Album Cycle Checklist

Introduction

Essentially, a checklist like this is just project management.  The key is to always be three steps ahead on your checklist.  You don’t want your entire album coming to a halt because you should have booked your favorite mix engineer sooner and now he’s booked out half the year already.  Read this entire article before you get started so you can better understand how starting with the end in mind and working backwards will make this entire experience much more enjoyable.  

Pre Production

Writing - It should go without saying that you should probably finish writing the songs before you think about hitting the studio for recording.  Don’t be ashamed to hire someone to help you finish the writing.  Bonus points if you hire someone who is also a producer.   

Pre Production - In a dream world, bands would set up cheap recording systems at their practice spaces and hash out all the writing and producing before booking a studio.  This gives each member of the band time to practice the material as it was recorded during the pre production stage so they can nail it in the studio with confidence and efficiency.  Not only will you get a better sound out of your studio performances but you’ll save a ton of money as well. 

Booking People - Now is a great time to book your producer if you haven’t already.  They are your first hire because they can help you project manage and steer you clear of the pitfalls they’ve seen other bands endure over the years.  It might be a little early in the game to hire any featured artists or studio musicians but it doesn’t hurt to start looking. And as mentioned, a ghost writer doesn’t hurt to polish off your songs.

Booking services - Double check that your studio comes with an audio engineer.  You’ll need to hire guitar and drum techs to attend during your sessions if it’s not offered by the studio.  It’s never too early to hire an audio editor, guitar/bass reamping specialist, mix engineer, and mastering engineer.  Don’t forget to secure any equipment or instrument rentals you’re lacking for the studio tracking sessions as well..  

Booking locations - Don’t place a deposit on a studio until you’re done with the writing but don’t wait too long either.  Studios can get booked up months in advance.  Do your homework and decide what you need in a studio before deciding which studio to book.  For example, you’re not going to record a full choir in today’s smaller hip hop studios.  Need a big room for drums?  You should probably pick a studio with a large drum room. Some people will even book different studios for different purposes like a smaller and cheaper studio for guitar and bass tracking but a high-end studio with a killer mic collection for vocal and drum recording.  

Traveling - If you’re lucky, you’ve got plenty of great studios to choose from locally that can accommodate your projects unique requirements.  It saves a ton of money if you don’t have to travel, rent hotels, and eat takeout for weeks or months on end.  But even if you’re local, make meal plans ahead of time.  A lot of studios offer kitchenettes so you can save on meal costs if you’re going to be at the studio for a significant amount of time.  

Instrument prep - Hopefully you didn’t skip hiring drum and guitar techs to make your jobs easier, speed up the process, and greatly improve your studio results.  If your instruments aren’t up for the job, rent better ones for the studio. The last thing you want is to fight with your instrument while you’re trying to record. Or better yet, find a studio with all the instruments you wish you owned like a Drum Workshop house kit or a guitar with an Evertune. 

Production

Tracking -  If all goes well, you have your band, hired musicians, features, studio, audio engineer, instrument techs, and producer all gathered together to make this happen.  If that list of people doesn’t make you want to be overprepared I don’t know what would.  

Ego - I could write an entire blog about how ego has destroyed more albums than cocaine.  Let me be the first to suggest that the person the band should nominate to record any part of any song on the album should always be the best person for the job.  If that means the drummer has to play all the guitar on the record because the guitarist didn’t practice, then so be it.  I’m not trying to create art that isn’t authentic but I am trying to create art we can all be proud of instead of sacrificing quality for ego.  Just do the damn work and nail your parts and you won't have to worry about getting replaced on your own record. 

Post Production

Editing - Maybe you like editing and maybe you don’t.  I prefer to spend the appropriate amount of time tracking and getting it right at the source instead of editing a poor performance to death.  Or maybe heavy editing is the sound you’re going for so you higher a killer audio and vocal editor to make your track slap.  Understanding what editing is, when to use it, and what it does to your sound can really guide you down the right path before you even book studio time. 

Reamping - If you didn’t know, almost all bands are tracking a raw DI track for all guitars and basses during the tracking session while utilizing guitar and bass amp simulators to recreate a usable tone during the tracking session.  This allows us to edit the DI tracks before sending off to a world class guitar or bass reamp specialist so they can put your edited performance through a world class guitar or bass rig.  Sounds like a lot of extra work but the results are so worth it.  Bonus:  This saves you a ton of time and money in the studio not spending days fartin’ around with guitar tones. 

Post production fx - Consider hiring out for killer synth leads and bass drops or something more simple like a session violinist to play over an instrumental track on the album.  There’s so many possibilities to add a little flavor or unique flare to an album.  A great time to think this through is right after you’re done with pre production.  With the arrangement in place, you’ll have a better idea of what the project needs rather than squeezing whatever you have into the songs just because you can.

Mixing/mastering - Some mix engineers prefer to master their own tracks and some don’t.  Some argue for it and some argue against it.  This is one of those things you should refer to your producer along with your mix engineer’s input.  Sometimes, if you’re under particular labels, you won’t be given a choice.  

Release - Once you have your final digital media in hand, you’ll begin the last leg of this journey.  If you're smart, you started hyping up your fan base during the song writing stage and they’re now dying to hear your product and see you perform in their hometown. Plan an album release show or a listening party or whatever’s appropriate for your band and audience.  

Duplication and distribution - This will sometimes be the same service.  Such as CD Baby where you can go to have physical media created and duplicated or get your songs posted across multiple online platforms.  Doing your homework and determining which way to pivot and release your product is going to pay dividends.

Advertising - If you’re into being successful, you might want to consider building an audience and a brand and getting your name out there so people want to come see you when you’re passing through their town on your next tour promoting the new album.  If you’re ahead of the game, you already built an online audience so you’re not just posting into the void.  If you don’t know anything about advertising, there’s plenty of contemporary books for the modern band to read up on advertising in the digital media age. 

Wrap Up

That’s it, I hope this helps you get a better feel for what’s needed to pull off a successful release.  As you progress through this process, take note of areas you can improve on with your next album.  Learn from your mistakes and the next project will be faster, cheaper, and easier on all of you. Good luck!