Podcast: Episode 16

Introduction

Hey everyone, this is Ronan Fitzgerald, from light audio recording dot com, the only dedicated resource for compact and affordable audio recording solutions. This is the first podcast in three months because things have been crazy!

How’re’ya?

You’re listening to episode 16 of the light audio recording podcast. A lot of people are thinking about home recording right now, so I wanted to look at some of the things that have happened to help with that.

Hopefully, you’ll feel inspired to plug in and make some music this weekend.

Item one

First up, music aggregator, Amuse, have done some tinkering with the platform.

To start with, they’re no longer just on mobile only. This is useful, because most tracks are completed on a computer. It’s much easier to finish your track and upload it directly.

Second, they’re now a freemium platform.

You can still use it for free, but for sixty US dollars per year, Amuse will let you have multiple artist profiles, put your music on TikTok and Instagram, get you a YouTube content ID, automatically split any royalties, and release your music in only fourteen days.

I don’t think that’s a bad deal. If you’re an artist releasing things under different project names, it’s especially helpful.

But, it’s still worth remembering how difficult it is to make a buck from your music online, so put on your business hat and think about return on investment.

Item two

Also revising how artists get their music to fans, and indeed how artists monetize their work, has been BandLab.

In February, they announced a new “Albums” feature on their platform.

Frankly, it looks an awful lot like BandCamp, in terms of uploading tracks, putting in the album details and artwork, and setting your pricing.

Bandcamp is the obvious comparison, and there’s more to say about that than I’ve time for here. You know, let me quickly just make a note, to compare them in greater detail in a blog post.

OK, now, what sets BandLab apart from Bandcamp as a streaming or distribution platform, is that they’re not taking a cut of your tips.

It’s worth noting that you can’t directly put a song you recorded in BandLab onto an album. But, you know, they say they’re working on it, and I one hundred per cent believe them.

Item three

In the last podcast, I noted the great selection of light audio interfaces that were unveiled at NAMM.

Well, just last week, TC Helicon announced two more! You can never have enough light audio interface. Keeping things competitive keeps prices down!

Firstly, we have the Go Solo, which looks crazy like IK Multimedia’s iRig Pro I/O. But I think the Go Solo packs slightly more punch than the iRig.

The input jack combines MIDI as well as jack plug and XLR. It’s compliant with PC, Mac, Android, and iOS. And it can be powered by bus, batteries, or from the mains.

Secondly, we have the Go Twin, which looks crazy like IK Multimedia’s iRig Pro Duo I/O.

The Twin has the same features as the Solo, with the addition of TRS outputs for your monitors.

The Solo will cost one hundred and thirty dollars, while the Twin will cost one hundred and seventy dollars.

Not too bad.

Item four

And finally, Spotify announced a new feature for artists with all that’s going on.

Spotify have announced that because musicians are getting hit by lost earnings due to the viddy, they were introducing a function for artists to fundraise on their Spotify profiles. Hurrah!

Artists can include a link on their profile to Cash App, PayPal, Go Fund Me, or select music-related nonprofits.

Personally, I can’t stop thinking about the irony of Spotify being one of the main reasons musicians can’t make a living. Remember: it takes artists about two thousand plays to generate a single US dollar.

But, they also pledge to match donations of up to ten million US dollars to certain nonprofits.

Wrap up

And that is all I have for you this month. Thank you for listening.

If you haven’t already, please subscribe to the light audio recording blog at light audio recording dot com, where you can follow the exploration of recording music in an affordable and compact way.

You’ll also find light audio recording on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Linkedin, and Spotify.

I’ve been Ronan Fitzgerald, and this has been episode 16.

Please, please, please stay safe. Wear a mask if you have to go out, yell at old people to behave, and write and record new songs.

And remember, you can find more generic, whiney responses to the viddy during any ad break on the TV. They’re terrible. And whiney.

I’ll speak to you next time.