As these things seem to go these days: the aforementioned “cool factor” ushered the application into a jumping-the-gun level of excitement within a day or two. I remember reading tweets from musicians and engineer/producers saying things like “It makes me want to sit and listen to music again” and “listening to music for fun for once.” It serves as another reminder of how important format/platform/convenience is to the modern consumer.

In my thinking and researching of this phenomenon, my interest is not in whether or not Spotify is a good application – it is clearly amazing. My interest lies in the effects it will have on the music industry as well as the music lover. Since the dawn of digital distribution and pirating, the industry has been waiting for a way out of the corner it has painted itself into. Spotify has already been hailed around the globe as “The Savior To the Industry” and this may not be too far off. Even if it is not the ultimate flag-carrier – this is the new model for digital distribution. It seems to me that it’s only a matter of time before the $.99/song model becomes extinct.

So how will this effect artists?

The artists are, after all, the ones who pour their blood, sweat and tears (yes, BS&T is on Spotify) into the content provided to the several million worldwide users (i). According to the last estimate, the company is valued at approximately $1 billion. The artists receive $0.00029/stream. As this article points out

“to get ten bucks off the song, it would have to be played for 102,000 minutes/1700 hours/70.8 days/10 weeks/2.5 months. I could put a song on repeat and leave it for almost a quarter of a year continuously before the band makes the same amount it can make selling one CD at a show.”

So basically – the aforementioned “content providers” won’t be making any money.

So why have industry big-shots already been hailing this as the “Savior of the Industry”? Why haven’t the major labels thrown a fit like they did when Napster was all the rage back in 2000? That’s easy – they have a vested interest. The 4 major labels (Universal, Sony, Warner, EMI) bought into the company so that they own 18% of the shares. This means that the labels will be making money based on the success of the platform, not the content. According to a post by “informationisbeautiful.net” the labels also receive a royalty percentage estimated at $.0016/play. According to my math, this means that in the amount of plays it would take for an artist to make approximately $10, the label will have made around $54. This figure is not particularly revelatory – labels have always made more than artists from mechanical royalties. The hypocrisy inherent in this model has been preached for decades (most memorably by Steve Albini here). I can’t say it any better so I won’t try.

The big problem with Spotify is not necessarily that artists aren’t making any money off their digital content. The problem is that the company is making money and the artists aren’t getting a cut. Certain artists are already taking a stand by taking their catalog off of the application altogether. Swedish recording artist, “Magnus Uggla,” removed his content citing that he would rather be screwed over by “Pirate Bay” than by his own label, Sony, who owns 5.8 percent of Spotify (I’m paraphrasing: for the exact quote, which is way more vulgar – see this article).

What do we do now?

Every milestone of music consumption has an effect on the way we experience music. There is a fear from some bloggers that Spotify will officially extricate music from any  tangible connection between the artist and their work as the previously mentioned Independent Clauses article put it so eloquently:

People may have moved from seeing artists as creators that should be fairly compensated for their work to “MUSIC EXISTS EVERYWHERE OH WOW OH WOW IT’S FREE LET’S DAAAAANCE!!!”

This is a valid point but I tend to think that this damage has already been done and it may not be the end of the world. I have a hard time believing that the majority of average music lovers have ever honestly felt the effect of their $15 contribution to an artist when they purchase a record. In other words, what percentage of the 7 million people who bought Hootie’s 1995 Cracked Rear View on CD actually thought “I bet Darius and the gang really put a lot of time and effort into this and I’m glad I’m giving them my $15″? More realistically, most of them probably said “Geez, CD’s are getting expensive!” or “I read this article by some engineer guy named like Steve Albino or something and it said that the record label get’s like all of the money from album sales. Man, we should totally steal music and stick it to the man!” My point is – While there is obviously a lot of us who understand what it takes to make a great record and want to support it, we are probably in the minority. I don’t think we’re going to change the point of view of the music-buying population at large and we probably shouldn’t waste energy trying.

I find hope in the steadily rising sales of vinyl that there is and will always be a community of people who seek a tangible representation of the music they love and support. That said, 2.8 million units/year total will definitely not keep the industry afloat. What we are seeing with Spotify is the industry taking a big step in the right direction; However, It will need to make some adjustments pretty soon or there may be a serious mutiny.

An Alternative

What if we finally accepted that music is free? What Spotify solidifies is the sense that it is, so lets say for the sake of argument that it should be. Ever since the dawn of the record album, the industry has followed the business model of an artist borrowing a bunch of money (from a label or private loan) to make their art, then recouping that money from sales of the finished product. If the final product no longer has the ability to make money for the artist, how will new works keep being made? Perhaps we need to embrace a new approach to financially supporting the creation of new art that takes the pressure off of record sales.

Kickstarter introduces an approach to creating art that effectively flips the industry upside-down. Instead of paying for a finished product, the consumer has the opportunity to be pitched an idea, decide if it’s something they want, and contribute directly to the making of it. While Kickstarter itself may not be the solution, the crowd-funding model feels like a concept worth exploring. The fact that the site has raised $80 million for 10,000 projects serves as proof that people want to support the creation of new art.

A common criticism of the Kickstarter thing (which I admit to having expressed in the past) is that it makes the artist into a “charity case” and effectively hurts their image. This is partially a product of its novelty and rapid popularity. I believe that, given some time, this model could become the norm as opposed to a fad that refuses to die. The spotify thing could actually be helpful, financially irresponsible as it is, if it became a way for people to hear a new record for free, go on to research the artist, find out what their working on next, decide that they want it, and fund it directly.  This would not only support the artistic community but it would also make it a requirement for artists to be constantly thinking ahead. Artist’s would no longer be able to make a work then sit back and watch sales of that work pay the bills. The new model would emphasize the importance of continued growth as opposed to ostensible stagnancy.

In conclusion

Although Spotify represents a turning point in the digital music revolution, it is not the end. I do not intend to take a stand against Spotify either: I am currently a non-paying user of the application and I am still trying it out. I haven’t decided if I will start paying the monthly charge but I am certainly not ruling it out. I will most likely use it to discover and listen to new music. When I love an album, I will continue to buy it on vinyl because that’s how I roll. Spotify alone will not save the industry but it will also not destroy it. What we have now is a 1,000 piece puzzle with the outside pieces locked into place. It will take a lot of discussion, brainstorming, and trial-and-error in order to fill in the middle.

**I must give credit to Joshua Wolack, with whom much insightful discussion was had concerning these things. These discussions informed many of my positions.**

Jessica Breanne & The Electric Hearts

• Jessica Breanne & The Electric Hearts – the band I am in is releasing our debut record (finally) on August 23rd. You can now pre-order it with instant download of 2 tracks. You can listen to said 2 tracks at bandcamp. The pre-order is priced at $8, which is $2 off what it will cost once it is released. This is a record I am incredibly proud of and have been eager to share for almost 6 months! I wrote a little about the recording process in this post.
• The Deep Vibration – This is a record I mixed a few months ago. It is available digitally through bandcamp. It is also getting a Europe release via Parisian label “Fargo Records.” It is a rock and roll record full of slap-back, spring verb, and hard grooves. It’s badass. This is a band I have followed closely since their early days performing  as “The Attack” so it was an honor to be able to work on this record.
• Andrew Combs - Andrew is the kind of songwriter who has the ability to write songs that sound like they were written 50 years ago. We have been chipping away at his debut full length since February and it is really starting to take shape. We have been doing all live tracking with 4-5 people tracking at once in the same room (see picture below for a typical setup). You can listen to his first EP here. I think fans of that CD will be pleasantly surprised by this one. It feels like leaps forward in terms of his songwriting, stylistic approach, and singing.  I cannot wait to share this with you all.

• 

  Andrew Combs tracking session

  McClain – Travis and Lindsay McClain are two dear friends of mine and I was sad to see them move away last month. Alas, they have moved on to bigger and better things…Before they left, however, we recorded some of the last songs they wrote while pursuing music in Nashville. I had also recorded an EP with them back in 2008 and it was great to be back in the studio with them. We tracked it in a couple of weekends and I am now putting the final touches on the master. Watch out for this EP – it will make a perfect fall record with its breezy folk-pop stylings. For fans of Ryan Adams “Gold.” Like them on facebook to stay updated.

  I think that about brings us up to date. Until next time, the balcony is closed.

When I hear things from a band like “we took over a year to make our record…we set up a studio in a guest house…we entertained any and every crazy idea we had from girls choirs to field recordings of trains to a horse playing the flute (okay so maybe not that last one)” – I expect a certain kind of record. Most bands mishandle the freedom available when making records independently with no creative or time constraints. Most of the time, this lack of restriction results in a bloated, unfocused record that keeps the listener at an arms length.

But these guys know what they’re doing.

Through their painstaking experimenting and tinkering, Colorfeels never lose sight of the songs – and these are some damn good songs. This record really works. In fact, this is one of my favorite records of the year so far…and I’m not just saying that because I mixed it.

This is unpretentious, unpredictable, beautiful music. It is a project I am very proud to be a part of. Recommended if you like Grizzly Bear, Fleet Foxes, Beach Boys, Vampire Weekend, Radiohead…

Listen to one of my favorite track, Pretty Walk.

If you like that go to their bandcamp page and stream the entire record!

They are celebrating the digital release of the album this Tuesday the 10th at Exit/In here in Nashville so definitely go to that. In the meantime, it is being pressed on audiophile grade, dual gatefold, 180 gram vinyl, which is a format it more than deserves. Watch for that release in the coming months.

Karen, Don’t Stop Him by mikeodmark

Eliza at the Museum by mikeodmark

Having cut my teeth on more typical production situations – Drums and bass cut to scratch guitar/vox and build from there; I knew going into this record that there would be a lot of firsts and I would have to be on my A game to make sure everything was done right.

Preparation

To prepare for this project, I painstakingly researched the best ways to record a band live in one room. Two records that I referenced before (and  later discussed with the band) were Buddy Guy’s Sweet Tea and T. Rex’s Electric Warrior. I was able to find a great interview with Dennis Herring, the producer of the former record here. I really wanted to find a place between these two very different recordings. Sweet Tea is sonically one of my favorite records ever. It’s ridiculously dirty. Every sound on that record is perfectly out of control, making the listener feel like they’re right in the middle of this jam session with amps cranked and Buddy singing till his lungs bleed. Electric Warrior is a much quieter record but it shares the attitude and grit. It obviously differs in layered studio production, style, and genre. I wanted to pull the creative element from this record whilst maintaining the raw energy and undeniable balls-to-the-wall attitude of Sweet Tea.

Tracking

How we ended up tracking the record was with the drums in one corner of the room, with bass next to him running DI, Jessica next to him so she was in the corner across the room from the drums, and guitar next to her with the amp run upstairs. I set up a PA speaker in front of Jessica so that she could feed some of the bass and guitar into it and not have to wear headphones. For most of the tracking I would control pro tools (the control room is upstairs) from my laptop with the magic of screen sharing. This allowed me to sit on the couch behind Jessica and listen to the takes live and be able to talk to the band face to face during the process. I learned from the Buddy Guy record to use bleed to my advantage. Obviously I recognize that this setup would not have been possible without a pretty large room. Because I’m working in a big open room, I am able to position the vocal mic as a room mic for the drums. Also since Jessica is a very loud singer, I was able to keep the gain pretty low so the bleed did not overpower her voice.

I finished mixing the record today and Richard Dodd is in line to master it. He is someone whose work I have admired for years (Tom Petty, Neil Young, George Harrison…come on) so I am very excited to have him on board. I look forward to sharing this with you all as soon as it’s done.

“A Deeper Green” the new “quote” recording is finished and mastered. I’m really excited about the way this record turned out even though there is a bitter-sweetness attached to its release. This record signifies the last recording as “quote.” Both Justin and

Me and the Quote guys after finishing the record

Jamie will continue to make music in some form but they, for their own reasons, have decided to disband. I think this record does a great job of summing up what they do best as a collaboration. The closing/title track in particular is a perfect closing statement to their case as brilliant artists and unique collaborators. The stark guitar/vocal duet arrangement brilliantly showcases their ability to compliment each other vocally as well as instrumentally with even the simplest of instrumentation.

A Deeper green by mikeodmark

Another project on the horizon is the new “Choir at your Door” album. This is the name for the collaboration between Nathan Phillips (Winston Jazz Routine) and Aaron Roche. They recorded the record themselves over the summer when Nathan was living with Aaron in Riverside, California. I mixed and mastered it over the last couple of weeks. If you are familiar with the first “Choir” record (a Christmas project), you will find this project a little lighter and sunnier feeling. Something really special happens when these two brilliant songwriters work together, which is represented very well on these new recordings. Aaron has a knack for effortlessly crafting songs that sound as if they could have been written 50 years ago, while Nathan is a brilliant arranger, producer, experimenter. They’re respective talents meet to create something both accessible and dense. Check out their website for info about obtaining these new recordings.

Up until this point in the film, Charlie is painstakingly trying to craft a screenplay without the normal “cop-out’s” of a Hollywood film: action, love story, profound life lessons. He has hit a wall, and cannot figure out how to finish the screenplay. In a moment of profound defeat, Charlie attends Mckee’s seminar. The moment of clarity comes when Charlie sheepishly stands up at the seminar and asks Robert Mckee what he would do in Charlie’s situation.

“What if a writer is attempting to create a story where nothing much happens, where people don’t change…they don’t have any epiphanies…they struggle, are frustrated, and nothing is resolved…more of a reflection of the real world.”

This conclusion about reflecting the real world is one that, I believe, a lot of artists can relate to. Inside our own bubble it seems that to craft a true reflection of our world would be one that would often portray the boring lack of action in everyday life. What Mckee says in response is, in so many words, that this perspective is straight up wrong.

WARNING: F-BOMBS!!!!!

“…nothing happens in the world? Are you out of your fucking mind!? People are murdered every day…there’s genocide, war, corruption. Every fucking day somewhere in the world somebody sacrifices his life to save somebody elses. Every fucking day someone, somewhere, takes a conscious decision to destroy someone else! People find love, people lose it… For christ’s sake, a child watches her mother beaten to death on the steps of a church! Someone goes hungry…somebody betrays his best friend for a woman! If you can’t find that stuff in life, then you, my friend, don’t know crap about life! [now shouting] And why the fuck are you wasting my two precious hours with your movie!?? I don’t have any use for it! I don’t have any bloody use for it.”

This hit me as an attack on any art made out of cynicism, any art made out of a self-absorption. What Mckee proves is that there is definitive reason to care about things in the world. If you deny that…then you’re simply wrong. “You don’t know crap about life,” in Mckee’s words.

Art is not about your feelings about your life. Art should be a reflection of the world at large…from your perspective. This doesn’t mean that all art should be about everything, but it does mean that an artist should be aware that their life is not everything.

-Mike

I’ve read a new book called Perfecting Sound Forever by Greg Milner. I would recommend this book for anyone interested in how we got to the current state of audio recording/fidelity (or lack there-of) as well as a conceptual dissection of the difference between music and a recording. The book is painstakingly researched and brilliantly retold in such a way that reads more like music appreciation than history.

Perhaps the chapter that hit closest to home for me was the one about “The Loudness Wars“- our never-ending quest for the loudest, most compressed, most in-your-face recording ever. The main reason why the war started is because if you give anyone two recordings and ask them which one they like better, they will always pick the louder one. This is part of how we’re wired – loud and bright always instinctively sounds more exciting. The problem is that a recording that is too loud and too bright is exhausting to listen to and ultimately abrasive. The main subject of debate pertaining to the the war was The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ record “Californication.” This was a record I listened to a lot in middle school. I remember a couple days straight where I had this record in my discman for the bus ride to and from school. Reading about this record as one of the first to suffer backlash from being too loud triggered a memory from these bus rides. I distinctly remember suddenly feeling like the record sounded…wrong. I remember it sounding distorted and abrasive, to the point where I had to stop listening. I don’t think I picked up the CD again for a long time if ever. I never thought much of my reaction because at the time I knew nothing about recording, mastering, compression…etc. There’s a serious problem when a recording has clear negative effects on my 13-year-old ears.

Here’s the waveform for Around the World – The opening track on “Californication.”

For comparison here is the waveform for Radiohead’s The Bends released 4 years earlier in ‘95.

A common argument for the overuse of compression is the fact that most music now will be heard via lossy mp3’s through laptop speakers. The sound has to be incredibly aggressive in order to compete with the sheer volume of modern living. Common music fans simply do not invest time/money into their living room s0und systems like they did in the days of the “Hi-Fi” (see pic).

It can not be expected that the “Hi-Fi” ideal of the 50’s could be sustained through the instant gratification of the digital age, but it is questionable whether appealing to the lowest from of listening is the best way to approach making recordings today.

Reading about the present state of music, I couldn’t help but feel like it’s all a little pointless. What I mean is: What’s the point of trying to make good sounding recordings if they’ll eventually sound like shit anyway? First, mastering will destroy any dynamic/finesse/emotion; then the CD will be ripped into lossy mp3’s to put on itunes; then the listener will listen through their laptop speakers while the TV is on, or listen in their car through their radio ipod adapter (which hardly sounds like much more than static – those things should be outlawed!!) To go along with this means to be okay with making poor sounding recordings, to rebel means to risk being dismissed by listeners used to their music being audible over the sound of them vacuuming. In the last year I got a record back from mastering and after fearing that it was too compressed, I showed it to a producer/engineer friend of mine to get a second opinion. His response was “I’m probably the wrong person to ask about this: I always think it sounds too compressed after mastering.” Why is it that as technology makes it more and more possible to achieve “perfect” (life-like) sound, the industry demands something further and further from human experience. Milner frequently refers to a quote from Neil Young, which serves as a sort of summation of the predicament we find ourselves in.

“We’ll look back [on it] and go, ‘Wow, that was the digital age. I wonder what the music really sounded like?’ We got so carried away that we never really recorded it. We just made digital records out of it.”

Music:

1. Radiohead – Kid A

The album that changed everything for me and so many people. You can’t argue with that.

2. Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Lyrically brilliant, Sonically dense, ambitious…what else can I say?

3. Bonnie “Prince” Billy – The Letting Go

The record that confirmed for me Oldham’s place among the best songwriters/American folk artists…ever? With the help of composer Nico Muhly, and producer Valgeir Sigurrdson, this record channels the southern folk tradition whilst looking forward instead of backward. Sam Amidon made another great record with a similar approach executed differently (see #6).

4. Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker

It seems most people, myself included, quickly forgot about Ryan Adams in light of his recent step back from the spotlight. I personally have trouble connecting with most of his albums like I did say, four years ago. ‘Heartbreaker,’ however, remains a great record as a result of amazing songs, great collaborators, and pitch-perfect execution. Still one of the most referenced records when discussing production approach with prospective clients.

5. Panda Bear – Person Pitch

A record that reassured me that there is exciting music being made in the “indie” arena. At first listen it sounded like a Beach Boys record made with computers. With repeated listens it revealed itself as a dense collection of incredible melodies, sonic experiments, and a new approach to sample-based music. Although Animal Collective’s latest is arguably a step in front of this one, this is the record that I am constantly wanting to revisit.

6. Sam Amidon – All is Well

A prime example people working together with complete trust in each others talents. With Valgeir Siggurdson producing, Nico Muhly arranging, and Amidon singing his own interpretations of public domain mountain ballads: This record brilliantly approximates a place where folk songs (the old) and modern classical music (new) can coexist.

7. Portishead – Third

With a sound, an approach, and a sensibility all their own: Portishead come out of hiding to deliver a record that is more forward thinking, exciting, and relevant than anyone could have predicted.

8. Beck – Sea Change

A record that creates its own world somewhere between Dylan and Bjork. Another example of stellar players collaborating with incredible confidence in their craft to make something inherently doomed for banality (a sappy breakup record) into something uniquely fresh and distinctive. The vocal sound/delivery is its own, the drum sound/style is constantly mimicked, the atmospherics (orchestra, pads, guitars…) are ambitious but never over the top. I believe I’ve said enough.

9. Justin Timberlake – Future Sex/Love Sounds

The perfect pop record! It is first and foremost a danceable, catchy, disco record. With repeated listens, however, it reveals itself as inventive, minimal, and ambitious. Timberlake is smart enough to choose forward-thinking producers and collaborators in order to make records that will stand the test of time as albums while also satisfying his pop star status with oodles of singles.

10. The Strokes – Is This It

Say what you want. Derivative? Yes. Nostalgic? Sure. But at its core these are amazing songs played by a great band. Love it!

Movies:

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

2. Royal Tenenbaums

3. Mulholland Drive

4. Punch-Drunk Love

5. Synechdoche, NY