Category Archives: The My Hot Music Way!

Music Industry, Recording and Production, The My Hot Music Way!

HOW TO SET UP YOUR OWN COMPUTER BASED RECORDING STUDIO (CBRS)!

It is very important that every independent musician, songwriter, artist or producer MUST seriously consider setting up their own computer-based recording studio. Firstly, they are super affordable and there is a solution that works for virtually all budgets from dirt cheap to uber expensive. Now let me be clear here. I am talking about an in the box recording studio. Not a hybrid or ‘analogue’ based studio. If you’re interested in one of those options, then there are other websites and videos that deal with those types of studios. In our computer-based studio the computer will be doing all of the processing, effects, mixing and mastering.

You can set up your CBRS on literally any platform from an iPad, laptop, desktop or dare I even say it your iPhone. In fact check out the video below, which features The Internet’s Steve Lacy, who makes all his hits on JUST his iPhone! He uses GarageBand as his DAW. For non iPhone users, you can also use BandLab, which is the online DAW and is pretty good with a massive user base.

I have a track on Spotify called Joy which was recorded and mixed in GarageBand on my 16GB iPad 3 (2012 model). This was recorded in 2016. On the laptop side of things the 2020 MacBook Air M1 version is such a powerhouse that put many a laptop to shame with the colossal amount of plugins it could load without breaking a sweat.

You know what they say? The best computer is the one you have available to you. You can literally make radio ready music using all sorts of computers, from ancient Core2Duos to the latest and greatest 128GB Ram desktop beasts! Head over to Ebay and score yourself some bargains and get recording. Download Reaper or Cakewalk by BandLab if you’re on the PC side of things or dive into GarageBand for IOS or MacBooks upgrading to Logic Pro whenever you can. In fact Apple are about to release Logic Pro for the iPad which would be a game changer and is something eagerly anticipated by many.

Music Industry, The My Hot Music Way!

THE NEW INDEPENDENT ROADMAP

We have entered into a brand-new world, a world where anyone and indeed everyone is now an artist. You even get brands setting up their own artists and we have witnessed the emergence of the AI artist, many of which have amassed thousands of followers on social media. But what does that mean for YOU? How can you run your own music business? How do you make money from your music?

In this overview, I want to point out a few things for you. Firstly, it is YOUR business, and you can run it anyway you like. Secondly, now is not the time to defer to experts, to build a “team” or to have an ever-expanding entourage of yes men. Stop thinking like the majors and start to think like lean mean independent machines. I would strongly recommend you download the app, Music Inc. We have mentioned it on here before but in a nutshell, Music Inc is a game where you create your own label, sign artists and then seek to make money whilst battling the scourge of piracy. It will teach you more about the industry than any course will. Independence means you jump in at the deep end and learn as you go along.

To run your own music business, we are going to recommend you do the following. Feel free to skip that which does not apply to you.

  • Set up your music business – This could be a company, sole proprietorship or partnership (if you’re a group) Please contact a local accountant who can give you proper advice regarding this.
  • Get a job – You need some regular income from which you can invest into your business.
  • Set up a fundraiser – You can use crowdfunding, host an event or contact friends and family.
  • Get a business loan – As long as you’re sensible, don’t over borrow and are in a position to repay any loans, this could be a vital way to inject some cash into your music business without giving away any equity.
  • Set up your own studio – You need your own studio set up which could be as easy as using your existing, laptop, tablet, desktop computer or day I say it, your phone.
  • Download the Music Inc app and play play play!
  • Sign an artist – initially this should be yourself. Sign yourself as a producer/artist and you’re ready to go!

In the next article, we are going to dive deep into setting up your own recording studio, using gear that we have used ourselves, and as such, we can prove how effective they are. It is important that you own the means of production. You need to have your own recording studio and with modern computer technology that means owning a decent, but not necessarily expensive, computer. Add a few external devices such as a microphone, headphones, audio interface and MIDI controller, plus all the cabling, and you’re ready to go.

In the mean time click here for more information about the Music Inc app. See you next time!

The My Hot Music Way!

RECORD, PROMOTE AND RELEASE YOUR MUSIC IN 2023. THE MYHOTMUSIC WAY!

There are so many Internet experts who are willing to teach you how to record your music, what interface to buy, how to mix, how to EQ, 5 things you’re doing wrong, how to use Facebook ads to get 2.5m streams and so on. Most of these gurus have one thing in common! They all run bloody courses. Stuff the courses, I am done with courses. One thing these experts tell me is that they are more music marketers than artists or labels and as such they have a vested interest in keeping you learning, learning and constantly learning. Death by degrees as my former Pastor used to say.

Check out Project:Sunday’s latest single “Sunshine”

Now that is all well and good but no one got time for that. What we want to do at www.myhotmusic.com is to show you how you can do all of the above, yourselves without signing up to any courses or forever be in our debt and why is that? Well it’s because our priority is making and releasing our music on our own label and in the spirit of punk we want you to get out there, get your laptop, start recording and then point you to the best services, in our opinion, to help you do the rest. Not only that we will always offer you an appropriate DIY alternative so you can get your hands dirty and do it yourselves. So stay tuned, subscribe to our newsletter so you can be first to know about our new articles and enjoy the ride because 2023 is your year to shine!