We all know that artists in today’s music industry are in general not making loads of cash. The question is, “why?”
The surface answer would be that the labels are taking all of the money for themselves. How much are they taking? How much does the artist get? It varies from artist and label, but typically it’s to the tune of pennies per album sold to the artist and the rest is divided up between the label, management, producer, etc. That huge advance that the artist …

If you’re a musician today preparing to record an album, you have a question to ask yourself.
Do I take my budget and go to a real recording studio or use the cash to buy my own recording gear and have my friends help?
Recording studios are closing more and more often these days.  The reason?  Artists don’t have the money to spend $125 per hour and make a full-length album.  But they do have enough money to buy enough gear for a 16 channel rig.
So is the “bang for your buck” tradeoff worth …

Sweetwater Sound recently held a Pro Tools demonstration of the new Eleven Rack.  The event was graciously hosted by the Chicago Recording Company, a beautiful and full-featured recording and post-production studio on the east side of Chicago.
I started out learning how to engineer on Acid (in my barracks room while in the Army), then Pro Tools, Logic, and now am chief engineer at a studio in northern Indiana using Cubase 5.  I got very quick with Pro Tools, but then when it came time to purchase interfacing, Logic became more …

Being an audio engineer, I am fortunate to live somewhat close (2 hours) to one of the greatest audio gear companies in the country.  Sweetwater in Fort Wayne, Indiana has been my go-to resource for everything from XLR cables to studio monitors, and boom stands to digital interfaces.  My sales engineer has been great in assisting me with purchases, helping me meet my needs and ensuring I’m getting the best price possible.  Not only do they sell new and used audio gear, instruments, and more, but they also have professional …

Recently I was listening to a podcast in which Tom Silverman of Tommy Boy Entertainment was talking about the music industry and album sales. He touched on the idea of “buying songs vs. buying artists.”
When you go to the record store (wait, what’s that?  I thought those were mythical places that people only dreamed of) or iTunes, what music are you buying?  Are you buying the stuff that you’ve loved your entire life, or songs that you have heard ten times a day for the last three weeks?  Are you …