If you’re using Groover to get your music heard, first impressions are everything. You often only get one shot at catching a curator’s ear, which is why it’s important to ensure your tracks meet modern professional standards. 

In this article, we’ll explore why remastering your older songs is a smart strategic move before pitching them to curators.

Why is remastering interesting?

Your old songs most likely didn’t have the same ears, tools, or experience you have now. But if you want to give it a second push, and life, they should have today’s industry standards.

By remastering your older song, you allow them to “level up” so they can match the audio quality of your newest work, ensuring your entire catalogue feels cohesive and professional.

Streaming platforms gradually update their loudness normalization standards. A track mastered in 2018 might sound quiet or “thin” compared to a 2024 release. If you’re either brushing off dust of an old unreleased song, or polishing up an older released track, a fresh mastering process will ensure both hit the right “sweet spot” for modern playback systems.

How to remaster a song

Curators on Groover receive hundreds of submissions, and if a track sounds “unpolished” or dated in its technical delivery, a curator might pass on it. Remastering reduces that barrier, allowing the listener to focus more on the creative aspects of the song rather than the audio quality.

When you’re preparing your campaign on Groover, you can utilize the Groover mastering service powered by Masterchannel to optimize your track automatically in minutes. It analyzes your song and applies a professional-grade master, ensuring that when a curator hits “play,” they hear your music at its absolute best.

👉 Master your music with Groover and Masterchannel

How to update your released songs

Many artists fear they will lose their play counts or playlist placements if they swap out their existing released songs, but there is a simple way to do it using your preferred distributor:

1. Copy your ISRC code: Find the original ISRC code for the track on your distributor’s dashboard.
2. Prepare the new file: Ensure the metadata is identical to the original. This includes:
   • Song Title
   • Artist Name
   • Artwork
   • Track Length (it must be similar to the original)
3. Upload as a new release: Create a new release and paste the original ISRC code into the ISRC field. This tells streaming platforms that this is the same “asset,” which helps preserve your stream counts.
4. Wait for the “Link”: Once the new version is live, you should see both versions on your profile (they may even show as “1 song, 2 versions”).
5. Delete the old version: Once the new version is successfully live and linked, you can safely take down the original, unmastered version.

👉 Learn more about mastering

So, before you send that next pitch to a blog, radio station or playlist curator, take a moment to ask: “Is this track optimized for success”? If not, a remaster might be exactly what you need to turn a “no” into a “yes”.

Now that your release is ready, it’s time to get it heard by the best music curators

L’article How can remastering give your music a second life? est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.

As more independent musicians release music on their own, learning how to approach mastering at home is becoming less of a niche skill and more of a normal part of the process.

📢 What mastering actually does (and what it doesn’t)

Mastering is often described as the final polish of a track. That’s true, but it’s also a bit misleading. What mastering really does is translation. It makes sure a track sounds balanced everywhere, headphones, cars, clubs, laptop speakers. It shapes the overall frequency balance, controls dynamics, and prepares a song for distribution.

What it does not do is fix a bad mix. And this is where many misunderstand the process. If something feels wrong in the production, mastering usually won’t solve it. It can enhance what’s there. It can’t rebuild it. A strong mix makes mastering simple. A weak mix makes it complicated. If you’re unsure where mixing ends and mastering begins, our guide to the mixing and mastering stages walks through both.

That boundary matters a lot when working from home.

🏠 Why more artists are mastering at home

The shift toward home mastering is partly technical, partly cultural. Production tools are cheaper. Distribution is instant. Release cycles are faster. Artists want more control over how their music sounds and when it comes out.

For independent musicians especially, mastering at home offers:

• speed
• autonomy
• lower costs
• flexibility

You can finish a track and release it days later. You can revise endlessly. You can learn by doing. But accessibility doesn’t remove complexity. It just changes where the responsibility sits.

🧠 What’s realistic without a studio

Professional mastering environments exist for a reason. They are built for precision. Treated rooms, high-end monitoring, and experienced engineers provide something difficult to replicate at home: objectivity.

A home setup is different. Rooms are imperfect. Speakers vary. Ears get tired. Still, strong results are absolutely possible. Especially for independent releases, early projects, or artists who release frequently.

The goal isn’t perfection. It’s consistency.

And usually, less processing works better than more. Small adjustments. Careful listening. Subtle changes. That approach tends to translate better than aggressive corrections.

🛠️ Tools commonly used for home mastering

Software has simplified mastering dramatically over the past few years. Processes that once required complex chains are now accessible through intuitive interfaces.

Some tools commonly used by independent artists include:

• iZotope Ozone: a complete mastering environment combining EQ, compression, limiting, and AI-assisted suggestions. It helps guide decisions rather than replace them.

• LAND:  an automated online mastering service that analyzes tracks and applies processing instantly. Useful for quick references or fast release workflows.

• FabFilter plugins:  widely used for precise control over EQ and dynamics, especially among more experienced producers.

Reference track tools are also increasingly important. Comparing your track to professionally mastered music often reveals more than processing alone. Technology lowers the barrier. Listening skills still matter most.

📈 What this means for independent artists

DIY mastering reflects something bigger than just production technique. It shows how the role of the artist is expanding.

Artists are no longer only creators. They manage production, distribution, and presentation. They shape how their music enters the world from start to finish. This brings more freedom, but also more responsibility. Technical decisions now directly affect how music translates on streaming platforms and how listeners experience it.

The line between creative and technical work continues to blur.

🌱 DIY mastering as a creative decision

Mastering at home is not simply a budget alternative. It represents a different relationship to the production process. But for many independent artists, home mastering offers a practical and creative path forward.

As music production continues to decentralize, the ability to understand and manage mastering is becoming less of a specialized skill and more of a standard part of making music. The final stage of a track is no longer always external. It increasingly happens where the music begins. Want feedback on your new music? Send your demo now!

L’article Mastering your tracks at home: What you need to know est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.

1. 🎯 Define What You Actually Need

Hold your thought just before you click “book now.” You should really give it some thought in relation to what your session may require. Consider the following points: – Does the session call for a vocal booth alone, or will it be a full band situation? – Are you taking your producer or engineer along, or will everything be handled by you? – Are you recording demos or release-worthy tracks, or are you just messing around with new ideas? For instance, if you make your own beats at home and all you want is to record vocals, then a self-service booth with a good mic and some sort of soundproofing should suffice. Let’s face it; you don’t want to spend a fortune using a large SSL console for the same.

💡Here’s a tip for you: Use your phone and record a tiny voice memo of the track. Listen carefully and think about what’s missing. If the sound is not crisp and the vocals are not prominent, then some quiet and well-treated booth spaces could do wonders for the track. Otherwise, if it lacks polish and needs some juice, it’s time to seek out mixing and mastering assistance. A quick two-minute test like this could better help you understand what you need and prevent you from booking a geared-up studio you will never use.

2. 💰 Budget Like a Boss

First, establish your hourly budget and the maximum you really can afford to spend. Supportive studios for independent creators usually range between $25 and $60. Location-wise, the cost may change to the advantage of or against the client, and prices also differ when an indie engineer goes to lend a hand. 

A worthy piece of advice: be looking to book in longer blocks of time. Longer bookings of four hours or more are often rewarded with somewhat discounted rates.

🧠 Remember This: $25–35/hour → These are self-service studios where you have to furnish your own gear, like a laptop or headphones. $40–60/hour → These are the full professional studios with an engineer ready to assist you during your session.

3. 💰 🧑‍💻 Let’s Compare Music Studios

Self-Service vs Engineered Sessions

Here are some real-life examples: 

Self-Service: Pirate Studios in NYC

They have self-service studios available all day and all night, so use it whenever it suits you. Rentals start at $28 per hour. You just hook up your laptop, and you are off to record your own work right away. To learn how this 24-hour network started, read our interview with Pirate.com’s co-founder. 

Engineered: Quad Studios Times Square

They charge roughly $60/hour for studio sessions that grant you  access to world-class microphones, vintage analog gear, and a professional sound-engineer. The studio has seen recording sessions from names such as Alicia Keys and Travis Scott; however, there are also cheaper rates during non-peak hours, which might be really helpful to any indie artist working on vocal sessions or demo projects.

4. 🎤 Evaluate the Equipment and the Vibe of the Music Studio

Don’t work out only in relation to its price. It is always good to see what equipment they have to offer: Must-have tools, in the eyes of most independent artists, include – A quality condenser microphone, like the Neumann TLM 102 or the Rode NT1 – A stable interface to connect your audio gear – A booth cleanly treated from any echo, plenty of sound treatment – A pair of headphones and a simple monitor system to hear your work precisely Then, the overall feeling comes into play: – Does it feel inspiring and full of creativity? – Do they usually work with artists of a style similar to yours? – Can you picture yourself in this setting for a 6-hour session?

💡Your little tip: When you’re checking out recording studios, don’t just look at the equipment they have. Also, ask them if you can listen to some tracks that were recently recorded there. This way, you will really get a taste of the sonic vibes of that space. If possible, try to visit the studio yourself. Once inside the booth, clap your hands once. If you hear a very loud echo, that means the room is not well treated for vocals.

5.  📍 Location, Location and Location

Location is Key It’s hard to be motivated if you have to change the subway line twice and spend 30 minutes setting up before the actual recording. Surely, the next time you’ll think twice before going there. So, select a location that is easier to reach. Many would consider having food nearby a plus-everyday, take Moon Studios in Brooklyn, for example. It is easy to reach from the L train, and there is a taco truck right beside it. Those tiny conveniences really build up when you’re five hours into recording vocals. Such little conveniences as being in an awesome location and having some grub near you matter big time in your recording experience.

6. 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Discover Music Studios That Support Indie Artists

Some studios offer more than just room rentals. They actively help you advance in your music career. Here’s what to look for: – Programs specifically designed to help develop your skills as an artist – Discounts on mixing and mastering services to perfect your tracks – Opportunities to join community events or music showcases, giving you a chance to perform or enjoy others’ performances. 

The Brewery Recording Studio, found in Brooklyn, is a fantastic spot that really supports independent artists. They offer special low-price packages for EP projects. The studio works with local producers to make mixing and mastering easier on the budget. Plus, they frequently organize live music sessions and networking events in their lounge area. This helps artists collaborate with others and get more exposure for their work.

💡 Bonus: Our Favorite Indie-Friendly Music Studios

🛠️ GSI Studios – New York

💸 Budget: $$

🎶 Perfect for: R&B, soul, hip-hop, vocal tracking

Why we love it: This recording space is intimate and comfortable, ideal for anyone looking to make high-quality music. They use excellent equipment—a Neumann microphone with an Avalon preamp—that really enhances vocal sound. The vibe is great and encourages creativity. They’ve worked with both up-and-coming artists and big names, so they know how to bring out the best in music. 

🔊 PluggedIn Studios – Los Angeles, CA

💸 Budget: $

🎶 Perfect for: DIY hip-hop, beatmakers, vocalists

Why we love it: It’s 24/7, which is really convenient. Bring your laptop, and you’re ready to go. The cost for using the basic room is $28 per hour. If you prefer extra help, the professional room comes with an engineer and costs $60 per hour. This place is perfect for artists who have a clear vision of their work and simply need a tidy, well-set-up space to make it happen.

But just keep that in mind: there’s no “one-size-fits-all” music studio. The best option is the one that fits you as an independent artist. Keep these points in mind: – Know what you aim to achieve in your recording session – Stick to what you can afford – Select a studio that sparks your creativity – Choose studios that help build up your music community Grow your sound the way you want it to flourish. And remember, you can always use Groover to connect with industry professionals who can support your journey.

L’article Music Studio for Your Budget and Style: How to Find the Right One est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.

The traditional approach not only remains costly, but often entails additional expenses for hiring skilled engineers, session players, and other professionals. However, the landscape has changed dramatically. Nowadays, all you need to write, produce, record, mix, and even master your music is some affordable gear and a little self-education. 

Today, many DIY musicians have successfully set up their own home recording studios on a budget, using innovative, professional-grade recording equipment that empowers them to create, produce, and distribute their music independently.

The main reason for the astronomic rise in DIY recording is the affordability of modern equipment and music-making software. Today, you can set up a home recording studio and start making music on a relatively inexpensive laptop alongside an affordable microphone, headphones, and an audio interface. Meanwhile, Digital Audio Workstations (DAWS) allow you to create, record, edit, mix, and master without limitations, and sometimes for free!

The democratization of the music production process has eliminated the need for expensive studio time, enabling artists to have complete creative control over their music. However, affordability is not everything – musicians need to ensure that their output is of a high enough quality to meet music industry standards, which can be challenging to achieve when you’re a DIY musician on a tight budget.

1. Affordable Equipment 

When diving into the world of DIY music production, there are some essential tools you’ll need to get started. Here we offer tips and advice on what to purchase and the pros and cons of making the right affordable decisions. 

• Computer

The first stop for any aspiring DIY musician is to purchase a reliable computer with sufficient processing power and memory to handle the various music production software and audio interfaces. Depending on your budget, your primary options are either a desktop PC or a laptop. 

• Desktop PCs generally offer more powerful processors and better cooling systems to handle intensive music production tasks and support multiple screen monitors. They’re also easier to upgrade when it comes to RAM, storage, and graphics cards.
• Laptops, on the other hand, are typically cheaper and will allow you to work from anywhere, making them ideal for mobile production or working in different environments. However, it’s worth noting that laptops are not typically as powerful as desktop PCs at the same price point and offer limited upgrade options.

Whether using a desktop or laptop PC, you should look for at least an Intel i5 processor or equivalent in terms of processing power, while for Macs, the M1 or M2 chip is highly recommended. In terms of RAM – the speed at which your computer can move data between the CPU and memory, you should aim for at least 8GB, although 16GB is likely to offer much smoother performance.  For data storage, more is always better, but if you’re on a budget you should aim for a minimum of 512GB, which can be upgraded through the addition of an external hard drive.

• Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)

The beauty of a DAW is that it’s available at a fraction of the cost of traditional studio equipment, and some even offer free versions. Whatever your choice, DAWs allow you to create professional-quality music from home, eliminating the need to rent expensive studio gear or time. An all-in-one solution, modern DAWs allow you to combine multiple functions, from recording and editing to mixing and mastering in one software package, while also offering a vast array of virtual instruments, effects, and plugins that allow you to experiment with different sounds and styles at no additional cost. They also enable you to edit tracks and experiment without permanently having to alter your original recordings, giving you greater creative control. 

The negative aspect of using a DAW mostly lies in its complexity. For beginners, there’s a vast array of features and tools to learn, although there are plenty of online tutorials to guide you through the basics. Software is more prone to crashes, bugs, and compatibility issues than hardware, and purists often believe that digital audio lacks the warmth and character that analog recording equipment provides. However, this can be overcome once you’ve reached a certain level of expertise, while a DAW’s extensive MIDI capabilities also allow you to attach various external hardware controllers, enabling you to operate in both worlds. 

• Audio Interface

An audio interface is a crucial component for a DAW and an essential investment for anyone serious about their music production setup for several reasons. Basically, an audio interface enhances the overall quality and functionality of your DAW setup by converting analog signals into digital signals that your computer and DAW can process. This ensures accurate sound reproduction to help create professional-grade recordings. 

The audio interface itself typically provides multiple inputs and outputs, allowing you to connect various microphones, instruments, and monitors simultaneously and often includes MIDI inputs and outputs, allowing you to connect controllers, keyboards, and other MIDI devices directly to your setup. Audio interfaces are designed to reduce latency (the delay between input and output) to provide real-time monitoring of your recordings without noticeable lag, while high-quality audio interfaces typically offer better preamps, converters, and components compared to built-in sound cards, resulting in cleaner, clearer, and more detailed recordings. 

Budget audio interfaces are, however, a great entry point for those looking to start recording at home without having to make a significant investment. They’ll provide the essential features needed for basic recording and production despite having limitations in terms of sound and build quality, or the advanced features you can expect to find with mid-range or high-end interfaces.

On the plus side, budget audio interfaces are cheaper, easier to swap, and likely to be more compact and lightweight, making them convenient for mobile recording setups. Either way, they’re great if you’re new to audio production because they allow you to learn the basics of analog to digital recording without having to make a large financial commitment.

• Microphone

Needless to say, a good-quality microphone is essential for recording vocals and acoustic instruments. However, when it comes to budgeting it’s important to weigh the pros and cons of microphones that come in different price ranges. A budget mic will typically cost between $60 and $130 and still offer reasonable sound quality for your basic recording needs. 

Ultimately, the best choice depends on your specific needs, goals, and budget, so see if you can shop around to find a budget microphone that offers decent quality at an affordable price. Finally, it’s worth mentioning that a pop filter is an inexpensive microphone accessory that can really help to reduce heavy air from overloading the mic and reduce or eliminate popping sounds when recording vocals.

• Monitors

Studio monitors are designed to provide a flat frequency response, meaning they reproduce sound as accurately as possible without coloring or altering the audio. This accuracy is crucial when it comes to hearing the finer details of your recordings, such as subtle nuances, panning, and spatial effects, or unwanted noise, distortion, or imbalances in your mix. 

For those on a budget, studio monitors will help you to develop critical listening skills and gain a better understanding of audio production without breaking the bank, while still offering reasonably accurate sound reproduction on a level that’s suitable for basic mixing and monitoring tasks. They’re also likely to be more compact and lightweight, making them easier to fit into smaller studio spaces or portable setups. 

On the negative side, budget monitors are likely to have limitations in sound accuracy, build quality, and features compared to mid-range and high-end monitors, especially when it comes to low-frequency reproduction, making it challenging to accurately mix bass-heavy music. However, budget studio monitors are definitely a great starting point for beginners and those on a tight budget, and you can always upgrade as your skills and needs grow.

• Headphones

Headphones are the most obvious alternative to monitors, possessing the added benefit of being easily transportable so you can work on music anywhere. A good pair of headphones will offer decent sound isolation, blocking out external noise and allowing you to focus on your music and hear subtle details in your mix.

Modern budget headphones can offer surprisingly good sound quality for everyday production despite their relatively limited sense of space, depth, and bass response. However, do consider that the extended use of budget headphones can lead to ear fatigue while lack of suitable cushioning might cause discomfort during extended use. Ultimately, having both headphones and monitors can be beneficial, as they complement each other and provide different perspectives on your mix, but if you have to choose one, consider your primary needs and working environment.

2. The second-hand market

Purchasing second-hand equipment can be a fantastic option for DIY musicians on a tight budget. Buying used gear is generally much cheaper as new equipment tends to depreciate in value very quickly. However, when buying second-hand music equipment, it’s still important to know the market value of an item and its common issues or wear points. 

First, it’s preferable to buy second-hand items from a shop where you can inspect them in person to check for any defects or damage. Alternatively, you’re obviously going to have much more choice if you turn to the huge online market for second-hand music gear, such as Reverb, Gear4music, Musical Money, and more general platforms like Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and eBay. Wherever you go gear hunting, just remember to always use trusted sellers or platforms that offer buyer protection.

When buying online, feel free to ask for additional information regarding an item. Inquire about the item’s history, including how it was used and maintained, and whether it might have any remaining warranties or guarantees. Remember to ask for any user manuals, receipts, or service records, and if you’re still unsure about the condition or value, try to get a second opinion from someone more knowledgeable.

3. Home Recording Techniques

Unfortunately, most DIY musicians have to make do with recording in rooms that have the potential to corrupt what they hear from their speaker system. The reality is, even with high-end gear, musicians often struggle to produce high-quality music in rooms that are not acoustically treated. The key to acoustically treating a room is to increase the amount of mass on your studio walls, ceilings, and floors, to both absorb sound from within the room and block sound from the outside. 

While expensive options, such as attaching mass loaded vinyl, dry wall, or acoustic panels and bass traps are great at helping to reduce reflections, echoes, and reverberation, there are ways to achieve the same effect without having to break the bank. For example, you can create your own acoustic panels and bass traps by filling a wooden frame with rock wool or fiberglass insulation. Alternatively, foam panels and fabric materials are also affordable options that are effective at absorbing sound. 

On a more simplistic level, placing carpets or rugs on the floor – the thicker the better – will help to absorb sound reflections, as will heavy curtains or large, upholstered furniture like sofas and bookshelves, which can act as diffusers, scattering sound reflections to improve room acoustics. If there are gaps around your windows and doors, then consider applying acoustic sealant, weatherstripping materials, or door sweeps to prevent air and sound leaks. 

When it comes to recording vocals, it’s important to be able to isolate vocals and ensure outside noise doesn’t bleed into the microphone. When operating on a budget, portable vocal booth kits are ideal for small studio spaces, and you might be surprised to learn that you can even build your own DIY booth by simply hanging a heavy duty curtain and filling the surrounding space with thick blankets or quilts. All these tricks can help you to create the controlled recording environment required to capture a clean vocal take.

4. Software and Tools

As we have discussed, DAWs empower you to bring your musical ideas to life at a fraction of the cost of traditional studio gear. However, whilst DAWS are fantastic for budget-conscious producers, they all have different features and use cases depending on your experience level, which is reflected in the cost. 

Some of the most popular DAWs include Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, FL Studio, and GarageBand, all of which allow musicians to make high-quality studio recordings. Avid Pro Tools remains the industry standard DAW for the recording industry, but can cost anything up to $8,000. Whereas Ableton Live – considered to be unmatched when it comes to fast and creative workflow – can set you back anywhere between $100 and $750 depending on how much you’re prepared to pay for its tiered features.

However, Ableton Live’s standard version could definitely be considered a budget DAW, alongside other affordable options including FL Studio or Apple Garageband, which is free if you happen to be the owner of an Apple Mac or iPad.

Completely free DAWs include Traktion Waveform Free, which is considered to be the most fully featured zero cost DAW available with an unlimited track count and excellent plugin support. Meanwhile, if you’re completely new to music-making, BandLab, with its highly convenient browser-based interface is another great free starting point.

Not all DAWs come with free plugins, but most of them do include a range of built-in instruments and effects to get you started. If you’re looking for free plugins that will help to expand your recording options, Eventide’s Pendulate is possibly the best freebie for sound design, allowing you to create wild, gritty, and unpredictable sounds. Surge XT, meanwhile, is another formidable free synth with huge sound design potential that won’t cost you a penny, and Melda Production’s MFreeFXBundle is known to be the biggest and most powerful free plugin pack out there.

If you’re looking for free plugins that allow you to go a bit further and process and manipulate sounds, look no further than Vahalla Supermassive or PaulXStretch, a time-stretching tool that’s great for creating transformative textural, atmospheric, and ambient sounds.

• Artificial intelligence

In today’s fast-moving music production world, artificial intelligence is now becoming an increasingly prevalent tool for DIY musicians, offering innovative ways to streamline various music production processes. For instance, Moises offers innovative, AI-driven tools for audio manipulation, enabling users to isolate, remix, and enhance tracks in real-time.

The Moises App offers huge benefits for DIY musicians, enabling them to remove vocals, separate instruments, and remix songs using the power of AI. Available as an affordable three-tiered subscription model – each offering increasingly state-of-the-art features, even Moises’ free app allows musicians to effortlessly isolate vocals, bass, and other instruments from any track so they can focus on specific elements. Through the employment of advanced AI algorithms to achieve high-quality audio separation, DIY musicians are able to practice mastering each part of a song at their own pace without interference from other instruments.

Other free Moises features include Smart Metronome, enabling you to follow the beat of any song and practice at different tempos, AI Chord Detection, designed to detect and display chords in real-time to help you learn and practice, and AI Lyric Transcription. These state-of-the-art AI-driven tools are perfect for anyone looking to practice singing and playing, learn new songs, or capture creative ideas quickly and efficiently.

5. Production Tips

For DIY musicians, mixing and mastering might seem like daunting processes when operating on a budget. Mixing is the process of combining individual tracks into a cohesive song while identifying any problematic areas or sections that need special attention, such as volume levels, enhancing or removing unwanted frequencies, controlling dynamic range, or the implementation of panning and effects. Mastering, however, is the final step of polishing a song for distribution with the objective of ensuring it sounds excellent across all devices and playback systems.

Whether you should mix and master your own tracks or hire someone else depends largely on your goals and experience level. If you’re a beginner, mixing tracks is a great way to learn about production and although you might initially want to hire a mix engineer to compete with industry standards, through time and experience it won’t be long before you’re able to mix your own tracks.

Mastering, however, is a much more technical activity and a crucial final cog in the recording process. Yet hiring a mastering engineer can cost anywhere between $60 to $500 per song depending on the engineer’s experience, the project, and the studio. Thankfully, in recent years new state-of-the art technologies have been developed to enable DIY producers to master their own tracks without breaking the bank. 

Moises’ AI Mastering tool offers an affordable solution for inexperienced music producers or those on a tight budget, enabling you to adopt AI-driven tools to simplify the mastering process and create professional-quality recordings without the need for deep technical expertise or resources. Offering three mastering modes, Auto Mode allows beginners to achieve balanced and polished results without the need to understand the intricacies of mastering, while the app’s Advanced and Reference Modes are better suited to those with a little more experience looking to learn or experiment with some of the more detailed aspects of mastering.

Today, mastering engineers are highly sought-after and you might need to book months in advance before getting them to master your project. However, with Moises’ AI Mastering too, you have the freedom to master recordings at your own pace without getting bogged down by technicalities, freeing up time to focus on other creative activities.

In the past, learning how to produce, mix, and master was not something you could feasibly do in a home recording studio or learn about without having access to knowledgeable industry professionals or studios full of expensive equipment. However, thanks to today’s online resources, there is a plethora of learning tools available for DIY musicians to help them get going.

Whether you want to take an online course or tutorial, or simply join communities and forums to ask questions, collaborate, or share tips with other music enthusiasts, help is only ever a click away.

6. Promotion Tips

A much-needed lifeline for DIY musicians is getting their music into the hands of experienced professionals who can offer relevant advice and expertise. On Groover, you can send your music to industry pros, playlist editors, radio stations, bloggers, and record labels.

For DIY musicians, Groover is a great way to invest in your success and promote your music to the right people without the high costs associated with traditional PR services.

—

Get in touch with the best radios, medias and music pros 👇

L’article The DIY Musician: Recording High-Quality Music on a Budget est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.

1. What is a creative director in music?

It’s 2025, and the pop girlies are dominating the charts. Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, and Chappell Roan are all wildly successful in the genre of pop, yet they’re all pretty different when it comes to how they present themselves. They have essentially amplified their personalities to create their own space in the genre, and some cater to different audiences than others. This is in part thanks to the creative directors they work with.

Creative directors often work with/at labels as a sort of in-house artistic consultant. In music, their role is to find an artist’s brand identity and help them convey that message to the public. This means honing in on an artist’s personal style, tastes, visual persona, and overall public image. This covers everything from the clothes they wear and how they do their hair to what they’re posting on social media and what their music videos look like.

In short, creative directors help:

• Identify an artist’s brand
• Help guide them in their public image
• Maintain this image on social media and online
• Understand their artistic vision and find the right collaborators for the artist

2. Creative directors vs A&Rs and PR

While there is sometimes overlap in responsibility, creative directors and A&Rs are for the most part very different.

A&Rs work to scout artists, writers, and producers for their label to sign. Creative directors work with signed artists to develop their visuals and voice. One covers the “before”, and another covers the “after”. A&Rs take a step back after the artist has been signed and begins career development in the label, which is when creative directors take the reigns.The overlap can happen when the label discusses what their vision for an artist is long-term. Many people within a label come together to figure this out, and both creative directors and A&Rs can present a vision they have for someone.

This is worth mentioning because some labels work differently and have smaller teams, therefore allowing for more overlap in who does what. Smaller labels will see A&Rs covering both roles, while others separate the administrative and creative departments.

PR is “public relations” and covers what is said publicly to protect an artist’s image. They have no say in anything creative, simply public statements or what not to say in an interview.

3. What kind of advice do creative directors give?

Creative directors can have a say in anything creative that is seen or heard by the public. This could mean suggesting that an artist releases a certain single because that style is a fan favorite, attends a certain event because it showcases the artist’s values, posts certain pictures on Instagram, participates in certain trends, or wears a style of clothing on tour/during shows.

They are the filter artists can use to better understand how other people see them and how to stay consistent (or change, if they want to!)

4. How artists and creative directors collaborate

There is a balance to strike between the artist’s vision and the creative director’s expertise, and that can usually be achieved through simple communication and selectivity. The creative director will do everything in their power to take an artist’s personal needs and vision and mold them into something convincing and presentable. If you are an artist and are working with a creative director that does not align with how you see yourself moving forward, you’re working with the wrong person!

Before making a choice on who to work with, you must spend time with the people you’ll be collaborating with. This requires meetings and discussions that will allow you to get to know the creative director personally, allowing you to decide whether or not your ideas are compatible, if they truly understand you and your artistic vision, if they have the rights connections to help you reach your goal. Ask tons of questions and know what you want before going in.

| Check out: Recording Contracts: What to expect and what to avoid

5. How long do creative directors stay involved?

Creative directors will work with artists for as long as their contract with the label is. The longer the better, so that the artist’s image can be crafted and refined over time.

Nowadays, where the music industry is in constant change, it’s important to stay current, so creative directors are working around the clock to maintain a rhythm of content and releases. It is not a seasonal job, so they’ll be involved for as long as necessary, even if an artist hasn’t released anything in a while.

6. Who creatively directs independent artists?

Independent artists have the privilege of not being tied down to one person’s vision, so it’s worth taking advantage of.

If someone around them is creatively inclined and understands today’s social media landscape and public relations, they might be equipped to advise the artist when necessary. You do not need tons of resources to be a creative director, though connections in the creative industry (photographers, stylists, makeup artists, videographers, editors, etc) definitely helps.

Indie artists can also gather friends who listen to the type of music they make (ideally from different backgrounds) and workshop what they think would make sense for them in terms of album visuals, clothing style, and general persona. Sometimes hearing multiple opinions helps one find their own!

| Check out: How to get signed by label when you are an independent artist

– Written by Emma Ballay in its original version and translated by Natalia Soborksi  – 

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L’article What a Creative Director’s Role is in Music est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.

Don’t hesitate to ask for advice from music industry professionals on Groover to get honest and constructive feedback on the progress of your projects and career moves.

Step 1. The Music Creation Phase

Writing and Producing Songs

Before strategizing and coming up with a master plan for reaching success in the industry, you must first have the material you’ll be working with. The most important step in the entire endeavor that is a career in music is making the music itself.

Not all artists are songwriters, but consider how much more control you’ll have if you are. You’ll own larger shares of royalties of your music, have more creative freedom in the studio, and be able to use your own experiences to shape your sound and the emotion it evokes for listeners.

Songwriting is a skill that comes from a lot of listening, learning, analyzing, and reading. How do your favorite artists tell a story through song? Active listening is something you can do at any time that will greatly benefit you when you start working on new music. Apply this to instrumentals, melodies, and lyrics: look for how instruments are layered in the beat, a story arc within the lyrics, and repetition or lack thereof in the melody.

Do not hold yourself back when you’re creating. Give every idea a chance, and document anything that comes to mind when you’re away from your workspace. The Notes and Voice Memos apps are your best friends.

Using the Best Tools Available

Whether it’s a plugin, app, or sample, it’s important to use high quality tools to both learn and create.

Plugins

As you go about your production process, the additional tools you need will become clear to you. Plugins for musicians exist by the thousands and are designed to make music creation easier and more accessible, regardless of your studio setup and available equipment.

When it comes to plugins, choose quality over quantity always. It is better to spend your money wisely on the few plugins you need rather than a number of different ones that serve the same purpose because of one or two small differences in features.

Invest in good compression, EQ, piano, guitar, autotune, saturations, and limiter plugins.

Apps

No matter your level of musical proficiency, there exist apps that can streamline your music making process or note-taking efficiency. Optimize your process by figuring out what you need the most. Some ideas are:

• General music production
• Identifying chords
• Identifying a key
• Tuning an instrument
• Vocal exercises
• Learning an instrument
• Music file storage/sharing
• DJing

If an app can help you overcome an obstacle of yours, it is worth the download. Just ask Steve Lacy, who produced parts of his Grammy-winning album on his iPhone.

Sampling

Samples are an element of production that are easy to source but tricky to master. Nothing special is required to find samples – they are simply an excerpt of any pre-existing music you like.

The two ways to sample music nowadays are by 1) finding them yourself, or 2) using a sampling service online. Finding them yourself requires meticulous listening, and often a large collection of music. For the very ambitious, a vinyl collection + a turntable that allows you to convert the physical music to digital music is a great way to go about it. If you’re a quick worker and prefer to have a vast library of sounds and songs to use, online music platforms that focus on sampling, like Splice, are a perfect investment.

2. Making your Music Professional: Recording, Mixing, and Mastering

How to Find the Right Recording Studio

The quality of the recording and production of your songs is immensely important. Choosing the right music studio will give you access to high quality equipment you may not have at home and engineers that will save you time in the recording process.

There are a lot of music studios out there, but the best way to filter them and find the right fit is by taking both budget and location into account. Some studios are open to public bookings and can be rented out for however many hours on whatever days available, while others require you to reach out well in advance and discuss prices. These studios do this to vet their guests. A healthy in-between is studios who work on a subscription basis and charge per month for access to their facilities. Do a quick search for studios around you and figure out what makes the most sense for your situation.

With the right equipment, you don’t even need a professional studio. Countless successful artists record at home – you can also create an incredible studio in your own home if necessary. Here’s a breakdown of how to build a quality home studio.

Mixing

Mixing is a key step in the music production process that cannot be skipped.It is the point in the process where all elements of your track are made balanced and clear in relation to each other. Effects are added to vocals, unnecessary frequencies are cut from instruments, and the song is ready to be passed on to the mastering phrase, which is vital if you’re planning to release it to the public.

Check out our mixing tips and tricks to make your music sound good

Mastering

Mastering is the misunderstood step in music-making that actually makes the biggest difference. It is what makes a song file ready to distribute to the public through the adjustment of levels, compression, and more to make it compatible with playback devices.

Without mastering, a song would sound completely different on a phone than it would in a car or through speakers. The rumble you feel when a bass hits hard or the intimacy that comes through when a vocalist is singing softly but loudly at the same time is made possible through mastering and the processing that happens during this step. Make absolutely sure to do this before getting your music on Spotify or any other streaming service.

3. Create a Universe Around You and Your Music

Storytelling and Branding

Turning your listeners into fans requires strong storytelling that will allow them to identify you and your personality. Creating the impression for your audience that they know and have a personal connection with you will deepen the bond you have and build an even stronger community of listeners.

This requires consistency across all public channels: photos, videos, tweets, captions, etc. Hone in on what makes your personality unique and highlight it to the world. This will be your “brand” and will dictate the way you’re perceived as an artist. Look to the artists you admire and think about their persona and what they did to shape that image for you.

Find out here how to find your own way of storytelling and how to execute it.

Visual Content

Today’s social media mania requires that musicians also have a knack for visual content. Only after your music is made should you focus on visuals, but make sure to give some thought. In fact, give it a lot of thought, as it will be your primary way of getting the public’s attention and directing them to your music online.

If you don’t have a record label backing you and you’re balling on a budget, that’s ok. All you need is a phone to record something to pair with a snippet of your new music and post on social media. Try to have some short form and long form content to post on Spotify, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok that will prompt people to find you on streaming services. The goal is to convert viewers to listeners.

Study what other artists are posting on social media to better understand what each platform likes to push. You’ll notice that Spotify likes very short, high-quality video for Canvases, Instagram likes well-edited photos and videos, and TikTok prefers informal, short-form iPhone content. Cater your content to each platform for maximum effect.

– Written by Marguerite Beaussant in its original version, translated into english by Betty Gonzalez Gray –

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L’article How to Grow Your Music Career Effectively est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.

Why You Need Both Short and Long Term Goals

Each type of goal serves a different purpose, and is most effective when paired with the other. Without short term goals, long term targets seem futile, daunting, and difficult to achieve. Without long term goals, short term tasks lack intention, are easier to procrastinate, and feel ungratifying. Together, however, they provide a big picture that feels concrete and motivating to work towards.

Long term goals are big in scope and require a number of steps to achieve. These are the bold and ambitious dreams of yours that sound like a fantasy but you know you can reach (“I want to become ___”), or the time-based checkpoints you intend to mee (“in one year, I want to have ___”). Whether it’s a vision or a timeline that gets you writing things down, having a long term goal will help you keep your eye on the ball when the menial tasks are lacking luster. 

Short term goals are smaller in scope and make bigger visions come to life. They can be broken down into concrete tasks and are thus more measurable, allowing you to track your progress. You can base them on timeline or feasibility, and are can range from next month’s target all the way down to tomorrow’s to-do list.

Building Blocks

For both types of goals, what defines something as short or long term is entirely up to you. Someone’s long term goal for 6 months from now can be someone else’s short term goal in their 5-year plan. What really matters is the understanding that they are building blocks. Your biggest and farthest objective is the largest block, and every goal and task that comes before it is a smaller stepping stone to get there. Daily tasks make up short term goals, and short term goals make up long term goals.

Everyone operates differently. For some, write a song is a reasonably sized daily task, while for others, it must be broken down into “find a chord progression → create an 8-bar loop → freestyle a melody → add lyrics” in order to feel realistic and doable. You’re creating your own building blocks, so find what works best for you. Perhaps your plans are actually long term, mid term, short term, weekly, and daily… there are no rules!

Goal Breakdown Example

If you don’t know where to start, the easiest thing to do is start with a long term goal and work backwards. Remember, setting a date or time limit for your goal is not required – some find that it holds them accountable while others find it stressful, so no pressure. Once you have a goal in mind, ask yourself to fill in the blank: “if I want to (goal), first I have to ___”. Here’s an example of what it might look like to work backwards from the goal hit 100k monthly listeners on Spotify:

Next, you can put them in the correct order of completion:

If any tasks need more breaking down, go for it:

Make Your Plan Very Personalized

The whole point of this process is to make things easier to complete, so be realistic and honest with yourself about the size of your tasks. Don’t bite off more than you can chew – you’ll only get discouraged. If you read a task and your immediate feeling is that you’re overwhelmed, that means it’s too big of a block. Really break things down into tasks you could put on a daily to-do list.

How to Apply it to Your Day

Once you’ve structured out your list of goals into doable tasks, treat them like your target for the day. If you’re unfamiliar or inexperienced with what you’re doing, it’s possible to not know where to start when you’re ready to tackle your first assignment. Let’s take “Write song pitch and bio” as an example.

You’ve given yourself the day to get it done, so you have more than enough time to do a little research and figure out how best to write a good pitch and artist bio to send to media outlets, playlist curators, and any other industry professionals you have in mind. If you’re coming in blind, start by looking up examples and then trying to create your own version. The Groover blog is an invaluable resource for independent artists with hundreds of articles that cover topics such as these in depth. Find a pitch walkthrough here, and an artist bio breakdown here.

Plan Out of Order

If you have ideas for something that doesn’t need doing right away, write them down anyways! Having a rough sketch of each step before you get there is an excellent incentive to actually reach those points. You may already have a music video idea before the song is done, or might have visited the Groover website and know exactly which labels, playlists, or media outlets you want to send a message to for feedback. Take a look at the list of curators on the Groover platform now to get a head start and have a clear vision in mind as you move forward in your process!

Track Your Progress

It helps enormously to keep track of how far along in the process you are. If a strict timeline makes you feel rushed or unforeseen circumstances push you off course, opt for measuring tasks based on completion instead – they’ll be done when they get done. The simple act of checking something off a list can do wonders for your motivation and discipline. Stick with it and you’ll get to where you want to be.

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L’article How to Plan Your Music Career – Creating Short and Long Term Goals est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.

Your mixes will improve the more you practice, so without further ado, here are 5 key mixing tips that can help you understand how to mix better and achieve more professional results at your home studio.

1. Think of Your Mix as a Physical Space

When figuring out how you want your song to sound, close your eyes and picture yourself listening to it in a room. Where do you want each element of your song to sound like it’s coming from? Think about all dimensions – width, height, and depth; distance from you, and whether it is left, right, or center.

The type of song you’re making should inform how you want your mix to sound. Listen to songs you like and try to imagine what space or room they’re in. You’ll notice a pattern – singer/songwriters tend to lean towards an intimate sound, which can mean that everything sounds pretty close together, and close to the listener. Other songs, particularly movie soundtracks or ballads, sound grand and vast, like you are in a big open space that resonates well. Study the genre you make and take note of how large of a space you want to fill up – this will help you with panning, EQ/filtering, compression, and reverb/delay choices down the line.

The more you visualize while listening, the better you’ll be able to place where you want your sound sources to be. Typically, main vocals are in the middle, harmonies and adlibs are on the far left and right, and instruments are placed depending on genre, role in the song, and personal preference.

2. Leave Enough Headroom

In audio engineering, “headroom” is the amount of space between the level a track is in compared to the volume it will clip at. In layman’s terms, it is how much space you’re leaving between a track’s set volume and the volume it turns red at, in decibels.

Leaving enough headroom is key to having a proper mix, and your mastering engineer (or AI) will thank you for it. The mastering process involved lots of limiting and compression, but can only work well and make your mix sound louder if it has the room for it. No headroom means a greater likelihood for distortion and clipping when the mastering engineer boosts levels.

So what’s a safe amount of headroom? We recommend a minimum of 3db difference, but the more the merrier. If your tracks sit at a healthy -6db, your song may sound quiet during the production process, but will sound amazing once the mixing and mastering is done. 

3. Cut Unnecessary Frequencies

Every single sound has a specific frequency range. This means it has a presence in those ranges, and if too many elements sit in the same frequency areas, sounds will clash and it will be hard to make out each one. For this reason, every individual track of your mix should be EQ’ed of filtered.

EQs and filters allow you to boost, cut, or adjust the volume of certain frequencies. It is very important to know which parts of the frequency range you need and which you don’t, because messing with the wrong ones can significantly alter the sound of an instrument or vocal (don’t worry, this is reversible by bypassing the plugins).

If a sound lives primarily in a higher frequency range in your song, you can cut the low frequencies entirely to make space for your kick drum, for example.

Pro tips:

1. Cut the low-ends when possible and use high pass filters to leave room for your kick and basses
2. Cut frequencies you don’t need instead of boosting the ones you want to stand out
3. Put a high pass filter on your master when mixing the mid and upper frequencies

4. Use Panning Strategically

A good mix needs panning to create space. This is important because having multiple instruments placed in the same area can cause them to compete and sound muddy. Bad placement can also completely erase a quiet element if it is paired closely with a dominant one, and background vocals won’t sound very “background” if they feel like they’re closer to the listener than the lead.

Use panning to move elements left and right, EQ and compression to move things up or down, and reverb/delay effects or levels to change perceived distance. When leaving everything in the middle, your track will very easily sound confused, so separate instruments that use the same range of the frequency spectrum to clean up your sound.

When panning, do not hesitate to drastically drag instruments or vocals to the sides and play around with placement. This works for everything except the lowest frequencies instruments which should stay in the middle.

Also, remember to listen to the mono version of your track once you are done with panning (lots of sound systems in clubs are using mono signals).

8D audio is great example of how panning can affect how we perceive a music source’s placement in space. If you have headphones, give it a listen!

5. Stop Soloing Tracks

Mixing is all about how your individual tracks will come together. Soloing a track during your mixing process is rarely helpful, as changes need to be made in relation to the other tracks. Try avoiding it as much as possible and only solo a track when necessary.

Adding effects and changing levels while isolating a track will result in more work down the line – it will not sound the same with vs. without its surrounding elements.

What About Mastering?

You can check out our article about mastering here. We advise you to have a look to the platform LANDR which offers an intelligent mastering service on top of access to plugins, samples, music distribution… It’s worth exploring!

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Send your track to the professionals of your choice, feedback guaranteed 👇

L’article 5 Mixing Tips & Tricks: How to Make your Music Sound Good est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.

Articles written by people who work in the industry themselves can give you exactly what you were looking for through personal counts and a genuine understanding of the questions you have, as they’ve been in your shoes.

ChatGPT is arguably one of the most valuable technological advancements known to man, but its reliability differs greatly by how it’s used.

The chat bot has no issues with things like coding that are concrete, or written tasks that are simple time-savers. When it comes to information and the answering of questions, however, ChatGPT becomes far less accurate and can end up spewing out false information or completely made up facts. It even states “ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check important info” under its search bar.

Why Can’t ChatGPT Give Accurate Music Tips and Info?

Music is an ever-changing industry and business, and has extremely complex processes and systems within it. Understanding them means you need a reliable source. Here are the main reasons why the chat bot is not reliable when it comes to answering questions about the music industry and giving advice to independent artists.

1. Giving Outdated Information and Fake Sources

The free version of ChatGPT is only current up to October 2023. Music industry dynamics, trends, legalities, and news change frequently, so the platform often provides outdated or irrelevant information. 

When asked to provide resources for a user to visit, it is known to give half truths; the name of a website may be real, but the webpage suggested does not actually exist. 

2. Information is Extremely Generalized

The bot is trained to pull from a huge set of sources, and given that it wants to provide a condensed and digestible result, it generalizes to a fault. For examples, answers about music licensing, copyright, or distribution, which are all complex topics, may be oversimplified for the purpose of offering a shorter response. 

This can give artists the wrong impression when it comes to how much energy and attention should be put into certain aspects of their careers, and can give inaccurate information about the roles within the music industry.

Artists need examples and case studies to make decisions, which the AI cannot provide such specific information unless it was part of its training.

3. It Can Misinterpret Questions

It’s very easy for ChatGPT to misunderstand the nuances of a question, which leads to answers that aren’t applicable to the topic or are entirely wrong. Because its own understanding of the prompt is not made obvious to the user, you may be left believing an answer that is actually referring to another context altogether.

4. Answers Have Limited Depth

If you’re looking for contract negotiation tips, international copyright information, or how to find playlists to submit music to, ChatGPT will not be able to go beyond a surface-level explanation. It can provide a general overview of a topic, but will lack the depth required to answer specific questions. 

Same goes for tips – if you ask how you can improve a skill, the AI will focus more on coming up with a long list of options than actually telling you how to do them.

EXAMPLES: ChatGPT vs. Groover Blog

Playlists

We asked ChatGPT to provide an independent artist with a strategy to find playlists to submit music to. Notice that Spotify for Artists does not allow you to pitch to specific playlists, and the AI does not expand on how to find the user-generated playlists it recommends looking for.

Compare this to a descriptive walkthrough from an article on finding good playlists for independent musicians and how this information can be put to use right away:

Chat GPT :

VS.

Groover Blog:

Songwriting

We asked ChatGPT to provide songwriting tips – here is an example of how in-depth a suggestion to “study the greats” was compared to a similar section in an article on songwriting written by a songwriter for a reputable source:

Chat GPT

VS.

Groover Blog :

Where Should You Really be Looking?

You must look for credible sources, ideally ones that are reputable within the industry and are backed by people who know the business personally. The Groover Blog covers every topic imaginable and provides real world examples and resources in all of its articles. 

While ChatGPT can provide a general overview, music blogs like this one are specific, in-depth, and provide actionable information. AI tips will require a lot of extra digging, while articles written by people who work in the industry themselves can give you exactly what you were looking for through personal counts and a genuine understanding of the questions you have, as they’ve been in your shoes.

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L’article Why ChatGPT Falls Short for Music Tips (and Better Alternatives) est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.

What is Sampling in Music

You are producing a song and have put together a beat with a crazy bounce to it. You love it, but feel like it’s missing a key element that could elevate the entire thing: a vocal loop. In your vast library of downloaded music, you find a short excerpt of a song by a powerhouse vocalist that would sound perfect over your beat after a little editing and manipulation, so you integrate it into your track. The technique you just used is called sampling.

Sampling is the reuse of a portion of someone else’s recording in your own song. It is usually a short segment, and can either be a part of the original song as is, or can be the vocals or instrumentation separately. Either way, it’s a way to bring character to your track, add valuable context to the feeling you’re trying to evoke, and give a nod to the artist you’re sampling. Even if the sampled has been chopped and screwed, transposed up or manipulated in whatever which way, it is still a sample.

| Read also: How to Build Your Music Project and Attract the Interest of Pros and Fans

The Role of Samples in Music

The artistry behind samples can be a polarizing topic. Some believe that borrowing from those who came before is one of the best ways to push music forward and reinvent genres and sounds, while others find it to be a shortcut to success that lacks creativity.

In our opinion, it takes creativity to source a sample and build around it in a way that adds real value to a song, as opposed to simply cutting and pasting two things together because they’re in the same key. Most of the biggest artists in the world have done their fair share of sampling, and have been sampled themselves. Some of the most sampled artists of all time are:

• James Brown 
• The Beatles
• Michael Jackson
• The Notorious B.I.G
• Marvin Gaye
• Elvis Presley
• Stevie Wonder

Artists known to have integrated samples throughout their work are Kanye West, DJ Mehdi, Frank Ocean, Fred Again…, A$AP Rocky, Jay-Z, and countless others.

And a few of the most famous songs that relied heavily on samples include Flo Rida’s “Good Feeling” sampling Etta James’ “Something’s Got a Hold on Me”, Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love” sampling “Are You My Woman” by the Chi-Lites, or M.I.A’s “Paper Planes” sampling The Clash’s “Straight to Hell”.

| Read also: Songwriting Tips: How to Make an Impression as a Musician

Plagiarism: Samples and Interpolations

It is strictly against music law to sample or interpolate without clearance.

Sampling is the direct use of someone else’s recording, while interpolation is the borrowing of characteristic elements of someone else’s song. Both result in legal battles if they are not approved or cleared beforehand.

Accusations of plagiarism and copyright infringement arise when a song either sounds too similar to another (through melody, lyrics, or chord progressions), or if there is a blatant sample (usage of someone else’s recording) that has not been approved by the copyright owners (either the songwriters, artist, or label).

The fear of being accused of plagiarism comes from a simple observation: we mainly hear about sampling or interpolations when they’ve resulted in a legal battle between two or more artists. Famous examples include Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams’ trial against the Marvin Gaye estate for “Blurred Lines”, or Damso for “Amnesia”, removed from Spotify for an uncleared sample of Cortex’s “I Heard A Sigh”.

Some cases go straight to trial, while others are solved when artists go back and add writing credits to their songs, though this resolved interpolation . A recent example of this would be Olivia Rodrigo adding members of Paramore to the writing credits of her song “Good 4 U”, and Taylor Swift to the song “Deja Vu”.

“No idea is original, there’s nothing new under the sun. It’s never what you do, but how it’s done.” – Nas

| Read also: 10 Must-Have Apps for Musicians

How to Clear a Sample for Use

There are different types of parties who may hold the rights to a work: the publisher, songwriter(s), artist(s), an artist’s estate, or the label. Samples can only be cleared for use when two types of copyright have been approved:

1. License for use of the underlying composition (the song itself, usually owned by songwriters and publishers)
2. License for use fo the song’s recording (the actual sound file, usually owned by artists or labels)

These are the two types of copyright associated with any song ever made, and they’re explained in further detail in our article about publishing and master rights here.

In order to clear a sample, you or your team must reach out to the copyright owners and request a license. This can be a costly process in both time and money, so be prepared well advance before getting in touch.

1. Find the Contact Information of the Copyright Owners of Your Sample

Who owns what music is almost always available to the public, so your sample’s owners are most likely listed in the major publishing rights organizations’ (PROs) databases/directories (PROs are the orgs that collect and pay out music royalties to rights holders).

In the US, BMI and ASCAP share a public, searchable directory called Songview, and Harry Fox has its own directory. Canada’s main PRO is SOCAN, the UK’s is PRS, and France’s is SACEM.

If you can’t find names and contact information there, try browsing the song’s Wikipedia page or looking at the liner notes at the bottom of the song’s Spotify page. The label and publishing information is always listed there.

REMEMBER: You must reach out to both the publishing rights holders and the master recording rights holders. Unless you’re sampling an independent artist who owns both forms of copyright, this will not be the same person!

2. Reach out and Request Permission

If you want to increase your chances of getting sample clearance, you have to be as clear and organized as possible so that all parties involved can understand your usage of their song. In your message to them, include:

1. Which part of the original song you’re using
   • Length of excerpt + whether it’s whole recording or just instrumental or vocals
2. How long the sample is
3. How many times it’s used in the song
4. What your plans are with the song
5. A private link or other access to the song file so they can listen to the sample’s use in your music

3. Negotiate Licensing Fees

If they’re interested, you’ll have to negotiate a price. Depending on how famous the song is, you’ll likely have to pay an upfront fee for the license and give a royalty split (percentage of future revenue generated by the song) to rights holders as well.

Fees can range from a couple hundred to a few thousand dollars depending on:

1. How heavily the sample is used
2. Whether it’s only instrumentation, vocals, or both
3. How recognizable the sample is

Example: How Jay-Z Did it

In his book Decoder, Jay-Z explains how he cleared the rights to sample the very well known song “It’s the Hard Knock Life” from the musical Annie in his song titles “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)”.

The song was one of the singles off of the album that would become his first #1 on the Billboard charts, and it was nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 1999 Grammy Awards, solidifying his status as a force to be reckoned with in the Hip-Hop community.

Jay-Z tells us that when his team was denied the clearance, he felt so strongly about the sample that he decided to write a letter to the copyright owners himself:

Though we don’t condone lying, we must tip our hats to his perseverance. Pulling at the heartstrings certainly makes for a stronger case!

Here’s what came of it:

Avoiding the Drama: How to Sample for Free

Rest assured: it is possible to sample for free.

If you don’t want to take any risks, there are thousands of beats and other samples that are available free of charge, or licensed through subscriptions to platforms like LANDR (“Samples” tab) or Splice. Splice gathers free beats and samples, and also provides access to packs containing millions of samples and loops via a subscription at $12.99, $19.99, or $39.99 per month.

On LANDR, the subscription also gives you access tons of samples on top of an intelligent mastering service, plugins, distribution etc. It all depends on what you’re looking for, but the investment can be worth it.

A little more digging online will give you tons of other options for copyright-free music to use as you please.

If you wish to adventure into sampling more famous songs for which the request for authorization is required, you expose yourself to certain risks. However, with the knowledge you’ve just acquired in reading this article, you should be well equipped to proceed!

| Read also: 5 Mixing Tips and Tricks: How to Make Your Music Sound Good

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L’article Sampling in Music: How to Create and Clear Without Plagiarizing est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.