How do I Get my Music Recorded?

So you have formed a band, practiced together and worked on material you all agree is good enough for radio play, or you have solo work you want to get out there for people to hear; the question is now, how do I get my music recorded? Well, luckily for you there are several different paths you could take to get your music recorded, each with its own benefits and complications. The traditional route is to record your music in a professional studio. This is the easiest method in terms of time and quality assurance since you will work with other professionals to ensure the final result is of high quality. However, working in a studio is expensive, potentially very expensive.

Music studios are rented out to musicians for an hourly fee. While there is no industry standard, you can expect to pay around $100 per hour to work in a studio. The average full album requires around 90 to 150 hours in a studio to record. If you imagine it will only take 100 hours for you to record an entire album you are already at $10,000 just to rent the studio time. And if you want to get your music recorded you will also need to hire an engineer to work with you at the studio for either an hourly rate or a per song or album rate. Engineers typically charge around $200 per song or $2000 for a full album. As you can see, the costs of studio recording add up very quickly. The good news, however, is that you could always just record one or two songs to start with to make a demo that you can send out to agents and get your name out there. Obviously a single song in a studio would likely only cost $1-2,000 and that is a much more manageable investment.

The alternative that you have, however, is to record your own music. Modern technology and computer software has made it easier and more affordable to record music in your home and have it sound professional. The major drawback to this method is that you will have to take the time to learn how to use the computer programs and hardware you will need to make your own recordings. For some people this would be a welcome task and a pleasant new learning experience. You should, however, be fully aware that it will still probably cost a couple thousand dollars if you want high quality home equipment, especially if you need to record multiple instruments. So how to get your music recorded really depends on what method will serve you best, now go out there and good luck to you!