The past few years have shown that a majority of performing artists – not those on major records – but people like well, the rest of us, have grown to understand that when you record someone else’s song on your album that you pay what’s called a mechanical license when you press CDS or put them out for digital download. You are essentially paying them for the use of their song.

Now, let’s say that you make a video of yourself performing that song and you post it on YouTube. Well, now you will need what is a called a synchronization license which is often called a synch license. This is the case for every movie where you’ve heard a song performed. Someone negotiated with the owner of the song for the right to use the song in the movie.

While I sounds straightforward, it can be confusing.

Where do you get a Synch License?

Unlike a mechanical license that is a regulated procedure and you can go through 3rd parties like Harry Fox, a synch license requires you to deal directly with the owner of the publishing of the song. And that’s true even if its your sound recording of their song.

Unlike a mechanical license which has a set rate, a synch license is whatever they want to charge.

Its usually best to apply for this BEFORE you have put together your video – or released it on Youtube. This approach communicates to the rights holder that yes, you’d like to use it but you have other song ideas for the video. No sense in paying more than you have to.

Plus using it in a youtube video for your own band is not like a major motion picture so don’t be afraid to make an offer. What’s the worst thing that can happen?

And I know it goes without saying but that’s when people get into trouble. Please remember, we are not lawyers – we are not giving legal advice – you should do you own due diligence and speak with your own legal representation to get a legal opinion.

If you’re needing help you need someone who is familiar with entertainment law and you can probably find one with a local google search.

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It is interesting how often the conception is that cardboard packaging – the heavier paper – its not like a cardboard shipping carton, its coated on one side of the paper and you can tell because it’s white and feels smooth to the touch – will take less time to print because its just paper.

The common misconception is that these pieces exist fully finished except for the printing and so since its just printing, they should be ready faster.

  Nothing could be further from the truth.

Paper is printed as a flat sheet.

You can simply pick up a piece of regular paper and pretend its a huge parent sheet of paper that is going to be loaded into a press. Looking at it from the side you can see there are two sides – and only one side is printed at a time.

So even if you were printing on TWO sides – only one side is printed at a time.

Now, when it comes to cardboard or board products as we lovingly refer to them, they are ONLY printed on one side – even though they  look like they are printed on two sides – its an illusion.

The printing area for a cardboard piece is one side of paper. The panels are set up so that when printed, score and FOLDED back over on itself and glued – the outside is right-side up and the inner is right-side up.

Now does that sound like it’s done quickly?

Steps To a Successful Printing of a Cardboard Piece

1. artwork run through pre-flight to make sure all elements are CMYK and high resolution

2. proof generated from the RIP or the brain of the press

3. cardboard – typically 15 PT C1S (15-point coated one side)

4. run through press with enough ink to allow for some saturation into the paper

5. time for press sheets to dry

6. die cut and score dry press sheets through die press

7. fold over edges and tabs to create pockets – or in the case of a digipak – fold and glue a tray on one of the panels

8. prepare and make ready for assembly of disc and/or booklet into pocket or tray

How much time should you allow if you choose a cardboard packaging for your project?

It would be safe to say that you would want to allow 12 – 15 business days from the time you approve your press PDF.

If you requested a proof after your press PDF – you should allow more time 4 – 5 business days.

Remember, a busy press means there’s a line waiting to get on it – and the more steps there are to a finished piece – there are that many different lines with projects stacked up waiting to move through. There’s press time set up, paperwork that has to be completed so that your job is not confused with another job which uses different paper – projects can have different drying times. Its a real art.

You’ve spent a lot of time making your sound just as you wish. And going with a professional duplication service who can guide you with a high degree of knowledge is just going to make it even better.

Check out what a die can look like.

For any questions concerning any aspect you can ask us – just contact us at http://www.cdmaker.com and we’ll do our best to answer your questions so you can be confident in your choice of packaging and planning your release dates.

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Cardboard CD packaging is beautiful. And at first glance most people think it will cost less than a jewel case and insert since its “just paper”. And that’s the interesting thing – because it IS paper it has special requirements.

Over last few years in the disc production world, cardboard packaging for discs has rivaled the plastic jewel case.

Here is a list of terms and packaging that has become somewhat standard.

CD size is usually when closed and finished approx 5 x 5 plus whatever spines

CD cardboard Sleeve – typically 5 x5 no spine

single sleeve opens on side or top depending on how the artwork was set up

CD cardboard Sleeve Mailer

this is like the cardboard sleeve except there is a portion that is pulled over and then sealed so it can be mailed

CD cardboard Wallet -

opens like a book, with a single pocket typically on inside right

CD cardboard Wallet Mailer

this is like the cardboard wallet except there is a portion that is pulled over and then sealed so it can be mailed

CD cardboard multi-disc Wallet

This can be similar to the above but with two pockets instead of just one
-variations in the pocket – straight, scoop or thumb notch

typically there may be multiple disc option up to three – after three other     packaging option may make more sense -

CD digipak

this is a combination of a plastic tray that is place on the inside right. The spine is a little more substantial.

Each of these options requires what is called a DIE LINE.

Much like when a printing piece is printed on a press – the artwork files must be made into films and then resulting films plated onto metal plates – a die is basically the equivalent to the press plate.

And like a press plate there are many steps to get to get from artwork file to plate.

A DIE is made up of a base of wood – with metal either sharp enough to cut paper or thick enough to cause a scoring of the paper so that folding is easier. (See above)

A DIE is used where paper is required to be cut other than a straight cut. Jewel case inserts do not require a DIE since the paper is printed flat – straight line trimmed and then folded.

Cardboard Packaging that is custom printed requires a DIE. The small tabs that are cut and scored and glued become the foundation of a pocket.

Most CD formats are standardized in that templates have been created that match the dies. This way the artwork can be set up to lay out across a flat sheet of paper so that when its printed and the paper die cut, the spines have the text centered and everything shows where its supposed to.

If you have a standard CD sleeve or wallet or a digpak that holds a single disc you can be pretty sure that while the project will use a die, you’re not going to have to pay for or wait for a die made as long as you are going with a printer who specializes in media packaging. If you go to a general printer (eg. MinuteMan Press) then you’re probably going to pay for a new die.

How long does it take to make a die?

With exact dimensions (exhaustive exact dimensions include information on pocket styles etc) provided in writing  – and a sketch of the layout when all flat – it should only take about 24 – 36 hours to make

How long does it take to make a die to match an existing piece?

With a physical sample that is not a standard configuration, you need to double the amount of time due to the measuring and testing to ensure an exact match. This is a hands on, time intensive process. This is not something that can or should be rushed.

If a physical sample already exists why does a new die have to made?

Unlike a library system, each printer has their own exclusive die library. They will not share or send them out to another printer. So unless you can go back to the company that first printed them, you’re going to need to allow for time to make one.

*** Something important to keep in mind, in order to minimize the timeline, the order of process should be as follows:

Die Line —–>  (Template)  ——> Artwork file

To go from the reverse process will always cost you more in time and expenses.

Artwork layout —–> Die Line

There’s no question that some projects will require their own process. Not everything can or should be altered to fit an existing die. In those cases, it will be important for adequate time to be allowed for a proper creation, testing, and approving of a new die line.

If you have questions concerning dies, die lines or any project, please feel free to contact us at 800-678-1998. We are happy to answer any questions.

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The other day there was an article on the editorial page of our local newspaper, the Austin American Statesman, in which the writer spoke of when she thanked a person where she had shopped and they responded with “no problem” it made her want to do business elsewhere. She really went after what she saw as the underlying motivation for what would cause “no problem” to be the response to “‘thank you” and painted it more like the fall of civilization. She seemed to be saying that if in doing business with a company is all about you, then the customer will go elsewhere since it doesn’t matter to that business – it was “not a problem to provide that service.”

Well, it got me to thinking – why do people stop doing business with a business and I remembered reading somewhere that the number one reason people leave a business is not because of price or other things but when it appears or seems to the customer that the business no longer values the business dollars that that customer brings.

Huh. Perception is reality in this case for sure.

Because its human nature to scan any topic for “what’s this got to do with me?” I of couse wondered if we as a business had made a point of making that clear to our clients? So in the interest of making CDMaker’s position clear, those that wish to do business with CDMaker, we do value your business.

That’s why we always strive to have a live (knowledgeable) person answer the phone. We don’t have a receptionist – there’s no one too good here to pick up the phone.

We response to emails within the hour for the most part during the business day – what’s the point of sending an email if no one responds? We believe this is how we show you how much your business means to us.

We give realistic turntimes – again, we value your business. How insulting would it be for us to know how much is riding on a CD or DVD being available but never tell you if your due date is realistic?

We just had a client ask us something about his CD and we followed up on it and made sure it wasn’t a problem. We weren’t content until we had put our hands back on the CD and were able to confirm without a doubt that there wasn’t any problem. His response? “You really care about my CD, don’t you?”

Yes, CDMaker really cares. And…

You are welcome! It was no problem to make sure you are happy.

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 Happy Holidays

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Introducing Google Music

According to Google, Google Music is your direct route to selling and sharing your music with your fans. And they will even help you build your artist page and set your own prices so that you can sell your original songs.

Who should create an artist hub account in Google Music?

According to what I can see from Google HQ -

Currently this is only available to US artists.

All you need is a Google account and your original music where you own all the rights.

And if you already work with a record label or distributor? This isn’t for you.

Your music, now on Google.

This platform is through the Android Market. So any Google Music users can play their Android Market music purchases instantly on any device.

You set your prices, you keep the profit.

With Google Music you set your own retail prices for albums and tracks. You can quickly make your own promotions, like limited time price reductions, or make some tracks available as album-only purchases. The choices are yours.

You keep 70% of what you take in, paid to you monthly.

originally published on http://music.google.com/artists/

How much does this cost you?

One-time fee, unlimited albums.

Google Music has a one-time $25 setup fee for each artist page and keeps a 30% commission on your sales. There are no other fees — not for uploading tracks, creating albums, making changes to existing albums, editing your artist page, or anything else within the artist hub.

You have the power to select and change what you sell, including new demos, live recordings and unreleased tracks.

Your page, your presence.

Every artist or band has a page within the Android Market to help Google Music users find out more about you. The artist page includes your bio, photo, links and the original music you have available for sale.

Once you’ve set up your account and activated your artist page, you can edit your information so that fans can learn more about you.

Sell on YouTube

Our integration with YouTube helps you sell your songs with a buy link in your music videos. If you are a YouTube partner, your store link can be promoted next to your video content so that fans can buy the song and add it to their Google Music libraries automatically.

Share on Google+

Plus, when any fan purchases your song or album from Android Market they will immediately be able to share a free play with the friends in their Google+ Circles. This lets your fans brag about their purchases and encourages their friends to buy your music, too.

Learn about Google Music more here in Google’s Help Center.

If you have experience as an independent musician or band and already have a Google Music account, we’d like to hear about your experience. Contact us and let us know what you’ve experienced. Contact Us

All Google trademarks and brands are property of Google. CDMaker is not endorsed, sponsored, affiliated with or otherwise authorized by Google. All content in this posting is intended for informational purposes only. Read all terms and conditions and perform your own due diligence before initiating any relationship or business with any company.

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We gets asked a lot about how to get track names on itunes. Well, that’s not really how it happens, we get calls saying we did something wrong because when their CD was shoved into a computer and itunes grabbed it, someone else’s name and song titles are showing on the computer screen.

Luckily for all of us, none of this data comes from the disc (which means its not a manufacturing issue) instead it comes from an online database and what people see in this case is just a guess by the database as to what you’ve just put into your computer.

We’ve done a video on this which you can see on our facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/CDMaker if you like our page the video can be accessed.

Now this doesn’t GET your music on itunes for sale what this does is incorporate your information in the database that itunes and Window’s media player utilize. And there are many many servers that make up this database and so from whichever one your information first goes into, it takes time to filter and update through each one.

Don’t get this database confused with CD-Text that does get embedded in your master in the studio. That’s something altogether different.

If you have questions, please free to contact us via the support page at http://www.cdmaker.com/contact even if you haven’t used our services for manufacturing, we welcome the opportunity to introduce you to the high level of knowledge and experience that CDMaker can offer.

In the meantime, remember to head over to facebook and watch the video – http://www.facebook.com/CDMaker

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We’ve had a lot of people call us to ask if we do data cd reproduction in Austin, Texas. The long and short answer is YES!

A data CD as long as you have already confirmed all your data fits onto a single CD which you can do by burning your master, is definitely right up our alley. Its going to stay exactly as you have your master set up so when you receive your copies back, they will match your master file for file.

Music CDs tend to be a little more involved because how fast the data is duplicated will affect the sound quality.

Reproduction can take place in two ways – duplication (which is great for quantities of less than 500) and replication (which is suitable for quantities 500 +). Which one is best? Hard to say, in our 24 years of producing audio/video/data content, there are times where normally we would duplicate but once we know what someone wants to use it for, we recommend replication. Of course, usually this also means upping the quantity desired so that replication is as cost effective as it can be.

To get started with Data CD Reproduction in Austin Texas call 512-388-1998

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Are you needing more information on printing directly on CDs in Austin or anywhere else for that matter?

If you think that your only option is a paper label – think again.

When a disc is manufactured one of the aspects of that manufacturing is also what is printed onto the disc. Also, adding the print directly onto the disc means that confusing one title for another is diminished. Of course, ISO standards for handling different services is clear about the seriousness of this, it is something that we get asked about. Often the question is can I save money if I don’t print my discs.

There are three ways of getting artwork onto a disc face – using pantone colors and silk-screening, using process CMYK colors and silk-screening and using process CMYK color and offset printing directly onto the disc. These days most projects released on an independent basis are using full color offset on disc printing.

Printing Directly on CDS in Austin

Now when it comes to duplication, labels are definitely a thing of the past. Professional duplication facilities will use ink jet, monochrome thermal or full color thermal direct to disc printing. Yes, you can still find labels in the stores because there will always be a demand for low-end home production but labels are not recommended because they can cause the disc to spin off balance in a player.

If you have any questions concerning what would be a good option for your project – use our contact page and let us know what your specific question is and we’ll be happy to review your situation.

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When you’re looking for music CD duplication services, what makes this type of duplication different from a data disk duplication?

The actual duplication process of creating an image of the source disc or the master is the same whether you’re duplicating music or data. But there are concerns that are specific to music that will have an effect on the final result.

First, there is the quality of the blank disc itself. There are different professional grades. The kind of discs that can be gotten very cheaply from Office Depot are not even as good as the lowest professional grade. The quality of a disc is determined by the amount of the dye on the bottom of the disc. More dye is going to be a better disc.

The more dye that is there the greater the amount of data can be deeply burned into the dye on the bottom of the disc. The less grades of discs have less and less of this coating. They have enough to be copied but it makes a music cd more likely for there to be a loss of playability as the dye begins to breakdown over time. You have to know who is making the CDR because you can’t tell by the color – there are other disc characteristics of a CDR that also help determine its quality grade.

Wikipedia has a great write up on what makes a great CD-R.

Then there is duplication speed, how fast is the laser being asked to burn the data can affect how well the data is written to the disc and how deeply the information is set into the dye.

I mean what good is it to have a great disc if you don’t give it a chance to have a good burn of the data?

And this has a huge impact on music CDs when they are duplicated. Unlike a file with some text on it – there is a huge amount of data that even a 3 minute track will contain that a data only file doesn’t have. All that data is information for the CD player. So the more data available on the disc, the better the sound.

We’ve run tests of the same master at 4X, 8X, 16X, 32X and 64X. Then we did a blind test to see what if any difference we could hear from the naked ear. Not on headphones – just ambient playback. Same source master for each, same high quality blank disc, the only difference was the speed.

The results were interesting. No differences were charted on the 4X, 8X, 16X. It wasn’t until we got to the 32X and faster than we could actually hear a difference. We didn’t go into what was causing the differences because once we heard a difference it didn’t matter.

Most duplication services are duplicating much faster than 16X and many will charge a fee to slow down because they are scheduling machines so the difference between the different speed could move only half as much through the machine on an 8 hour shift once it was slowed down to 16X. I hope that is clear – most duplication services do not distinquish between music masters and data masters.

We do.

If you’re interested in working with a music cd duplication service that cares about how well your copies reflect the sound of the work you did in the studio, give us a call (512) 388-1998. CDMaker can be found at 13581 Pond Springs Road, Suite 301, Austin, TX 78729.

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