​​Rolling Stone PODIUM: The Dummy’s Guide to Music Production as an Indie Artist

(The views and opinions expressed in this blog belong solely to the aforementioned blog writer, and do not represent those of Rolling Stone India as a magazine)

Up until a few decades ago, the idea of a home studio and recording a release-worthy single or album was unheard of. Now we have Grammy winners like Finneas who managed to achieve that all while producing from his bedroom. It really puts the pandemic in perspective for a lot of us working from home.

Music-making now has become so ubiquitous that the knowledge and process of how a song used to be made are no longer reserved for the omniscient members of the audio engineering community or record executives chomping on cigars. Gone are the days where you need expensive outboard gear and large purpose-built studios to go and record – as a studio owner, I’m aware of the irony.

This shift has occurred because technology has finally caught up to the wallets of the independent musician. Having a decent home recording setup is slowly becoming the norm. In doing so, a lot of singer-songwriters and musicians are self-producing their work and releasing it through a distribution service, no middlemen required. Navigating this free-for-all space can be quite daunting.

Read on for a fairly simple guide for anyone who is starting to release their own music. I’ll also try to highlight the differences in the workflow if you work with a producer (in addition to what value they bring) or are self-producing and releasing your song. Here is my little four step guide to getting your song(s) out there:

Pre-Production

If you are self-producing your song, the first step is getting your pilots ready. A pilot/demo is a quick, scratch track of your primary guitar line/chords or vocal melody for reference so that the song’s arrangement and instrumentation are ready before hitting the studio. This would entail finalizing the scoring, structure and melodies and making sure no more changes are needed to the song. Not all of us have friends who play all the instruments required for the song, and even less of us can pay for every single session musician (especially if you have that one layer of glockenspiel that you absolutely need). Most DAWs (digital audio workstations) will have all the necessary tools for you to program an entire band without hiring a single session musician. The catch is, you need to know how to work with MIDI and VSTs and have a basic audio interface and MIDI keyboard. If you have access to these things, it’s a quick process to build the arrangements. Aside from getting your logistics in order, you need to make one important decision: to work with a producer, or do everything yourself.

There are two value propositions to working with a producer; technical and creative. Most musicians have felt the need to get an objective critique on their songs, beyond an opinionated viewpoint. The creative producer can help deconstruct the compositions, instrumentation, reharmonize and help spice things up. This might be necessary especially if you have reached the ambit of your own musical exposure, since you are too close to the song and have been listening to it on repeat.

The technical producer is one who can help produce and program all your stems, help engineer your sessions at the studio (or at home) and can help with mix and mastering as well.

Here are what some artists have to say about working with a producer:

“Working with a good producer is very reassuring as you know that your sound and arrangement is sorted. It helps to think beyond your own instrument and enhances the overall composition.” – Chirag Todi

“Working with a producer helps you gain a lot of perspective- it’s someone who gives you honest and constructive advice, which is rare and something that I had not experienced before. I definitely think it made me a better writer and musician. They solve the problem of, ‘I know what I want it to sound like, but I can’t get it to sound like that.’” – Meera Desai

Production

The production step is about materializing everything you set out to do in pre-production. One important decision to make here is if you are using programmed MIDI tracks or are recording live instruments at a studio – this will set the tone, pace and expense for your song. I’m not going to argue which sounds better, as this article will be rife with fanboys of samples and modern VSTs against analogue master race purists. Instead of wondering which will sound better, consider which will fit in your budget, because the latter will be more expensive. Virtual instruments have gotten to the point where, for the most part, they can easily convince a listener that an actual musician is playing. Are there differences between a programmed drum loop and tracking live drums in a studio? Yes, but today, it’s smaller than you think.                                   

The same is also true for gear used to record. People are often surprised when I tell them that the first few albums or what we produced in our Compass Box Live Sessions up until a few years ago were all done on reasonably cheap gear. Great equipment does not guarantee great recordings. As any experienced audio engineer will know, the instrument and the musician contribute 50 percent of the overall sound, 20 percent is the space, 20 percent is the mic placement and that last 10 percent is the mic/pre choice (which means where you record is more important than what you record on). Spend your time working on your parts, finding a good space, and good musicians to work with rather than spending a lot of money just to record through a Neve 1073.

If you are going for an all programmed kind of sound, and you have a small home studio setup with a recording interface and a mic, you can also record vocals/guitar at home; eliminating the need to rent out a studio. That being said, most home setups are not acoustically treated, so it is always cleaner to record in a proper studio. Here are a few things to keep in mind when going to a studio:

– Ask what equipment they have! Find out which mics, pres, interface, and instruments will be available to you when you start recording.

–  Since most studios charge hourly, practice, practice, practice your parts and sufficiently warm up before going to the studio. You’ll be more efficient and spend less money – this goes for singing or tracking an instrument (yes, looking at you, guitarist).

–  If you are working with a producer that has audio engineering skills, then you’re sorted. If you are alone, make sure you know what you want from your sound so you can communicate to the house engineer what to set up. For example, if you are recording acoustic guitar, ask for a stereo mic setup if your song needs it. Or when you are recording vocals, ask the engineer to DT (double track) certain parts. Basically, do a little research about micing and recording techniques and learn some technical terms that will help you communicate what you want from your sound.

Mixing and mastering

The final stage is getting your song mixed and mastered, which can be done entirely online these days through services like Fiverr and SoundBetter. If you know friends locally, ask them. That way you can be privy to the process of how your song is being mixed, and give real-time feedback to the engineer. Remember, mixing is an iterative process, so also ask the engineer how many revisions they will do for you. Be as specific and descriptive about what you want from the overall sound and this process will go smoothly. Find references of soundscapes that you want to emulate on your track to give to the engineer, it’ll make their job a lot easier when mixing. It really is a fun – albeit a tedious – part of getting your song ready, you might even go back and listen to the music that inspired you to create songs in the first place so you can better communicate what you want for your track. Find the right distributor and then get your music on all the streaming platforms.

Promotion

Before you start the distribution process, make sure you have your final artwork and master. If you are releasing on YouTube only, then this is a self-explanatory step. Suppose you want to publish it on all platforms, i.e. Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, JioSaavn etc. you need to go through a distributor. Distributors, as the name suggests, provide a one-stop shop for getting your music on every platform at once. Different distributors have different pricing models; some have an annual subscription fee; some have per-release fees, and some have a mix of both. Most distributors offer the same thing, release music on streaming platforms, so look for the unique advantages that each service provides.

When releasing your music make sure you send it to different publications like Rolling Stone India, if they like it, they’ll write about it. Send it to your friends to listen to, share it, and try to get it on playlists either through the distributor or contacting editors directly. This is your moment, the culmination of all your hard work, so make sure you have set aside some kind of plan to market your song. It doesn’t have to involve paid promotion or glitzy videos, but have a roadmap of the things you are going to do pre and post-release. Most importantly, be proud of what you have made. This industry isn’t easy, and making non-Bollywood original music is still a long way behind mainstream.

But, if you manage to make a fan following, they’ll truly be people that believe and follow your work.

Contribute to Rolling Stone India by sending in your own unpublished submissions to rollingstonepodium@gmail.com. Know more about RS PODIUM. 

Raag Sethi is an award-winning producer, bassist and guitarist from Ahmedabad, and the founder of Compass Box Studio. He has been instrumental in promoting indie talent in India through the Compass Box Live Sessions on YouTube. He is also a member of the Recording Academy.