RECORDING:

If you are a recording artist looking for help in the application process, please contact me and I can help get you pointed in the right direction.

FACTOR

Demo Grant

http://factor.ca/ProgramDetails.aspx?ID=24

This program assists new artists, professional songwriters (songwriters that are members of a performing rights organization) and publishers with the production of their songs on a high quality demo recording, as well as basic press kit expenses, to enhance their career.FACTOR may provide a contribution of up to a maximum of $2,000 which represents 75% of the total eligible recording budget.

Juried Sound Recording Loan Program

http://factor.ca/ProgramDetails.aspx?ID=25

The FACTOR Loan program assists Canadian owned and controlled labels and Canadian artists by partially financing the production costs of sound recordings or music DVD’s for commercial release. If the applicant meets FACTOR’s distribution criteria. FACTOR may provide a loan of up to a maximum of $25,000 or $2,500 per track (Urban and Electronica) which represents 75% of the total eligible budget.

If the applicant does not meet the FACTOR distribution criteria, FACTOR may provide a loan of up to a maximum of $15,000 or $1,500 per track (Urban and Electronica) which represents 75% of the total eligible budget.

TOURING:

BRITISH COLUMBIA ARTS COUNCIL

Touring Initiatives

http://www.bcartscouncil.ca/programs/program.php?active_page=797&mess age=saved

Touring Initiatives supports professional artists and arts and cultural organizations in British Columbia to develop markets outside the province or to represent British Columbia at significant national or international exhibitions or events.

CANADA COUNCIL OF THE ARTS

Music Touring Grants

http://www.canadacouncil.ca/grants/music/se127227196662968750.htm

Deadlines – June1st , for tours occurring between the following September and

April, or December 1st, for tours occurring between the following April and October.

Music Touring Grants are for Canadian and foreign professional music artists (individuals), groups and organizations that wish to tour within Canada. For this program, groups include ensembles, bands and collectives.

Travel Grants to Professional Musicians (Individuals)

http://www.canadacouncil.ca/grants/music/qc127245459646718750.htm

This program offers Canadian music professionals (individuals) an opportunity to travel on occasions important to their artistic development. Music professionals include instrumentalists, singers, composers, librettists, arrangers, performers, conductors, singers/songwriters, artistic directors and opera stage directors.

International Touring Assistance in Music (Pilot Project)

http://www.canadacouncil.ca/grants/music/mj128379046594093804.htm

The International Touring Assistance in Music (Pilot Project) program provides project assistance for Canadian professional music artists (individuals, ensembles, bands, collectives, groups and organizations) to tour outside of Canada.

FACTOR

Tour Support

http://factor.ca/ProgramDetails.aspx?ID=31

The Tour Support Program’s objective is to support domestic and foreign touring activities by Canadian artists and to contribute to the development of the Canadian music industry both domestically and internationally.

The maximum amount of funding available is $15,000 which represents 75% of the total eligible budget, not to exceed the total cash expenditure, or the amount of the shortfall.

The sound recording that this tour will support must have sold a minimum of 2,000 confirmed units.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

CANADA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS

Career Development Program: Project Grants to Artists

http://www.canadacouncil.ca/grants/music/jl127215191532656250.htm

The Career Development Program assists Canadian professional musicians in the development of their live performance and touring careers.

These grants support activities that enhance public performances by artists in classical and new music, and non-classical music, of all world cultures. The Music Section supports music made for artistic and cultural purposes. It values distinctive artistic voices and supports excellence, innovation, experimentation and creativity in all established and emerging traditions of music. Competitions for funds are national in scope.

Grants to Professional Musicians (Individuals): Non-Classical Music

http://www.canadacouncil.ca/grants/music/zw127627277732218293.htm

Grants to Professional Musicians (Individuals): Classical Music

http://www.canadacouncil.ca/grants/music/ff127245366823750000.htm

This program offers grants to professional Canadian musicians working in non-classical music of all world cultures. Grants provide successful applicants with the opportunity to pursue their own artistic and creative development. Professional musicians include instrumentalists, singers, composers, arrangers, performers and singers/songwriters. There are three categories of applicants:emerging artists, mid-career artists and established artists.

RADIO STARMAKER FUND

https://www.starmaker.ca/

The Radio Starmaker Fund was created in the fall of 2000 on the initiative of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters and approved by the CRTC. It is a private fund which has as its stated purpose to “make a substantial and discernable difference to the careers of Canadian artists” by providing substantial incremental investment where the artist has established a proven track record and his or her label is making a Significant Investment in their future career.

VIDEO & PROMOTION

CMT Canada Video Assistance Program

http://www.cmt.ca/Misc/VAP.aspx

Over the course of our new licence term, CMT has pledged to continue to support the production of Canadian country music videos and country music programming through its new Video Advantage Program (CMT VAP). The mandate of CMT’s VAP is to contribute to the growth of the Canadian country music industry and to encourage new and established Canadian artists to cultivate their musical talents through music videos and program production. Over 40% of the music heard on CMT features Canadian artists

VideoFACT

http://www.videofact.ca/

VideoFACT considers applications requesting co-financing for music videos, websites and EPKs (the latter through MuchMoreMusic’s PromoFACT award program) six times a year.  Applications are judged by a nine-person board of directors, and successful applicants receive non-recoupable awards of up to 50 percent of production costs to a maximum of $25,000 for music videos and a maximum of $3,500 for websites and EPKs.

Share/Bookmark

1. Come prepared

Excuse me for being so obvious. Coming prepared to the studio is the number one way to save money, because you are saving time. Having your parts worked out and songs properly arranged before coming into the studio is crucial. Not only does it save time, but it lets you focus your efforts into finessing the finer points that make good songs sound great. It is also recommended that you have charts written out for any other musicians playing on your record. This is not only common courtesy, but keeps communication simple and the creative momentum up.

2. Use Proper Session Musicians

This is a point I run into the ground at any recording seminars I speak at, or whenever talking to clients who are new to the recording process. It’s so important! Recording is a whole separate art, beyond just having the chops to play a song well. To get the best results for your record, use a professional with a lot of recording experience under their belt. A professional truly grasps how certain tones sound on record, and have a greater understanding of how the subtle nuances of their performance can affect a recording. Initially it may seem counter-intuitive that spending money to hire a professional can save you money, but it’s almost always true. Professional session musicians require far less editing, mixing, processing, etc, and therefore save you money in the long run, plus give you a superior final product.

3. Time Management & Expectations

Many people who are new to the recording process make the mistake of thinking that the recording process only takes as long as you spend actually putting down your takes. Be aware that the editing and mixing process comprises the largest portion of time spent on a professional recording. Though every situation is different, a safe assumption is that for every hour you spend tracking your record, you can expect three more on the back end for editing & mixing. By budgeting your time properly and maintaining your expectations of the outcome, you can come out of the recording process with everything you needed done without going over budget.

4. Live Drums vs Programmed

Recording and mixing a professional drum sound is one of the biggest challenges for an engineer. It is what separates a professional studio from the weekend warriors. You need a good room, a good kit, a good drummer, and the proper equipment. No matter who you are, it’s a time-consuming process. The setup, tracking and mixing of drums is very labour intensive. Though a real drummer playing a real kit is sometimes irreplaceable, in many cases you have other options. A lot of modern pop/rock drum sounds are not recorded live anymore, and if they were, chances are they are so sample replaced and quantized that they bear no resemblance to the original recordings.

Drum samples & VST instruments have come very far in the past few years. We now have the freedom to hire a drummer to trigger samples using a good MIDI drum kit. Because of the quality of the drum samples, not only can you get a professional drum sound almost instantly, but you have the freedom to swap sounds around and quantize takes at a whim. Though it’s a a bit hard for some people to wrap their head around, I highly recommend considering this option for certain genres, especially where budget is an issue. At the very least, keep an open mind, because this technology is already an industry standard, and is improving greatly every year .

I hope these points help you in the planning of your next recording project. If you have any thoughts or tips to add, please do so in the comment section below.



Share/Bookmark