refined all from this writing session and got some traction. But the thing is the song that blew up, every time I ask someone their favorite song even for those who heard all of our songs, that’s usually the answer so the refining paid off. If you want to truly see growth from this, the first video truly is the way. Ola Englund was right, Finn Mckenty was right, and Glenn is right. But I see nothing wrong with this video either for self proclaimed hobbyists.
Just checked out your channel and song, yeah, that riff is tight, 👍. I've written a very similar pedal tone motif in e minor, it's in it's early stages atm but love that sound and feel. 🤘😁👍❤🇦🇺
@@matildastanford7019 Haha thank you so much! That riff was a very spur of the moment thing but we were all kinda like WOAH that was kinda cool. And playing the polyrhythm live took some time haha. But thank you again!
When I was doing merch for a touring band, that was my response the couple of times venues attempted to take cut of the merch sales. That shuts them down pretty fast!
The cassette is played much like a vinyl record, for the nostalgic feel of backthen. In my brother's car, I got goosebumps hearing our product in his Blaupunkt tape deck. Just took us back. The shit quality was part of the trip lol
I personally love writing albums! I often write my music with a cohesive concept. I decided a long time ago that I probably wasn’t to get my money back, so I often would find ways to cut the cost down so I could continue to create more without going broke.
I love the philosophy “Don’t look at what I can buy, look at what I can do.” I don’t have a lot of money; I’m doing well if my check doesn’t evaporate entirely by the end of the week. But I am learning to get the most out of my old, cheap gear and mix to professional standards (still working on it but getting there). It’s really to be able to say we can make music we love at great quality out of our homes for a FRACTION of the expense it would take otherwise. I know not ever band has an interest in production (or has the patience to learn it) but it’s a blessing for those of us that are up for learning!
After seeing your other video, my band went from originally doing a 15 song album to now working on 3 EP’s of 5 songs each with each song being promoted as a single for more traction and content. Thanks for the words of wisdom Glenn, much appreciated! 🤘
@@domnatali199 Make the videos as cheaply and quickly as possible, if the songs are good, the video doesn't matter much for metal bands. 80% of music videos that gain traction look like Ibanez ads. Having the video is more important than a good video. And really consider doing it on an iphone/gopro, save $$$$$$$.
Cassette’s have made a massive comeback haha. Also far cheaper than vinyl to get made. Also Glenn mentions long records, and I laugh as Maiden is notorious for this hahaha. Senjutsu is terrible
You can still release an album's worth of music in a year, but if you do it as a single every month/6 weeks/2 months it will keep you in the minds of your audience and your scene, you can go to local music mags and get each song reviewed by them keeping you in the press pages. It keeps your hype train rolling and you have something to plough into your social media. It's something I'd love to do myself but as a one man show doing everything by myself I'm at a serious risk of burning out, split between a band of 4 or 5 people it gives everyone a chance to take a break from the monotony of the social media grind, and maybe work on new songs for the next year. The music industry has changed and us musicians need to change with it
That's so me. At the moment I've got a batch of what I think are pretty good songs; two are worthy of being singles. But I'm alone in my room tracking guitar, then miking up my drum kit and tracking that. I wish I could solely focus on writing/singing/guitar. I really enjoy mixing though. I'm moving into a bigger apartment next month, and I plan on making the second bedroom a studio and jam space, and I've got some friends wanting to jam. Hopefully it goes somewhere!
That, and Stone Sour: House of Gold & Bones (I & II) Marillion: Misplaced Childhood Rush: Clockwork Angels Alice Cooper: From the Inside Alter Bridge: AB III Dream Theater: Metropolis prt II And that's what I remember from the top of my head in my own collection. But don't start to me about Mindcrime II, that abomination. (edit; yes, some could be seen as hard rock or just rock, but still)
One could point to Silver Side Up (Nickleback) as a concept album. Doesnt mean it is...doesnt mean it's any good. Although it was heard by everybody when it came out and had millions of fans before Nickleback became the punchline for hard rock all around.
this definitely helps. we are a heavy metal band from Malaysia and altho our scene is relatively small over here, doesnt mean we shouldnt try to push to do what we love eventho we're still tryin to balance between making playing music as a business vs doing it for sole passion alone.
I didn't expected another video on that topic from another point of view, although I should :O. For me making an album is also a way of learning audio engineering and producing skills, and building portfolio, it's also a hobby and fun thing to do, even though it can be tough sometimes. Another question: Would you like to make a video about recording live shows? Any tips, things to remember? I bought Tascam 16x08 last vacation, because of the pandemic I didn't played any shows, neither did my friends, but I'm looking foward doing my first multitrack live show recording. Also is it a good idea to mix individual tracks onto the mixing board stereo recording, in order to correct that mix (since it was probalby mixed for the venue that wasn't acoustically perfect) without needing to pay professional engineer to mix the multitracks properly?
I remember hearing about one band (can't remember who but I believe it was someone relatively well known) who arranged to be able to sell merch in the pub across the street. So on stage they announced that they weren't selling merch at the venue because they take a cut, and to head over the road to the pub to buy some after the show. Worked a treat apparently. Pub was probably happy to do it because it got people in the door.
There is still a place for full albums- concept albums, soundtracks, and live performances are still solid reasons to have an 'album'. Glenn brings up the most important issue at hand-- how music is consumed today. It's simply a different market today for better and for worse. Bands that are stuck in the paradigm of a cycle of album recording, then release, then tour are just beating a dead horse. It's good in many ways. Today it's better to release a trickle of singles and promote each one rather than the old days of 3 good songs and 9 fillers on any given album. Each song can be a banger, and those that miss the mark are replaced shortly by a new single release. it gives bands time to really work on a single song- and leaves time to promote it on social media or video platforms. That is less stressful than the cyclic nature of the old days. Today more than ever during the Mtv heyday-- having a video and social media promotion is as important as the song itself. People just don't look at music as 'albums' much these days. Especially when traditionally album just meant a bunch of songs you fast forward thru anyway to get to the song that got radio air play. The downside of course is every song has to be a banger- the days of filler songs are done with. Can't write one big single then fart out ten more tunes to fill a contract. Good is that bands can produce great music and videos on the cheap without huge productions and cost. Bad is that bands can't just be good at playing music anymore- someone has to be good at social media, someone needs to know how to edit videos, someone needs to run Patreon and do the merch work. There is way more DIY today than before. Like making videos that used to require professional companies that can now be shot on Go Pros- but it's just more stuff the band has to do other than play their music. Given that task load- it's probably easier to write fewer songs and release them slowly than trying to beat a deadline for xxx number of songs. Especially for small or new artists that just don't have a dozen full set list of songs to perform. You can write one good tune and get it into the music business today. Problem is everybody is doing it and it's even harder now to stand out. As Glenn often points out-- you might be good, but there are a ton of good bands out there. You need to be great to get anywhere.
Love that you brought up vinyl. Bandcamp is a place where I have been discovering a lot of indipendent artist and they sell vinyl much of the time. Wish I could say I was discovering music from records stores like I used to, but those days just aren't around. There still are a few fighting to survive and I try to support them when possible. Great video!
@@wesleybermingham9986 From someone from the era - Nope. I prefer hearing what the artist was actually trying to say; don't miss scratches, skips, 60hz hum, dust bunnies, I can go on and on (and on). Not to mention the vinyl back then was trash. I couldn't dump vinyl fast enough.
we had a theater ask us for a cut of the merch sales, we told them sure, as long as we got the same percentage of their food and alcohol sales and their merch in turn. I'm looking at you, Triple Door over in Seattle.
I'll accept giving a percentage of merch as long as they give me the exact same percentage of bar sales. Sounds like a great trade-off to me of course it depends on the venue but most of the time if they fall for it you come out the winner. I helped bring customers to sell your drinks and you allowed a venue for me to sell my merch. Music is an art but is also a business and even though they both are music don't ever confuse the 60 ft wall in between them. It's okay to go on vacation to the other side but if you want to be taken seriously build your home on one side!
I have played with the idea of making my own album for years. The aim was just to have some kind of creative legacy that could live beyond me. Now with Spotify and a very small margin of disposable income, I am doing it. Overall, it is for myself but I aim to share it for a sense of accomplishment and the possibility others may want to join the ride.
Same here, man. I have already recorded the instruments of my first album. And I just need to record the vocalist. And yeah. It's not about the money or creating a fanbase (I live in Colombia, where Rock/Metal is dead), but to say that you created those songs and you can leave that music after you're gone...I feel like I can't keep going without doing it.
Thank you for pointing both sides of the coin in these pair of videos. They has been quite eyes opener and give me new perspective to share with my band and try to follow a better plan. Let's see if we could achieve something, but no one could say, if we fail, that it was for not trying enough or have not information. Again, thanxs.
Ahh mann i love story albums, if theyre done a certain way. Like King Diamonds Abigail is what got me into concept albums. But i do find most to be kind of boring because nobody ever matches the music to the story.
Famous last words has some sick concept albums such as Two-faced charade, Council of the Dead, and The Incubus. All the music matches the story they are trying to tell and some songs can get pretty theatrical. It’s a good listen. Council of the dead has non linear story telling but once you make the connection between the songs it just hits a lot harder.
Thank you for mentioning the difference in mastering for vinyl. I did a video on that a while back and the main point was that the person cutting the lacquer disk is the mastering engineer. They really need unmastered mixes to make the disks sound right. As for the Digital Bolex, I've used cameras running upwards of $25K and the D-16 was my favorite. Great, natural looking images and actually USABLE built-in audio capabilities. I wish I could have owned one, or 4.
Whoa, hold on there, Glenn! Dark Fortress' "Venereal Dawn," Noctem's "Haeresis," and Avatar's "Feathers and Flesh" were not only brilliant concept albums made in the last 7 years, but were also very successful, as well. It can be done.
Thanks for doing a part two! I think it's important to weigh the pros and cons when making any business decision. At the end of the day I think the answer to whether or not you should record an album depends entirely on your goals and your particular situation. There are some scenarios where the big debut album makes sense, but there are also plenty of scenarios where it makes no sense unless you have a really thought-out promotional strategy.
Some folks were still promoting the book "This is the music business" long after it was viable. They finally updated the book in 2019 but anyone that used it as a playbook between 2010 - 2019 were playing checkers in a world that was now playing chess.
Spot on with everything Bro. Great presentation. After recording 2 LPs and 2 EPs I’m on a solo project and releasing 1 song at a time for over a year now. By default it seems right for me. Hobbies do cost money is a great way to justify a full length album.
Cool video, even though we don't work with music production directly, we tell our clients a lot of similar points re/ expectation and goal setting for projects - you're 100% correct about the music video angle and its refreshing that our theory that music is consumed more than ever via video rather than core physical and spotify listening is shared...even though we're massive vinyl fans! Rock on!
Thank you Glenn, for actually giving bands a strategy to go by!!! Now, since I live in the US, it’s time to play shows. Could you do a video of the best ways to promote your band, with the old methods AND the new ones (i.e Instagram, TikTok, etc.)? From my experience, shows are still what get the most people to pay attention to you.
#9 is exactly why I’m doing albums. I came close to getting addicted to booze and when my doctor said I had to stop or I would, I turned to creativity. I’ve never been happier and I’m good enough I wrote enough material for a 8-10 song record. I don’t think I’ll do physical copies. I plan to look into printing a few guitar tab books as a supplement though.
In university for audio engineering, I get to book the extremely nice studio to record whatever I want for free. 😎 Edit: people it literally says Scotland in my name. Free uni. and its a good one.
You know, after a year and a half in a band, we dropped an EP and two singles in preparation for an album, but the band soon fell apart shortly after. However!, the both of us in the band would listen back to we did, and we started to miss it, now we are preparing to finally record our album! It's gonna take quite a bit of time and money (especially since we are choosing to record to tape, with the rhythm guitar and drums being tracked live off the floor), instead of doing isolated parts to MIDI instruments and drum plugins. We're gonna overdub bass, vocals, lead guitars and piano afterwards. I would love to be able to track the whole album live, but in a band with only two members, it's hard, especially when you live in a town with musicians who don't really wanna play along. Before my band's album gets recorded, I'm gonna go and record two albums of material I have for solo stuff completely to tape, one more shoegazy and the other stripped back and just acoustic, with a bit of drums, piano and the occasional string section afterwards. The future is bright, but my wallet and I are definitely gonna divorce after this.
you say that an album is expensive when people nowadays record themself in their house, produce their own music and can post it on Spotify with low cost or even free distributors? I know, its not the best quality but they can do it and also start with 10 songs instead of just one, then release a video or single of the songs with better reviews from the album. I don't see any trouble with albums, it turns an amatur artist to profesional musicians.
Good point in both videos "it can be therapeutic" really hit home for me, however im making a concept metal album so you have the take what you said about the back :P One thing you didnt mention though is the power a great album can have and how many, which and order of the songs matter to the listening experience. I like to use Reign in Blood by Slayer as an example of this, it starts with the perfect song and it ends in a perfect way and it feels like they thought of all of that while making it, and it does matter.
The fact that your videos aren't just giving tips for musicians on music and production but actual life is pretty freaking dope I like how the main point of your videos is not just increasing the quality of the art of music and production but also having a better quality of life period
We have made one. Still interested in making album. Point being, why waste time and material if no one will care to listen. More interested in making singles and EP's before making a full length album.
I like how soundproofed Glenn's control room is in regards to the complete lack of reverb in the recorded monologue. I just switched from another channel with a guy talking in a soundproofed room too, boom mic above and all, but he sounded much more reverby
Real reasons : You accept that music is something you do because you like music , and enjoy playing . Either you realize that the odds of any one musician /group becoming the next Rolling Stones is far less than the average kid playing ball at elementary school recess will become an NBA millionaire . Or the genre that you and/ or your musical sidekicks play is de facto non- commercial . Knowing that , you Want to make an album's worth of music ( hopefully with a theme or concept ) for the challenge and inner satisfaction .
Hahahahaha!!! I knew you were gonna do something like this! Love it. Also I wouldn’t mind giving a venue a percentage of the sales if they PURCHASE THE PRODUCT FROM THE ARTIST FIRST and sell the product at a markup that works for them. If Venues are going to charge a merch sale percentage, then they better offer a POS system, excellent merch area with killer Sales Reps, and create an experience where people actually want to buy a Tshirt for $50.
A lot of great points throughout this series of videos. One more reason I would add to make an album is if you are producing the record in your home studio. Relevant to the whole SMG channel, a lot of us are self producing our music. While the cost of time is high, money is less of an issue in this scenario. It’s also extremely important to release the album with a plan. My band released an album in March, had a ton of complimentary content alongside its release and we ended up selling out our first vinyl pressing just in preorders! There are right ways to do it, and completely stupid ways as well.
Wow, I really needed to hear this. I’ve been stuck in a creative rut for a long time and I just recently started picking up the guitar again. Thank you Glen.
Glenn, you are one hoopy frood! Young musicians should be made to watch both your "13 Reasons Not to Make an Album" and "11 Reasons to Make an Album" back to back.
Enjoyed your take on this subject. Talked with my Dad about the whole singles/vs albums in the current social paradigm these days and came to most of the same conclusions you mentioned when it comes to the singles strategy. So we stuck to the idea of EPs rather than albums as our "longform" content. The part that really stuck with me was when you mentioned knowing why you're recording the music in the first place. Took me a while, like with most young musicians I'm sure, to realize the chances of me being hit by lightning twice in the same location was greater than making a living as a musician in the streaming age and come to terms with that. Now I record music, my own enjoyment notwithstanding, to leave something behind for my kids so that they'll hopefully know when I'm gone that there was more to their Dad than just being an exhausted working class laborer and that I had some kind of depth beyond that of a worker drone. If I can achieve that, then I consider it a success. \m/
Thanks, Glenn. Love everything you bring to your channel. speaking strictly for myself, I'm a lifelong music geek who has no aspirations beyond leaving behind some (hopefully!!) interesting recordings. It's exactly ^me^ that needs to hear these important, realistic, and authentic messages. Cheers, good sir!
Was watching your video as a refresher, earlier this year I saw John Steel of the Animals and he was selling CDs and drumsticks and I all of a sudden realized it was exactly how you said. Great strategy. Kudos man!
I had a friend of mine print one of my lofi albums on a cassette and it sounded PERFECT. Might not be ideal for metal, but it does have its applications.
Thanks Glenn. Love you videos and advice. I have three full length albums released on iTunes and other digital download stores. With no explanation of becoming rich and famous. I just started recording a few years back, and had a shit load of backlog songs I wanted heard. Many written back in the 1980’s !! I can’t sing or play for shit, but I’m 62 years old now and just wanted something out there before I croak ! And believe it or not, I’ve had a few songs sell !! Go figure. Now I can buy a taco and celebrate!!! I’ve got a band now to promote the albums. But really. I’m out there just to play and live the dream for those 35 minutes in stage. Thank you again. Can’t wait for the next video. And with this band. I won’t be making full length albums with. One single at a time. Because let’s face it, my son is the bassist, enough said. Aloha from Oahu
Great video. Awesome message! Since the pandemic I've been doing projects with my old bandmate and doing my own solo project too for the sake of creating and its like you said therapeutic as well. I've distributed my own music through distrokid and in the process made alot of friends from around the world that I never would have had a chance to ever meet. So yeh. Like you said do what you love, love what you do, if you do it for those reasons you can't go wrong!
I just made an album mostly because of reason 9, it's basically a therapeutic project being a very personal album compiled of songs that match experiences of my past , it's not rock or metal it's a jazz album and it really helped me starting it and going through with it AND i also work in an automotive factory doing the same thing day after after day and if i spend my time earning my money why not at least invest a bit of it in me and my passion, if people won't listen to it/buy who freaking cares ? I'll have nothing to lose because i didn't do it to make money off of it , that's why I have a day job for
So true what you said about people nowadays only listening to music on their headphones through their phone, and not even head phones, ear buds. Ive always had an appreciation for full size stereo systems. Even at a young age I begged my mom to get me a Panasonic shelf stereo that I could have in my room. Theres nothing like sitting back and listening to your favorite music through actual left and right speakers, and in my case a big 12" sub to fill out that rumbling low end.
I typically only release singles, for many reasons: 1. Lack of cash to make an entire album at once. 2. Ability to get music out asap, rather than waiting to finish a full album before anybody can hear anything. 3. Ability to dedicate time/resources to promoting each song you release. If I release one song, I can concentrate on pushing that song. If you release an entire album at once, most of the songs will get lost in the shuffle and not get the promotion that the single does. And that gives more overall promotion to your music as a whole, as well. One problem I've come across is that I push my music to college radio, and promoters always tell me that college radio stations won't take singles. Because of this, I've had to assemble singles into an EP just to get them to play it. I'm going to try just sending them singles in the future, though, to see what happens. I've released one "album", and it was a 4 song acoustic EP. Other than that, it's been all singles for the full band stuff.
I agree, it's similar to the YT release "schedule." Cranking out one track per month is practically guaranteed to net more total views than a whole album once per year due to the way the algorithms seem to work on streaming platforms.
thanks for sharing that story about how you did it with the menotonous day job that many of us also have. way to utilize the time to support the passion. I find ways to incorporate my music goals into my work as well
Awesome video. Loved #1 I have no delusions of grandeur and a shit tonne of expensive gear...I made 2x albums coz I can and thought it was cool to have albums on Spotify. Not everything is about how much money you can make. For some of us who have jobs it's just about having a hobby and playing artist, record producer, engineer, publisher, record label, graphic designer, video editor and video star....these days we can all do it, so if you enjoy it, go for it!
First off……GREAT vids man! Lots of really down to earth info coming from REALITY! Second off….. I’ve, over the years, progressively put together a fairly decent home studio, which I feel EXTREMELY BLESSED to even SAY let alone get to use! Anywayz, I’ve successfully produced four full length C/D’s, which of course, I NEVER had any aspirations of making billions on! I just send em out around the country/world to friends and family on my dime. I’m the sole musician, engineer and pretty much everything else in this studio, so the total cost out of pocket for me is around $2.50 per cd…..including duplication AND mailing! I just am attempting to build a small legacy, and somewhat satisfy my musical passion…..which seems a bit unbounding! So, in that thought pattern, I guess it’s something that simply keeps me smiling!!! Oh, and my channel has everything I’ve done posted……so, for a good laugh……! Peace out bretheren!!!!
If it’s a double LP where it’s about *conquering* an assembly line … that’s something 😁 I think CDs may be the next format to get a resurgence because it’s even easier to manufacture than cassettes and just as cheap. Also, I think enough people learned their lesson about how CDs were done in the 1990s/2000s where you end up paying $20 for something that was most likely bloated. I will say certain genres and styles lend themselves well to 60-70 minutes of music but not all =] And I’ll say this again, only do an album if you have a vision for it. For myself, I grew up enjoying albums and listened to plenty of them to know how they work (and how they don’t). So when I started to make my own music, this included being able to make my own albums as I knew what I wanted to do and how to make it work for whatever length of time was needed. But like you said earlier, it’s also a goal you can set for yourself and it *definitely* helps to get through the day-job doldrums if you have to do that.
What a lot of people feel for vinyl, I feel it for cassette tapes. It has never been a thing of audio quality for me, but I just love the experience of messing around with them. I think the one thing that made cassettes more interesting to me was that there was nobody bullshitting about how great they sound (unlike vinyl snobs) so I had no expectations of audio quality, and the fact I could (back then, around 2011, 2012) grab a big box of new old stock blanks and record my own tapes with an old deck I restored. I discovered that yeah, Type IV cassettes with DBX noise reduction sound phenomenal, though!
I don't have a band yet, but I personally love recording albums at home for several reasons: #1 I become more familiar with my own music #2 I love the process of composition, arrangement, and production #3 I get to practice making an artistic statement #4 albums are a still a great way to organize musical ideas or phases of your songwriting, like paragraphs in an essay #5 I love discovering a new band and getting to know their discography, and part of me hopes that someday fans will have a similar experience discovering my albums
Good video, seriously. That last point reminded me of something (disclaimer: I get the irony and you're absolutely right): If you really make a story or concept album, think about not splitting shit up into individual tracks. Like Edge of Sanity's Crimson or Insomnium's Winters Gate. It's correct, even I find myself constantly jumping between albums or even using the random mode when I'm listening to music. But the thing I just described is one idea to kinda force the listener to treat the album like an LP. Well I guess it won't work either for most kids out there but it sure keeps me hooked on an album effectively and I think it's a pretty damn cool thing we don't see everyday. Like I said this just came to my mind so don't bother. Keep it up as always!
Good stuff Glenn. Myband put out a couple of singles first. Then we put out a full length album. 7 songs, 40 minutes. We are going to release a 3 song EP next and then an 8 song album after that.
Bands: we're broke, we can't afford what we want to do, we can't record live drums because money, wah wah.
Glenn: here's some financial advice.
Bands: its not about the money! Wah wah!
wouldn't it be hilarious if i created the perfect scenario for my lame joke!? because i totally believe that not being financially able to accomplish some of your goals is somehow the same as spending very little to record an album? somehow? don't ask how. oh! and for some reason i think spending thousands on a good drum set is the same as spending $60 on a DAW and $30 to put it on streaming services lmfao.
oh.. o-oh wait i'm turning into glenn ahhh!! *transforms* Ah hi hello everybody, I'm glenn and i think that "recording my first album" means paying a big time producer to do it, and having every piece of equipment to perform live, and literally putting out physical CDs on store fronts!! i totally don't realize I can't record an album for next to nothing and pay a few bucks to get it on every streaming service ever!! even tho i'm literally sponsored by a company that does that 😳😳😳
ruclips.net/video/iidRNOyJvsc/видео.html
It's not the lack of equipment, it's the lack of talent in their case.
ruclips.net/video/EQoCMYvx1S0/видео.html
Musician's can be such a contradiction sometimes. If you want to make a living from music then you have to take the financials, branding and business side of things seriously.
Kirk Hammet is that you?
My old band ended up at 2 venues that wanted a cut of the merch profit. Easy fix, we announced on stage our merch was free and at the table mentioned we accepted "donations" outside at the van. And said why
Pro-gamer move
Modern problems require modern solutions
Genius
Fucking savage
Band saying they will pay venue a % of merch to get the gig then not doing so is fraud.
There is a secret trick out there, that cuts down production costs and enables new bands to record their album in a nice studio: rehearse the shit out of your music and record it live. Not only does it sound better, it also saves a ton of time and money. As a bonus: you become a better musician.
I remember a tip I heard on an Adam Neely video where you can have everyone open a sound recorder on their phone and put it in a different part of the room to mix together later as a super cheap live recording method
At that point it's easier to just invest in a cheap sound card, a free DAW and a few mics, actually compared to live recording you can probably get away with an overhead for the drums.
Music has changed since live recording was the thing, technology has changed. There is no way on earth you'll get anywhere near the same quality from a live recording then a simple recording setup at home, live recording is great for low-fi or genres where it's not the quality of the sound that matters.
Unless of course you can get a DI recording from the mixing table at the venue you're playing live at, but that is easier said than done.
Live albums pretty much suck with the odd exception. Like deep purples made in Japan which kicks arse .
@@omega1231 What I mean by "live": recording in the studio not track by track but with the whole band together.
@@AcidSepp yeah like a rehearsal, but everything is recorded professionally. or you just record at home what I will do with my band.
Punk, Thrash, Death, Black Metal capitalize on nostalgia that's why cassettes still get sold out. If you are in a Djent or Metalcore band, you have a totally different market where releasing videos and singles periodically is a smarter move. It's basically a parallel thing with the tube amp vs digital gear market.
Exept the tube amp does not sound worse than the software based amp.
@@doctorjoyboylove Sound quality is another topic far from my point. I was only talking about the marketing aspect.
@@doctorjoyboylove Lol tell that to the touring successful musicians who use Kempers and AxeFX in the studio and live and no one cares. Literally Glenn said that in the first minute of this video.
@@666ACDCROCKNROLL666 That's because they are convenient, not because they sound better.
@@doctorjoyboylove If something sounds better but takes you a year to dial in and set up, really at what point is it worth it? Efficiency is part of the working music business and sorry to say, if you don't think so you're probably not a working musician or producer. I promise you not 1 person gives a fuck about how you got the sound, especially if you delayed a gig by 2 hours to dial in your ideal sound with the mic and cab and tube amp you so preciously had to have. At a point it's not worth it and doesn't matter.
"And apparently they want to party like it's 1985" was hilarious
i can understand, because i'm one of those guys. 😂
Since i was around in 1985 i couldnt be bothered with cassettes even if they threw them after me, i was so happy when we got the CD.
@@Stefan- I was too, then the CD died like 13 years later. Amazingly short lifespan.
@@Sweetmanthanks I wouldnt say CD is dead, but its not that popular anymore because of streaming. What we are listening to today on streaming and downloads originates as recordings based on the CD technology and its standards, so while the physical CD is not very popular anymore the album recordings are made to the same standards, so CD kind of lives on in streaming and downloads it is just converting from a physical format pretty much.
@@Stefan- agreed, I still buy CD's, occasionally, to build my collection and to support the bands/artists that I like.
There's almost nothing better or intimate (musically speaking) than putting one on and listening to the full album something that's rare these days with the "playlist" format.
I also rip the CD's and copy onto a usb stick so I can play my tunes in my car stereo which helps with making the CDs last a whole lot longer.
With today's technologies, producing an entire album at shockingly low cost is possible. I've done, what, 7 albums now for the last 9 years or so and I really didn't need to spend much at all. With no shade towards studios like Glenn's, I feel bedroom producing really made full scale projects more viable.
It does still, however, take a lot of time and effort. You might not have to spend thousands of dollars, but you still need to offer a lot of blood and sweat, especially if you want to go through the route of self-production.
Recording is becoming cheaper and easier, but song writing still stumps everyone.
checked out your stuff. not my usual style but i dig it. are you on spotify?
Distro is definitely cheaper and easier. I agree with others too, though... Nothing beats good song writing.
@@bobleglob162 Yo, glad you liked it! Yes, I'm on Spotify!
Yeah, songwriting is definitely the easiest thing to miss the mark, but I'd argue the *real* entry barrier would be production, unless you hire somebody to do that (but then again, adds up to the cost). It took me almost a decade to learn what I know and I still cry on reference mixes. LOL
As a one man band I invested a lot of money on recording and audio production. Releasing only 4 song EP s and presenting every song with a video on internet was the way to go for me. I had no intention or illusion to recover the money, all I do is just out of pure passion. My intention was to go now for a full album, but still, some of your arguments from video 1 - that I was already thought of in the past - are indeed too strong to ignore. I liked the video, I would love to show it to all that "bashed" me for not releasing a full LP. :)
Just checked your music right now, it kicks ass!!! you´ve earned a suscriber my dude
I just watched some of your videos. Did you do them yourself and if so what program did you use to make them? I'm in the same boat one man band. But no vocals just instrumental stuff.
I just checked out your music. I am definitely a fan. Your music is badass.
Spot on.
very professional TUNES
I've recorded an album all by myself. Nobody listens to it but I'm proud of what I've done.
The good thing is that I recorded it in my home studio so I didn't have to shell out money.
I've recorded a bunch nobody listens to.
Ay that’s all that matters !
Same here. It's fine I got so little playbacks of my music. I already have the main listener for my music. It's me. It's not selfish, I just do music that I'd absolutely would love to listen to if it was done by someone else. Also, I just like the process.
@@ZethKeeper Dude I have the exact same opinion as you. I don't listen to my own music thinking it's me, but I write music that I would like to hear. My friends (jokingly, hopefully) call me a narcissist because of that, but I've told them the other fact. Also I released a single last Friday and it has 5 views (none of mine) lol. I listen to my own songs in Bandcamp where you don't get views from listening to your own music, because I want to see the actual number of listeners, even if it's 3 or 3000.
@@_nurmi06 I listen to my stuff directly from hard drive.
Your point on signing merch: fun story about that! I recently joined a band after their previous guitarist quit and after a brief period of getting myself up to snuff on enough of their back catalogue to play live, we started gigging. We played a local festival of all Canadian metal bands from the Maritimes, and even though I hadn't recorded a damn note on the albums, the fans were still asking for me to sign the album/t-shirts because they enjoyed my performance! I used this time to network and help rebuild the band's reputation a bit.
We're currently working on recording our first album since the pandemic started, doing it all DIY at home and this is also my first experience tracking a 10-12 song album. I'm super stoked to finally have something with my name on it to share.
Name of your band? Would love to check it out! Been looking for Canadian based bands recently to listen to 🇨🇦🤘
Yeah, I've gotten the "I wasn't even on this record that you want me to sign!" bit before. I'm like, dude, I just want your signature on something/my favorite album of the band you now play for, #1. Be grateful that you have someone that wants your signature on something. And #2. I'm not going to bring multiple releases based on who's on what album, and have them all signed separately lol
My story about signing: Well-attended show at a college, and for first time ever lots of requests to autograph flyers for the show. I was feeling pretty good, until I found out a teacher was giving extra credit for students who could prove they were at a live event by getting an artist's signature!
@@kodypelletier7852 Thanks man! Always down to have more folks check out our stuff. I play in Doom Machine from NS. All previous material has their old guitarist on it, but we've got the new album with my playing/vocals coming out early 2022 so keep your ears peeled! \m/
@@JanderVK Oh for sure! I was just caught off guard that someone wanted my signature at all haha. It's a trip being seen as a "celebrity" (I use that term incredibly loosely), especially where I had only been in the band like... maybe 6 months by that point. Honestly, even though we're a small band from buttfuck nowhere, it's cool to have people support you as "the new guy"
Making music, planning and recording albums, creating a cohesive body of songs and having a project and finished article at the end, kept me going through my call center years. I remember that feeling of hopelessness and the crushing weight of thinking, "is this it? is this my life forever now?". During those times making music, especially metal, was a life line of creativity and catharsis that stopped me taking a final exit. Now I have a job and career I like, music is still there and I can chose if I am making something for catharsis or for fun. I put the project management and work skills I learned in the call centers into making music in an efficient way that kept me moving forward. I took those skills into my current career and they have been a huge help.
I still record albums, and have multiple albums in several projects planned or in progress. I put them online rather than making physical copies. Once the album is on bandcamp or spotify and public, it has finality and I can move on. It also makes them convenient for me to listen to later. I have no interest in making a career from music. Being able to take what I hear in my head, make it into a solid recording, and then listen to it when I like is more than enough for me.
As a call center employee, I totally understand your feelings.
My band fits almost all points: We all have day jobs, we're doing it for the art not the money, we have no expectations, we sell decent amounts of merch on gigs and bandcamp.
Also, I'm not gonna say the psychological side it's not relevant
I took note, Glenn. It's good to do the whole process: release a single, generate some interest, and then release an album. 8 songs that each one is worth. And play a lot live, to sell the album. Obviously you don't have to suck. The cd is today's souvenir along with the t-shirts. Cheers!
CD are the thing you buy from your friend band because you are too polite to tell them it's just a piece of plastic that take place and collect dust, and there is 100 more convenient ways to listen to their music if you wanted to
@@lolaa2200 I didn t even took money from friends for the CD S :D
@@lolaa2200 not I says the cat, I buy and stream
@@lolaa2200
It's no use selling records to your friends. You have to generate your fanbase, well, everything that is in the video.
I just want to explain this bands personal experience. So with our first release where we really tried (good a great producer, it sounds great, and the songs were just more focused) we only did a 3 track single. And released 2/3 tracks individually and released them as a group. Now even on a 3 TRACK SINGLE, we had this one song called Endless Cycle gain a bunch of traction. Has 12k Spotify streams (not completely massive I know) and gotten us some legit fans from discovering this one song. The other songs? Still not even cracking 500 streams yet haha. I get why an album can be a fun endeavor and why people would do it for fun, but when we started viewing this from a business standpoint, stuff actually started to happen. Also idk how much this effects it but endless cycle is the only song with a lyric video we’ve done so we’re getting them done for all the songs on the upcoming release lol.
Everything the band released within the last 10 months was written all at once, all 9 songs. But the one ended up as a rough demo, we refined the rest of the songs to get them tighter, then had a super good release that was refined all from this writing session and got some traction. But the thing is the song that blew up, every time I ask someone their favorite song even for those who heard all of our songs, that’s usually the answer so the refining paid off. If you want to truly see growth from this, the first video truly is the way. Ola Englund was right, Finn Mckenty was right, and Glenn is right. But I see nothing wrong with this video either for self proclaimed hobbyists.
Just checked out your channel and song, yeah, that riff is tight, 👍.
I've written a very similar pedal tone motif in e minor, it's in it's early stages atm but love that sound and feel.
🤘😁👍❤🇦🇺
@@matildastanford7019 Haha thank you so much! That riff was a very spur of the moment thing but we were all kinda like WOAH that was kinda cool. And playing the polyrhythm live took some time haha. But thank you again!
They demand a cut of merch sales? Demand a cut of drink sales! Equivalent exchange?
When I was doing merch for a touring band, that was my response the couple of times venues attempted to take cut of the merch sales. That shuts them down pretty fast!
I’m from the automotive industry too Glenn
Totally understand that feeling of “music saving my sanity” thing
The cassette is played much like a vinyl record, for the nostalgic feel of backthen. In my brother's car, I got goosebumps hearing our product in his Blaupunkt tape deck. Just took us back. The shit quality was part of the trip lol
Cassettes really aren’t that bad quality it’s just that they degrade faster and the tape heads in most decks are cheap and shitty
MacGuber has one
I personally love writing albums! I often write my music with a cohesive concept. I decided a long time ago that I probably wasn’t to get my money back, so I often would find ways to cut the cost down so I could continue to create more without going broke.
What is "Cut the cost Down"?....That is a foreign concept to me.
@@MyBichSustainedlower the expenses
I love the philosophy “Don’t look at what I can buy, look at what I can do.” I don’t have a lot of money; I’m doing well if my check doesn’t evaporate entirely by the end of the week. But I am learning to get the most out of my old, cheap gear and mix to professional standards (still working on it but getting there). It’s really to be able to say we can make music we love at great quality out of our homes for a FRACTION of the expense it would take otherwise. I know not ever band has an interest in production (or has the patience to learn it) but it’s a blessing for those of us that are up for learning!
After seeing your other video, my band went from originally doing a 15 song album to now working on 3 EP’s of 5 songs each with each song being promoted as a single for more traction and content. Thanks for the words of wisdom Glenn, much appreciated! 🤘
Do music videos also
@@rahulmenon4357 Oh for sure! We’re budgeting to make sure each video has quality and is unique! But the visuals come after the music of course!
@@domnatali199 Make the videos as cheaply and quickly as possible, if the songs are good, the video doesn't matter much for metal bands. 80% of music videos that gain traction look like Ibanez ads. Having the video is more important than a good video. And really consider doing it on an iphone/gopro, save $$$$$$$.
Cassette’s have made a massive comeback haha. Also far cheaper than vinyl to get made.
Also Glenn mentions long records, and I laugh as Maiden is notorious for this hahaha. Senjutsu is terrible
You can still release an album's worth of music in a year, but if you do it as a single every month/6 weeks/2 months it will keep you in the minds of your audience and your scene, you can go to local music mags and get each song reviewed by them keeping you in the press pages. It keeps your hype train rolling and you have something to plough into your social media. It's something I'd love to do myself but as a one man show doing everything by myself I'm at a serious risk of burning out, split between a band of 4 or 5 people it gives everyone a chance to take a break from the monotony of the social media grind, and maybe work on new songs for the next year. The music industry has changed and us musicians need to change with it
That's so me. At the moment I've got a batch of what I think are pretty good songs; two are worthy of being singles. But I'm alone in my room tracking guitar, then miking up my drum kit and tracking that. I wish I could solely focus on writing/singing/guitar. I really enjoy mixing though. I'm moving into a bigger apartment next month, and I plan on making the second bedroom a studio and jam space, and I've got some friends wanting to jam. Hopefully it goes somewhere!
I was sitting here, watching your delightful video and doing my morning warm up on my Gibson guitar.. Thanks Glenn, you didn't have to remind me
In before every other pinhead cites Operation Mindcrime as an example of a successful metal concept album. 😜🎸🤘🏻
King Diamond not getting any love?
Ok, good point.
That, and
Stone Sour: House of Gold & Bones (I & II)
Marillion: Misplaced Childhood
Rush: Clockwork Angels
Alice Cooper: From the Inside
Alter Bridge: AB III
Dream Theater: Metropolis prt II
And that's what I remember from the top of my head in my own collection.
But don't start to me about Mindcrime II, that abomination.
(edit; yes, some could be seen as hard rock or just rock, but still)
Iron Maiden Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
One could point to Silver Side Up (Nickleback) as a concept album. Doesnt mean it is...doesnt mean it's any good. Although it was heard by everybody when it came out and had millions of fans before Nickleback became the punchline for hard rock all around.
this definitely helps. we are a heavy metal band from Malaysia and altho our scene is relatively small over here, doesnt mean we shouldnt try to push to do what we love eventho we're still tryin to balance between making playing music as a business vs doing it for sole passion alone.
I didn't expected another video on that topic from another point of view, although I should :O. For me making an album is also a way of learning audio engineering and producing skills, and building portfolio, it's also a hobby and fun thing to do, even though it can be tough sometimes.
Another question: Would you like to make a video about recording live shows? Any tips, things to remember? I bought Tascam 16x08 last vacation, because of the pandemic I didn't played any shows, neither did my friends, but I'm looking foward doing my first multitrack live show recording. Also is it a good idea to mix individual tracks onto the mixing board stereo recording, in order to correct that mix (since it was probalby mixed for the venue that wasn't acoustically perfect) without needing to pay professional engineer to mix the multitracks properly?
I remember hearing about one band (can't remember who but I believe it was someone relatively well known) who arranged to be able to sell merch in the pub across the street. So on stage they announced that they weren't selling merch at the venue because they take a cut, and to head over the road to the pub to buy some after the show. Worked a treat apparently. Pub was probably happy to do it because it got people in the door.
There is still a place for full albums- concept albums, soundtracks, and live performances are still solid reasons to have an 'album'.
Glenn brings up the most important issue at hand-- how music is consumed today. It's simply a different market today for better and for worse. Bands that are stuck in the paradigm of a cycle of album recording, then release, then tour are just beating a dead horse.
It's good in many ways. Today it's better to release a trickle of singles and promote each one rather than the old days of 3 good songs and 9 fillers on any given album. Each song can be a banger, and those that miss the mark are replaced shortly by a new single release. it gives bands time to really work on a single song- and leaves time to promote it on social media or video platforms. That is less stressful than the cyclic nature of the old days. Today more than ever during the Mtv heyday-- having a video and social media promotion is as important as the song itself.
People just don't look at music as 'albums' much these days. Especially when traditionally album just meant a bunch of songs you fast forward thru anyway to get to the song that got radio air play.
The downside of course is every song has to be a banger- the days of filler songs are done with. Can't write one big single then fart out ten more tunes to fill a contract.
Good is that bands can produce great music and videos on the cheap without huge productions and cost. Bad is that bands can't just be good at playing music anymore- someone has to be good at social media, someone needs to know how to edit videos, someone needs to run Patreon and do the merch work. There is way more DIY today than before. Like making videos that used to require professional companies that can now be shot on Go Pros- but it's just more stuff the band has to do other than play their music.
Given that task load- it's probably easier to write fewer songs and release them slowly than trying to beat a deadline for xxx number of songs. Especially for small or new artists that just don't have a dozen full set list of songs to perform. You can write one good tune and get it into the music business today. Problem is everybody is doing it and it's even harder now to stand out. As Glenn often points out-- you might be good, but there are a ton of good bands out there. You need to be great to get anywhere.
Love that you brought up vinyl. Bandcamp is a place where I have been discovering a lot of indipendent artist and they sell vinyl much of the time. Wish I could say I was discovering music from records stores like I used to, but those days just aren't around. There still are a few fighting to survive and I try to support them when possible. Great video!
Vinyl, hell no.... I can still hear every scratch and jump from AC/DC's 'For those about to rock' to this day! Was so glad when CD's came out!
You probably had a shitty player. Records can sound amazing, if you have the right player.
@@wesleybermingham9986
I was 14 years old and had played the thing to death.
@@wesleybermingham9986 From someone from the era - Nope. I prefer hearing what the artist was actually trying to say; don't miss scratches, skips, 60hz hum, dust bunnies, I can go on and on (and on). Not to mention the vinyl back then was trash.
I couldn't dump vinyl fast enough.
we had a theater ask us for a cut of the merch sales, we told them sure, as long as we got the same percentage of their food and alcohol sales and their merch in turn. I'm looking at you, Triple Door over in Seattle.
I'll accept giving a percentage of merch as long as they give me the exact same percentage of bar sales. Sounds like a great trade-off to me of course it depends on the venue but most of the time if they fall for it you come out the winner.
I helped bring customers to sell your drinks and you allowed a venue for me to sell my merch. Music is an art but is also a business and even though they both are music don't ever confuse the 60 ft wall in between them. It's okay to go on vacation to the other side but if you want to be taken seriously build your home on one side!
“If music is your hobby And you have no delusions of grandeur” YES THANK YOU 🙏 THIS 100%
I have played with the idea of making my own album for years. The aim was just to have some kind of creative legacy that could live beyond me. Now with Spotify and a very small margin of disposable income, I am doing it. Overall, it is for myself but I aim to share it for a sense of accomplishment and the possibility others may want to join the ride.
Same here, man. I have already recorded the instruments of my first album. And I just need to record the vocalist.
And yeah. It's not about the money or creating a fanbase (I live in Colombia, where Rock/Metal is dead), but to say that you created those songs and you can leave that music after you're gone...I feel like I can't keep going without doing it.
Thank you for pointing both sides of the coin in these pair of videos. They has been quite eyes opener and give me new perspective to share with my band and try to follow a better plan. Let's see if we could achieve something, but no one could say, if we fail, that it was for not trying enough or have not information. Again, thanxs.
Ahh mann i love story albums, if theyre done a certain way. Like King Diamonds Abigail is what got me into concept albums. But i do find most to be kind of boring because nobody ever matches the music to the story.
Finding really good story albums is pretty difficult. I’d suggest checking out a band called Tallah. Their album Matriphagy is phenomenal
King Diamond is a god of concept albums! His records are great
Obsolete from Fear Factory is one of my favorites!
For every Operation mindcrime, you get dozens of Savatage's Streets.
Famous last words has some sick concept albums such as Two-faced charade, Council of the Dead, and The Incubus. All the music matches the story they are trying to tell and some songs can get pretty theatrical. It’s a good listen. Council of the dead has non linear story telling but once you make the connection between the songs it just hits a lot harder.
Thank you for mentioning the difference in mastering for vinyl. I did a video on that a while back and the main point was that the person cutting the lacquer disk is the mastering engineer. They really need unmastered mixes to make the disks sound right. As for the Digital Bolex, I've used cameras running upwards of $25K and the D-16 was my favorite. Great, natural looking images and actually USABLE built-in audio capabilities. I wish I could have owned one, or 4.
Whoa, hold on there, Glenn! Dark Fortress' "Venereal Dawn," Noctem's "Haeresis," and Avatar's "Feathers and Flesh" were not only brilliant concept albums made in the last 7 years, but were also very successful, as well. It can be done.
dark fortress is sick af
Who?
@@SpectreSoundStudios Hahaha! Go look 'em up and check them out. 😉
Dark Fortress 🤘
Thanks for doing a part two! I think it's important to weigh the pros and cons when making any business decision. At the end of the day I think the answer to whether or not you should record an album depends entirely on your goals and your particular situation.
There are some scenarios where the big debut album makes sense, but there are also plenty of scenarios where it makes no sense unless you have a really thought-out promotional strategy.
Some folks were still promoting the book "This is the music business" long after it was viable. They finally updated the book in 2019 but anyone that used it as a playbook between 2010 - 2019 were playing checkers in a world that was now playing chess.
Spot on with everything Bro. Great presentation. After recording 2 LPs and 2 EPs I’m on a solo project and releasing 1 song at a time for over a year now. By default it seems right for me.
Hobbies do cost money is a great way to justify a full length album.
Cool video, even though we don't work with music production directly, we tell our clients a lot of similar points re/ expectation and goal setting for projects - you're 100% correct about the music video angle and its refreshing that our theory that music is consumed more than ever via video rather than core physical and spotify listening is shared...even though we're massive vinyl fans! Rock on!
Thank you Glenn, for actually giving bands a strategy to go by!!! Now, since I live in the US, it’s time to play shows. Could you do a video of the best ways to promote your band, with the old methods AND the new ones (i.e Instagram, TikTok, etc.)? From my experience, shows are still what get the most people to pay attention to you.
#9 is exactly why I’m doing albums. I came close to getting addicted to booze and when my doctor said I had to stop or I would, I turned to creativity. I’ve never been happier and I’m good enough I wrote enough material for a 8-10 song record.
I don’t think I’ll do physical copies. I plan to look into printing a few guitar tab books as a supplement though.
I love albums. My favorite part is curating from my archive. Best album style = rock opera.. the album tells the tale, the song is just a chapter.
In university for audio engineering, I get to book the extremely nice studio to record whatever I want for free. 😎
Edit: people it literally says Scotland in my name. Free uni. and its a good one.
no the fuck you dont, you paid at least $30,000 to be able to use that studio for a year
except for 3 years of tuition fees...
Well , no additional marginal cost to use the studio .
@@filianablanxart8305 LMAO
@@bobzmuda3940 No, Im in Scotland. Uni is free.
You know, after a year and a half in a band, we dropped an EP and two singles in preparation for an album, but the band soon fell apart shortly after. However!, the both of us in the band would listen back to we did, and we started to miss it, now we are preparing to finally record our album! It's gonna take quite a bit of time and money (especially since we are choosing to record to tape, with the rhythm guitar and drums being tracked live off the floor), instead of doing isolated parts to MIDI instruments and drum plugins. We're gonna overdub bass, vocals, lead guitars and piano afterwards. I would love to be able to track the whole album live, but in a band with only two members, it's hard, especially when you live in a town with musicians who don't really wanna play along. Before my band's album gets recorded, I'm gonna go and record two albums of material I have for solo stuff completely to tape, one more shoegazy and the other stripped back and just acoustic, with a bit of drums, piano and the occasional string section afterwards. The future is bright, but my wallet and I are definitely gonna divorce after this.
you say that an album is expensive when people nowadays record themself in their house, produce their own music and can post it on Spotify with low cost or even free distributors?
I know, its not the best quality but they can do it and also start with 10 songs instead of just one, then release a video or single of the songs with better reviews from the album. I don't see any trouble with albums, it turns an amatur artist to profesional musicians.
Good point in both videos "it can be therapeutic" really hit home for me, however im making a concept metal album so you have the take what you said about the back :P One thing you didnt mention though is the power a great album can have and how many, which and order of the songs matter to the listening experience. I like to use Reign in Blood by Slayer as an example of this, it starts with the perfect song and it ends in a perfect way and it feels like they thought of all of that while making it, and it does matter.
Here come the crybaby’s saying you’re a hypocrite ..
The fact that your videos aren't just giving tips for musicians on music and production but actual life is pretty freaking dope I like how the main point of your videos is not just increasing the quality of the art of music and production but also having a better quality of life period
Because of the other video. Our band have decided to make singles before making a full length album. Thx Glenn. Please check out Vald Heks
Just make EPs lol.
We have made one. Still interested in making album. Point being, why waste time and material if no one will care to listen. More interested in making singles and EP's before making a full length album.
@UCNd5LKTj7UTwAnQJWLFgzdg or just make whatever the fuck u want to lmao, you just make EPs
I like how soundproofed Glenn's control room is in regards to the complete lack of reverb in the recorded monologue. I just switched from another channel with a guy talking in a soundproofed room too, boom mic above and all, but he sounded much more reverby
Real reasons :
You accept that music is something you do because you like music , and enjoy playing .
Either you realize that the odds of any one musician /group becoming the next Rolling Stones is far less than the average kid playing ball at elementary school recess will become an NBA millionaire . Or the genre that you and/ or your musical sidekicks play is de facto non- commercial .
Knowing that , you Want to make an album's worth of music ( hopefully with a theme or concept ) for the challenge and inner satisfaction .
Glenn thanks for providing all the valuable information. I try to support bands I like any way I can.
Lessons learned from this lecture: "It's easier to record an album than to find an adequate bassist for the band"
Hahahahaha!!! I knew you were gonna do something like this! Love it. Also I wouldn’t mind giving a venue a percentage of the sales if they PURCHASE THE PRODUCT FROM THE ARTIST FIRST and sell the product at a markup that works for them. If Venues are going to charge a merch sale percentage, then they better offer a POS system, excellent merch area with killer Sales Reps, and create an experience where people actually want to buy a Tshirt for $50.
"it's like drum editing... Just because you can doesn't mean you should". I LOVE that quote and 100% agree.
Thanks for rounding it out, that last one really bummed me out but it was a necessary reality check and I thank you for your candor.
Drooling over that Sunn Beta Lead in behind you. Solid state amps are so cool.
A lot of great points throughout this series of videos. One more reason I would add to make an album is if you are producing the record in your home studio. Relevant to the whole SMG channel, a lot of us are self producing our music. While the cost of time is high, money is less of an issue in this scenario. It’s also extremely important to release the album with a plan. My band released an album in March, had a ton of complimentary content alongside its release and we ended up selling out our first vinyl pressing just in preorders! There are right ways to do it, and completely stupid ways as well.
Wow, I really needed to hear this. I’ve been stuck in a creative rut for a long time and I just recently started picking up the guitar again. Thank you Glen.
Love the ROBOTECH shirt! And a great flipside to your other video on albums
I feel like I learn more through this channel than I would if I earned a Music Business diploma.
Glenn, you are a gem.
Glenn, you are one hoopy frood! Young musicians should be made to watch both your "13 Reasons Not to Make an Album" and "11 Reasons to Make an Album" back to back.
Watching both this video and the last video about albums being a bad idea tbh has been super helpful. Thank u glenn
Enjoyed your take on this subject. Talked with my Dad about the whole singles/vs albums in the current social paradigm these days and came to most of the same conclusions you mentioned when it comes to the singles strategy. So we stuck to the idea of EPs rather than albums as our "longform" content. The part that really stuck with me was when you mentioned knowing why you're recording the music in the first place. Took me a while, like with most young musicians I'm sure, to realize the chances of me being hit by lightning twice in the same location was greater than making a living as a musician in the streaming age and come to terms with that. Now I record music, my own enjoyment notwithstanding, to leave something behind for my kids so that they'll hopefully know when I'm gone that there was more to their Dad than just being an exhausted working class laborer and that I had some kind of depth beyond that of a worker drone. If I can achieve that, then I consider it a success. \m/
Loved you gave us both sides of the coin. Had some laughs with this vid xD
keep up the good content!
Thanks, Glenn. Love everything you bring to your channel. speaking strictly for myself, I'm a lifelong music geek who has no aspirations beyond leaving behind some (hopefully!!) interesting recordings. It's exactly ^me^ that needs to hear these important, realistic, and authentic messages. Cheers, good sir!
Was watching your video as a refresher, earlier this year I saw John Steel of the Animals and he was selling CDs and drumsticks and I all of a sudden realized it was exactly how you said. Great strategy. Kudos man!
Great points, and tips Glen. Great shirt too.
I had a friend of mine print one of my lofi albums on a cassette and it sounded PERFECT. Might not be ideal for metal, but it does have its applications.
Thanks Glenn. Love you videos and advice.
I have three full length albums released on iTunes and other digital download stores. With no explanation of becoming rich and famous. I just started recording a few years back, and had a shit load of backlog songs I wanted heard. Many written back in the 1980’s !!
I can’t sing or play for shit, but I’m 62 years old now and just wanted something out there before I croak !
And believe it or not, I’ve had a few songs sell !!
Go figure. Now I can buy a taco and celebrate!!!
I’ve got a band now to promote the albums. But really. I’m out there just to play and live the dream for those 35 minutes in stage.
Thank you again. Can’t wait for the next video.
And with this band. I won’t be making full length albums with.
One single at a time. Because let’s face it, my son is the bassist, enough said.
Aloha from Oahu
Stoked to see Perilaxe Occlusion get a nod here. Easily one of the best new death metal acts out there.
Man I loved that "Don't look at what I can buy, but look at what I can do" followed by picture of Jeff Loomis. Got me chills, really
Wow I really needed this, I have whole albums I’ve wrote but I always look at stuff from the business perspective like your previous video
Great video. Awesome message! Since the pandemic I've been doing projects with my old bandmate and doing my own solo project too for the sake of creating and its like you said therapeutic as well. I've distributed my own music through distrokid and in the process made alot of friends from around the world that I never would have had a chance to ever meet. So yeh. Like you said do what you love, love what you do, if you do it for those reasons you can't go wrong!
Respect for the minivan assembly line story. Going through something similar right now ahaha
Nice to grab my coffee and then Glenn drops a fresh vid. Well good morning.
I just made an album mostly because of reason 9, it's basically a therapeutic project being a very personal album compiled of songs that match experiences of my past , it's not rock or metal it's a jazz album and it really helped me starting it and going through with it
AND i also work in an automotive factory doing the same thing day after after day and if i spend my time earning my money why not at least invest a bit of it in me and my passion, if people won't listen to it/buy who freaking cares ? I'll have nothing to lose because i didn't do it to make money off of it , that's why I have a day job for
So true what you said about people nowadays only listening to music on their headphones through their phone, and not even head phones, ear buds. Ive always had an appreciation for full size stereo systems. Even at a young age I begged my mom to get me a Panasonic shelf stereo that I could have in my room. Theres nothing like sitting back and listening to your favorite music through actual left and right speakers, and in my case a big 12" sub to fill out that rumbling low end.
Thank you for these videos. You reassure my ever wondering mindset about these things.
I really like that you argued both sides, this was really interesting!
I typically only release singles, for many reasons:
1. Lack of cash to make an entire album at once.
2. Ability to get music out asap, rather than waiting to finish a full album before anybody can hear anything.
3. Ability to dedicate time/resources to promoting each song you release. If I release one song, I can concentrate on pushing that song. If you release an entire album at once, most of the songs will get lost in the shuffle and not get the promotion that the single does. And that gives more overall promotion to your music as a whole, as well.
One problem I've come across is that I push my music to college radio, and promoters always tell me that college radio stations won't take singles. Because of this, I've had to assemble singles into an EP just to get them to play it. I'm going to try just sending them singles in the future, though, to see what happens.
I've released one "album", and it was a 4 song acoustic EP. Other than that, it's been all singles for the full band stuff.
I agree, it's similar to the YT release "schedule." Cranking out one track per month is practically guaranteed to net more total views than a whole album once per year due to the way the algorithms seem to work on streaming platforms.
thanks for sharing that story about how you did it with the menotonous day job that many of us also have. way to utilize the time to support the passion. I find ways to incorporate my music goals into my work as well
Awesome video. Loved #1 I have no delusions of grandeur and a shit tonne of expensive gear...I made 2x albums coz I can and thought it was cool to have albums on Spotify. Not everything is about how much money you can make. For some of us who have jobs it's just about having a hobby and playing artist, record producer, engineer, publisher, record label, graphic designer, video editor and video star....these days we can all do it, so if you enjoy it, go for it!
Lol I should note that a also did a concept album lol
So glad you made this second video. And that Gibson part was hilarious.
I love albums and having hard copies of albums!!! Both strategies are legitimate! Thanks, Glenn!!! Great video!
First off……GREAT vids man! Lots of really down to earth info coming from REALITY!
Second off…..
I’ve, over the years, progressively put together a fairly decent home studio, which I feel EXTREMELY BLESSED to even SAY let alone get to use! Anywayz, I’ve successfully produced four full length C/D’s, which of course, I NEVER had any aspirations of making billions on! I just send em out around the country/world to friends and family on my dime. I’m the sole musician, engineer and pretty much everything else in this studio, so the total cost out of pocket for me is around $2.50 per cd…..including duplication AND mailing! I just am attempting to build a small legacy, and somewhat satisfy my musical passion…..which seems a bit unbounding! So, in that thought pattern, I guess it’s something that simply keeps me smiling!!!
Oh, and my channel has everything I’ve done posted……so, for a good laugh……!
Peace out bretheren!!!!
Manage expectations is the secret... These two videos are golden knowledge... Thanks!!!🤘🤩🤘
Great video. Really loved the philosophy of music making in the, 'It Can Be Therapeutic' section' :)
If it’s a double LP where it’s about *conquering* an assembly line … that’s something 😁
I think CDs may be the next format to get a resurgence because it’s even easier to manufacture than cassettes and just as cheap. Also, I think enough people learned their lesson about how CDs were done in the 1990s/2000s where you end up paying $20 for something that was most likely bloated. I will say certain genres and styles lend themselves well to 60-70 minutes of music but not all =]
And I’ll say this again, only do an album if you have a vision for it. For myself, I grew up enjoying albums and listened to plenty of them to know how they work (and how they don’t). So when I started to make my own music, this included being able to make my own albums as I knew what I wanted to do and how to make it work for whatever length of time was needed. But like you said earlier, it’s also a goal you can set for yourself and it *definitely* helps to get through the day-job doldrums if you have to do that.
What a lot of people feel for vinyl, I feel it for cassette tapes. It has never been a thing of audio quality for me, but I just love the experience of messing around with them. I think the one thing that made cassettes more interesting to me was that there was nobody bullshitting about how great they sound (unlike vinyl snobs) so I had no expectations of audio quality, and the fact I could (back then, around 2011, 2012) grab a big box of new old stock blanks and record my own tapes with an old deck I restored. I discovered that yeah, Type IV cassettes with DBX noise reduction sound phenomenal, though!
I don't have a band yet, but I personally love recording albums at home for several reasons: #1 I become more familiar with my own music #2 I love the process of composition, arrangement, and production #3 I get to practice making an artistic statement #4 albums are a still a great way to organize musical ideas or phases of your songwriting, like paragraphs in an essay #5 I love discovering a new band and getting to know their discography, and part of me hopes that someday fans will have a similar experience discovering my albums
You have a lot of unappreciated wisdom, Glen. Salute
Thanks man 🙏 the therapeutic part was inspiring 🤘🏻 i’m in the same situation… but now i know that maybe it can be done… thanks again 🤘🏻
You're a good man, Glenn - thanks for sharing your hard won wisdom in your uniquely restrained and genteel manner.
Great videos Glenn, both of them. This material is gold. Thanks.
Good video, seriously. That last point reminded me of something (disclaimer: I get the irony and you're absolutely right): If you really make a story or concept album, think about not splitting shit up into individual tracks. Like Edge of Sanity's Crimson or Insomnium's Winters Gate. It's correct, even I find myself constantly jumping between albums or even using the random mode when I'm listening to music. But the thing I just described is one idea to kinda force the listener to treat the album like an LP. Well I guess it won't work either for most kids out there but it sure keeps me hooked on an album effectively and I think it's a pretty damn cool thing we don't see everyday. Like I said this just came to my mind so don't bother. Keep it up as always!
I am definitely the therapeutic-next-project guy. As someone who currently drives a forklift for a manufacturer, you described me perfectly. 🤘
Good stuff Glenn. Myband put out a couple of singles first. Then we put out a full length album. 7 songs, 40 minutes. We are going to release a 3 song EP next and then an 8 song album after that.