Why Quality Matters

With the advent of home recording and increased accessibility of recording equipment artists have an easier time creating music. Many artists tend to underestimate the power of quality. If you’re a serious artist the quality of you’re music will set you apart from the people who are just making music as a hobby. When speaking to artists about this I always tell them to know their short comings, and figure out ways around them. For example I you have beginner’s recording equipment at home you should understand that you’re equipment will be great for pre production and creating demos, but It will never sound like something recorded in a studio with an experience engineer. I recommend that If you’re going to be recording yourself at home you research basic audio theory, understand common home studio issues and things you need to be aware of. I always recommend for artists to create to record ideas at home and pick the best ones to go record at a studio. By doing this you show up to the studio prepared allowing you to save time and money. 

After you’re done recording make sure you pick an appropriate mix engineer to mix your song. There’s 3 things to consider when you pick you’re mix engineer the first thing is experience; Your mix engineer should have a few years of experience, letting your friend mix your song because he has he has a home studio and some cracked plugins will most likely not produce the results you’re looking for. The second thing to consider is the genre of your song; Realize that all mix engineers can mix a song but every genre has specific things that can make songs pop. If your mix engineer has never mixed a song like yours he or she won’t know these things, so look into their mix history while making your decision. The last thing to consider is budget; it’s important to know what your budget is, know what you can afford and what you can’t, have this conversation with your engineer so you’re both on the same page. Doing this early in your professional relationship will save you from bitter money disputes later.

Mastering is the final step of the production of your song. Depending on how far you are on your path as an artist your mastering engineer and mixing engineer may end up being the same person. Understand that experience is the most important thing to look for n a mastering engineer. You’re mastering engineer should have extensive knowledge of audio fundamentals. Mastering will make sure you’re song sounds good and consistent in any playback system. When it comes to mastering loudness matters but It’s not the only thing that matters, always pick quality over loudness.

Making music can be lots of fun but be sure to set yourself apart from the people who aren't serious about their career as an artist. Quality matters so invest in the quality of your music.