How much time an album cycle really takes.

A deeper look into what it really takes to produce a great album from start to finish.

INTRODUCTION 

How long does it take from start to finish to put together a 10 song album?  Let me walk you through all of the steps from the planning and writing stages to the marketing and finally the album release.  These are all just suggestions to put you on the right path to success.  The more of these items you can do yourself or do simultaneously, the better.  Not only can it save  you time, but it can also save you money.  But don’t cheap out on these steps.  Cutting corners here and there really start to add up over the thousands of decisions to be made in order to complete a successful album cycle from start to finish.  These recommendations are for mid-level bands, not the professionals and not the weekend party bands.  

PRE PRODUCTION 

Total time required:  16 weeks

Planning - 2 weeks

This one step can save you an unlimited amount of time, money, and resources.  Think of this as a game plan for success.  Without it, you’ll be wandering in the dark trying to guess what to do next.  Take your time, sit with your band mates, and hash out this step.  Spend a couple weeks looking at a calendar, reviewing deadlines and timelines, and building your list of characters needed to pull this off.  Give every item on your to do list a name, date, and location and assign it to a band mate to execute.  The single most important thing you need is a timeline.  If you start with the end goal in mind (Hint: it’s your release date) and work backwards, you can get a better feeling of what needs to be done and when to do it.  This is a great time to gather up names of feature vocalists, studios, mix engineers, mastering engineers, editors, world class vocal tuners, PR managers, Spotify playlist placement agents, distributors, guest musicians, co-writers, videographers, photographers, rhoadies, tour managers, merchandise… you can see how big of a cast it takes to pull off something this size.  

Writing - 8 weeks

It’s not necessary to invite every member of the band to the writing sessions.  In fact, too many attendees tend to slow down the whole process. I only invite members to the session that are needed for the process and no more.  This is the best time to incorporate a minimal recording system.  Whether you use it to capture new ideas, save ideas to come back to later, or send something off to the rest of the band or your producer.  What little time and money it takes these days to build a minimal rig to capture ideas is a small investment with a huge payoff.  Just a laptop, recording software, headphones, a small interface, and a mic or two can capture an entire band good enough to save ideas for later.  And speaking of producers, it’s time to find your producer and start to think about scheduling.  Now is the time to find and hire your producer so they can take part in the pre-production process

Pre Production recording - 2 weeks

Hopefully you haven’t decided to produce yourself and you went out and hired a great producer.  Not only do they have the connections, the ideas, and the experience, you need an outside member to offer a fresh perspective on your songs.  A good producer can help you line up and schedule everything and everybody you need for a successful project, they’ll also help you rearrange, scrap, or swap songs on your record.  At this stage, the ability to record your material is an absolute must.  Working with your producer to get a rough recording of your songs in their final form allows each member of the band to practice the material as it’s intended BEFORE you head to the studio.  This one tip can save you thousands of dollars in tracking fees by coming overly prepared. If you haven’t already, now is the time to find and hire the studio and the engineer.  Don’t just find a place with availability, find one that’s convenient and comfortable for the entire band. 

Studio Prep - 2 weeks

Make sure to schedule every person you’ll need to make this project successful - producer, studio, engineer, band members, rhoadies, techs, photo/video, studio musicians, and guest features.  It’s also a great time to get all your logistics figured out for the recording sessions - hotel, airfare, transportation, entertainment, and food.  This is a great time to document your tempos, song structures, and time signatures.  Again, being overly prepared can save you so much money.  Prep all of your extras - MIDI, FX, Post Production, and samples.  

Practice - 2 weeks

Assuming that writing is 100% complete, it’s time to practice like you’ve never practiced before.  Each member of the band should know their parts forwards and backwards.  There’s no sense in waiting until you get to the studio to learn your parts, it costs too much money to not be prepared.  I also recommend practicing as a full band.  Not only will it help to solidify your notes on tempo and song structure but it’ll allow you to stress test the song one last time before hitting the studio.  Better to find out there’s a problem with the arrangement now instead of later.  Again, I recommend recording the whole band playing through the songs.  It never hurts to have more references than you need when hitting the studio.  This is a great time to prep your instruments for the studio.  Repair or replace any broken hardware or electronics.  Buy new drum heads, strings, batteries, and sticks.  Have your guitars properly set up by a professional. 

Conclusion

This entire section of the process will have the biggest impact on the quality of your final product out of anything you do.  Great songs that are written, arranged, and rehearsed will go further than any magic or tricks performed in the studio.  This will also give you the most possible peace before arriving at the studio.  There’s nothing like being overly prepared to help you sleep better at night.  

PRODUCTION 

Total Time Needed:  9 weeks

Tracking - 4 weeks

The big boys spend a minimum of 2 days in the studio per song.  Assuming a 40 hour work week, you should book 4 weeks in the studio to track 10 songs. Put everything you got into this step, there should be zero regrets! There’s no such thing as “good enough” or “fix it in post” in this business.  No amount of trickery will save you from poor performances.  I don’t advise rushing this process or spending 14 hours a day in the studio.  After the 10th hour, everybody is burnt out and your decision making skills are suspect.  Prioritize sleep, relaxation, eating well, staying stress free, and simply enjoying the experience.  And take lots of photos and videos for your socials!  If you haven’t already, make sure that your mix and mastering engineers, editors, vocal tuners, reampers, duplicators, videographers, photographers, and so on are all ready to go.  

Editing & Vocal tuning - 2 weeks

Depending on your schedule, this step could get started while you’re still tracking in the studio.  This can be a giant bottleneck depending on the complexity of the material.  Count on one day per song to complete.  Do not skip this step!  The difference between pro and amateur releases is made by quality editing. 

Reamping - 1 week

If you’ve followed the previous steps, your reamper should be standing by waiting to receive edited tracks the second you’re done with all of the guitar tracks.  Make sure you’ve hired the right person.  Someone who cares, has patience, and a long list of previous happy clients.  Only your guitar players will care about this step but every member of the band should be invested because this can make or break your release.  Crushing tones make great records.  Forget your preconceived notions of guitar tone and use the best technology known to man.  Whether it’s a real amp, an amp sim, a profiler, or some combination of all three, the best tone is simply the best tone regardless where it came from.  

Post production FX - 2 weeks

It’s possible to send off your rough mixes to a post-production FX wizard before you even hit the studio but that’s a big gamble.  What if you change the tempo or key of a song while in the studio?  At the very least, this step should start the second that tracking is completed and a rough mix can be sent to your FX guy.  In fact, you should have started this step before you even hired a studio.  At the very least, have a good idea of exactly what FX you want and where.  Everything from piano, orchestral strings, percussion, bass drops, eerie sounds, reverse snares, breaking glass… everything you can imagine can be tested out and ready to go before you hit the studio.  

Conclusion

This is your last chance to get your tracks sorted out and put your best foot forward.  If you’ve done your job up to this point, you should be sick of these songs.  Every single detail should have been reviewed and tested with nothing left to chance.  Make sure every single member of the band is happy with the songs before moving on to the next steps.  Better yet, your producer, manager, and record label should be happy as well. 

POST PRODUCTION 

Total Time Needed:  7 weeks

Mixing - 2 Weeks

You want it done right?  Give this a MINIMUM of 2 weeks.  Even longer if you can manage.  It’s not just the amount of time it takes to send files, session prep, and mix.  It’s also the revision process.  A good mixer will mix one song and send the band the mix to make adjustments before moving on the rest of the album.  Put every member on notice to have their mix notes back to the band spokesperson for submission within 12-24 hours.  This crucial step will save you so many headaches during this step.  You already should have had your references ready to go before the files make their way to the engineer.  

Mastering - 1 week

Hire the best mastering engineer that your mix engineer suggests that money can buy.  If you trust your mix engineer’s opinion enough to mix, you should also trust their input on which mastering engineer to hire.  Mastering is going to bring you that last 2% needed to take your music to the next level.  A well balanced, cohesive, and loud mix is not just a suggestion, it’s a requirement in today’s age.  As a bonus, a great mastering engineer is another top level set of ears on your mix helping you make it the best it can be.  

Video - 2 weeks

You should have booked this long before you made it into the studio.  Better yet, you should have had a videographer in the studio filming for your socials.  Obviously 2 weeks isn’t enough for a full blown music video but it is enough for a two man team with only a couple locations and minimal B Roll to shoot.  Especially if the whole team and band are ready to go the second you have a semi-final rough mix to work with.  Whatever you do, do not skip this step.  In today’s age, video is everything.  Sure your audio and photos are important, but since most people are consuming video content these days, skipping this step can be the death of an album.   

Photos - 1 week

Book this the second you get done in the studio.  Better yet, you should have booked somebody to do photos while you were in the studio for your social media.  I don’t care who you are, your band needs group photos.  If you don’t know what types or kinds of photos you need, just ask your publicist, media manager, marketing agency, or label to see what’s needed.  Fans want to see it all.  Everything from the writing process, to the rehearsals, to the studio, to the reamping, to the video shoot and so on.  Document every single thing so you have more than enough to post daily about what’s going on with the band. 

Duplication - 1 week

Studies suggest that physical media still sells well at merch tables depending on genre.  I don’t get it but some people are still collectors of physical media.  And some people just want to help support the band by making sure they have enough gas money to get to the next gig through merchandise sales.  You don’t need to run off 10,000 copies, you just need enough to supply your tour with the ability to order more at a moment's notice if you run out.  

Conclusion

The right mix with the right video will make or break your album so spend top dollar to get this done right.  Maximize album sales and ticket sales to fund your next album cycle.  Remember, this is a business and a business that doesn’t make money is just a hobby.  

THE RELEASE

Total time required:  18 weeks

Marketing - 8 weeks

This is the most overlooked step in the entire album cycle process.  Telling your audience you have a new album coming out should be obvious.  Getting on to the best Spotify playlists, getting an album review in a popular publication, and submitting for an exclusive release on a prominent YouTube channel takes time.  This is the single most important step in making sure your album gets heard by the maximum number of listeners.  You should have an overabundance of photos, videos, and audio clips to saturate your audience on every social media platform before the actual release.  This is your last chance to build anticipation and give your album its best shot of charting.  

Online Single Release - 4 weeks

Whether you release just one single or multiple singles, you have to release something to wet the appetite of your audience.  If you want to give the album its best shot, more posts, more music, and more videos are going to do it.  I recommend releasing 1-2 singles along with videos before the full-length album comes out.  Trying to build an audience by releasing an album is completely backwards.  Instead, start building your audience years before you release so you have people to actually release it too.  If you start your social media accounts on the day your single comes out, you’ll be releasing to just a handful of people.  

Online Full-Length Album Release - 2 weeks

This might seem counterintuitive to release the album online before the album release show/tour kickoff, but how many more people could you get to your shows if you gave them a chance to hear the album first?  Also, the album release show and tour can help your album stay higher on the charts for longer.  For bonus points, this album should be released with a single video as well.  Everybody loves video these days and skipping out on the majority of your target audience is a sure way for your album to flop.  

Album Release Show Or Tour - 4 weeks

This should be set up and announced at least 4 weeks in advance.  With any luck, your playlist placement, singles released, album teasers, marketing campaigns, and so on have both excited your existing followers but also gained you some new ones and this show or tour is going to be the best you ever had.  The pressure is on, it’s up to you to deliver the goods you’ve been promising for months.  Practice, practice, and practice some more to bring your A-game to your shows.  

Post Album Cycle - A never ending amount of weeks

Go home, get some rest, and do it all again.  Seriously.  This isn’t a hobby, it's a business, and album cycles coupled with touring get it done.  

CONCLUSION

Grand total time required:  50 weeks

Under the absolute best of circumstances, coordinated by a team of experienced project managers, you can’t pull off a project of this magnitude with any less work.  If you think this is too much time and money to get a great product, you’re underestimating what went into your favorite albums.  There’s bands that have spent years in the studio writing and recording some of the greatest albums ever released.  The brighter bands these days are planning 2 years out into the future for their next album.  Oftentimes the songs they’re currently touring on were written almost 2 years ago.  Getting ahead of your release date pays dividends on quality and even sanity.  Spend more time understanding how long things take in order to coordinate a beautifully executed marketing campaign for the product you’ve spent months or years on.