by Gerald Myles
I've been told that industries drastically change how they operate and conduct business about every fifteen years due to advancements in technology and changes in trends and lifestyles. For example, record labels have scrambled to find new ways to profit off big name artists since downloading MP3's eclipsed album purchases at local music stores. Those music stores have either gone out of business or started to peddle DVDs, video games, electronics, clothing, and other entertainment related items to make up for the decline of CD sales. In another example, the advertising industry has been forced to reinvent itself with the advent of DVRs, where TV viewers can record programs and skip the commercials.
For decades, the recording industry has been relatively steadfast and unmoved ...until now. Not too long ago, if a musician wanted to record an album they went to a recording studio that usually housed hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of recording equipment. Studios kept clients simply because professional equipment was too expensive for most musicians. Modern technology has changed that. Affordable and accessible microphones are now available to musicians that can capture high quality sound. Entire walls of state-of-the-art effects and plug-ins that could cost up to the equivalent of a home mortgage have been reproduced as digital software for a fraction of the cost. There are dozens of virtual recording studio programs available for anyone to learn to use. With each computer, Apple includes a popular program called "Garage Band." Tiny hard drives hold tens of thousands of digital tracks and replace cumbersome reels of audio tape. Everyday more musicians are building modest studios in their own homes.
Traditional recording studios are becoming extinct. Renting a studio and paying an engineer and musicians can cost thousands of dollars, not to mention that everyone involved in the session has to travel to and from the studio. This can be an expensive and time consuming problem. The new generation of studios are internet based. Session players set up their personal recording space at home tailored specifically for their instrument and market their services online. Clients search out these players-for-hire on the web to record on their project. After part of a song has been recorded in one home, it can be emailed to anyone in the world to then add their instrument. The end result is a world class recording using hand picked studio musicians from around the globe with a few clicks of a button. The future of the recording studio lies in our own homes and is connected through cyberspace.
Gerald Myles is the founder, director, and premier drummer of NetDrummers.com; a company that provides state of the art live multi-track drums online for producers, artists, and song writers world wide. To learn more visit netdrummers.com and geraldmyles.com.
