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Mutlu
by Gary E. Andrews - 04/15/24 07:08 PM
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 56
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I was reading Everett Adams' thread on singer/songwriters and also doing my annual window shopping of demo studios. I'd love to hear that Big Country Hit of mine professionally recorded but ultimately not bad enough to shell out 3 or 4 hundred bucks. It did get me to thinking, though. I wonder what the overall financial return is for all those songs being recorded by those demo studios in Nashville and elsewhere. One dollar made for every thousand spent? One to ten thousand? Or am I being pessimistic and it's actually better than that?
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Joined: May 2001
Posts: 7,412
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Hi Jay, It has been suggested many times is do not pay for high priced demos as probably the only one making any money is the demo studio. Budget demos of $300.00 or less may be OK. And usually you can listen to songs the demo studio has done on the Web. A demo studio that I have used in the past is http://www.eyeball-records.com. Good enough and really reasonable.
Ray E. Strode
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Joined: Jun 2008
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Wow. Putting it generously, even at $19 a song that's not an improvement over what I'm chunking and warbling together with Real Tracks and Garageband. But more power to him I guess! I think I might pull the trigger for the guy making something like an eighty dollar demo.
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 8,574
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Hey jay23, welcome to JPF. One dollar for every ten thousand spent? I doubt if it's that much. If you include all the folks who bought computers and microphones, soundcards, musical instruments, musical instrument lessons, books on songwriting, etc. it might be one dollar for every hundred thousand. But IMHO, I think the question is wrong. If you took all the money spent on athletic equipment, compared to how much was made as an athlete, I'll bet the differential is much greater. When I think of all the money I've spent on golf clubs...and probably more on golf balls for as many as I've lost, green fees, spike shoes and then when they were outlawed to change to spikeless, bags, tees, cart rental, and magazines! Wow! And I haven't made a penny! The question is, do I want to or expect to become a pro golfer? Well, the answer is "no." Then, do I want to quit playing golf? Well the answer is "no." Does it matter to me that the golf club manufacturers make so much money from duffers like me? The answer is "no." It's similar with music. It's similar with demos. The problem is, there are so many people making music who have not taken the time to do an honest assessment of their chances of having a hit. Heck, all their friends say they should be on the radio! Yeah, that's a good way of determining it LOL. When I was a teenager, all my friends said I could climb the rock bluffs at Devil's Lake. I almost killed my fool self. Should have asked some pro climbers what they thought. There are, IMO, four reasons to have a pro demo done. One, that your team recommends that it is time. I recommend folks have a team of advisors, you can read more about it along with some other stuff here: http://www.mikedunbarmusic.com/sharkproof-yourself.htmlTwo, because you've had cuts and have reasonable expectations that you could have more...expectations that your team agrees with. Three, because you have plenty of money to burn and want to have recordings you can play for your friends, for your grandkids, for people on the JPF forums, and for yourself. Four, well, four is not really a "demo." Four is a master. You have it made because you are selling your own songs at your shows or at church, on cdbaby, downloads etc. In all four cases, I highly recommend NEVER using credit to finance a music hobby OR a music career. The vast majority of folks I've met over the years who used credit to finance demos, instruments, photos, promo etc. have ended up bitter, broke, divorced, and no longer musicians or songwriters. Anyway, I'm thinking about playing some golf when the weather gets better.
You've got to know your limitations. I don't know what your limitations are. I found out what mine were when I was twelve. I found out that there weren't too many limitations, if I did it my way. -Johnny Cash It's only music. -niteshift Mike Dunbar Music
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 56
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Thanks for the thoughtful reply Mike! I guess I really shouldn't have posted that; I was just listening to a lot of those demos and starting to feel sad for folks who might be spending money with hopes that probably aren't realistic. But as you point out that might not be why everyone is doing it.
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Joined: Dec 2006
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Hey jay,
I think in all reality, the "pro demo" is these days just a reminant of a bygone era.
The access to recording gear, and the proliferation of home studios, just means most folks either record basic demo's OR full blown recordings.
Anyone looking for music generally wants to hear it as a finished piece, so that step seems to have been bypassed altogether.
Also, there's the question of ownership, and of being able to edit recordings at will to pitch a particular pitch.
Money to be made from recording demo's ? I don't think so, and you're probsbly right on a return rate of less than a dollar in a thousand. It's hard enough to moneterise finished work, let alone unfinished work.
cheers, niteshift
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