Get A Record Deal - Cd Manufacturing And Distribution

By Author: Tammy Rose
Total Articles: 7
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It is going to take a lot longer in the real world to get your PMCD (Pre-Mastered CD) done to Redbook audio specs (44.1 kHz, 16-bit) than it took to read about it in this series of articles. It will be a lot harder, too — and cost you a little money (or a lot, depending on how you did it).

But here you are, ready to take that PMCD of your demo and get 100 or 1000 CDs made. So now what?

The first thing you need to decide is how far you want to go on packaging, seeing as how this is a three-song demo. You can make it look like a retail CD release — with four-color folding booklet in the front of the jewel case, a color insert inside the back, a couple of colors (even full color) on the CD itself. Or you can keep it low-cost (probably a wiser move) and just put CDs with one-color disc printing into the smaller slim line cases and stick a nice label or your bands music biz card on the back. Even though the latter route is the way to go for most of you, we will take a quick look at both options.

If you are not already reading EQ, Recording, Mix tape, Future ...
... Music, and/or other music trade magazines, well, you should be. Get a few issues of different mags (plus a copy of Performer mag in your region of the country, like West Coast Performer for the left coast) and start checking out the ads in the back. There are tons of different CD plants and manufacturers; check their websites for up-to-date information, and while you are online go ahead and Google up some more.

All this preliminary reading will force you to make your first of several manufacturing-related decisions: how many CDs should you get? The answer to this will determine whether you get replicated or duplicated discs; the retail CDs that you buy are replicated, meaning they were pressed from a glass master, and duplicated ones are done on CD burners like your computer has. Look at the music business (music) side of each kind and you will notice the difference right away: replicated CDs have a one-color, smooth metallic sheen where the tracks are, and the burned CDs have a slightly darker area, starting from the inside and working outward, where the tracks were burned.

Take a few deep breaths and get some sleep, because as soon as your order from the replicator or duplicator (or, again, the neighbor's kid) is finished and you have your 100 or 300 or 1000 CDs, you have a number of important things to attend to, like streaming audio and downloadable files.

Luckily, there are yet another few articles left in this series to tell you how to take care of all this. And stay upbeat: You are in control of your own musical fate, and who better to be in that position with your music and get a record deal.

Author Bio:
Tammy Rose - We provide marketing and promotional services to clients seeking exposure in the music business. We provide Independent Artist and labels with the means to service their records to industry insiders and potential new fans.