Outsourcing Music Production--What Do You Think?

By Nicole Albertson

[TuneCore friend Nicole Albertson is gathering data for an article and needs your help. Your responses will shape the industry. Be part of it! --Peter]

As a die hard music fan and an eclectic listener, I have always been envious of those who could express themselves through music. I’ve taken a stab at playing a few different instruments, but reluctantly realized that no amount of lessons could cure my lack of talent.

So instead of causing agonizing pain to other’s ears, I took my excitement and passion for music and decided to start writing about it. Now I am living in the heart of creativity, New York City, and exploring the true meaning of music.

I am currently working on an article for a Los Angeles based magazine called Music Connection and have hit a road block in my research. So I'm reaching out to you readers to guide me through.

It is no secret that the economy has gone from bad to worse. Every industry has to scale down and rationalize its means in order to compensate for nation’s economic crisis. And of course, the music industry is no exception. A new trend called outsourcing has been on the rise as a way for record companies to cut costs and still produce a great product. Outsourcing is being utilized in two different ways, music production and distribution.

As a first effort to save costs, outsourcing music production sends music scores overseas to be produced and recorded at a much cheaper price compared to the high expenses of U.S. musicians, producers and studio time. New programs like eSession’s Virtual Glass are designed to bridge the gap by connecting musicians across the globe during recording sessions. With the use of in-studio cameras, high-tech microphones, and real-time video, producers and musicians are able to interact and collaborate as if in the studio together.

In a second effort, music companies like EMI and Universal Music Group are making deals to outsource marketing and distribution, an idea that has been in the works since CD sales started declining over decade ago. Deals with countries like Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand have been set to lower costs and make records more affordable for the music industry.

While outsourcing may lower the price tag for record companies, how does it affect the industry as the whole? As fewer musicians and producers are being hired for studio recordings, will there be a greater strain on freelance musicians? Is outsourcing production going to have an affect on the in-studio creativity that has spawned so many brilliant albums or is this simply another way to broaden the scope and invite other influences into American culture?

Tell me your thoughts, your experiences and your ideas on outsourcing music production. I want to hear about the benefits that it provides, the problems it spawns, and the next step in making music more economically friendly for all parties involved, including the corporations.

Comments

[Andrew Goodrich - Artists House]

I interned at the Fox's Newman Scoring Stage for several months. The studio was using both methods. Collaboration from across the globe as well as completely in-house stuff.

The collaborations work. Most consumers in the end won't know the difference.

I think there is a difference in quality of work and life though for everyone involved. Absolutely nothing can replace the energy/magic/synergy of having a group of creative geniuses in the same room together. The musicians at these sessions are a tightly knit community.

So are the people in the control room. After they work, they go out to eat together and have a drink.

There is an energy to it that is palpable, and I think that lends itself to greater creativity and possibilites that otherwise might not have been. It's an argument that makes sense only when you've personally experienced it.

[Kelly]

I think that this is a topic that requires us all to sit back and ask ourselves why we make music, why we consume music and what is being done by labels, producers and publishers to ensure that their profit margins don't shrink at an "alarming rate".

Perhaps the question to ask is "Would you pay an expensive lawn care specialist to mow your lawn when the twelve-year-old next door is willing to do it for $5 and does a really great job?"

From where I stand, having been an artist, musician and now a business student, I see multiple perspectives. To sum it up, we live in a culture that doesn't really value the arts. Rather, we place value on larger physical things like cars, houses, shoes, etc. We are concerned about cost, accessibility and ease of use.

With this in mind, it only makes sense that a label, producer or publicist would cut their financial liability and go for the cheap solution in order to maximize their profits. This is especially true when their consumer base doesn't care about the art and crafting of said music.

I think that until we as a culture learn to appreciate the arts and the crafting of work, outsourcing is likely to happen. I also strongly believe that until artists and those that assist in the production drop their sense of entitlement a few notches, then outsourcing will happen.

But, this is just one thought...

[Cristal Marie]

It seems to me that most readers of this post are equating outsourcing with: cheap vs. quality.

What makes you think that "cheap" automatically makes something of less quality? If companies are doing this, it might not be just because "the kid over there does it cheaper", but in the end they're obtaining the same or better results with creative geniuses from all around the world that don't charge nearly half as much as most "dream teams" out there.

Companies have been outsourcing for centuries. Most of the pens you use are Made in China. Half the computers are Made in Japan, and if you pay close attention to your T-Shirts, you'll notice it's 100% Cotton fabricated in some remote Caribbean island.

That the music industry is doing this now is, in my opinion, outdated. That you agree or disagree with the model is practically irrelevant.

Of course they need to outsource! They need to catch up!

[J-vibe]

Outsourcing music production makes sense from a business POV. One can not argue with a film company that they should pay 1% of the budget to a US composer versus 0.25% and hire one from India. The area of concern should be how it affects US composers. Many great composers were able to excel because film companies gave them opportunities to showcase their work. Many of these composers were then able to open up their own companies, hire other composers which could later do the same once their names became known. When a film company outsources the music work, they are cutting this thread of local opportunity. New success stories are exploding in foreign markets because of the reallocation of investments being made by US companies to those lands. The negative application on US composers is that fewer will have their dreams become reality. The effect on US composers can only be calculated when it is known what percentage of film companies will head to foreign markets. Our auto industry is dead, software development has moved to India and China and when wave US flags, they are made in China. Talent is everywhere and the less money comes out of someone’s pocket, they will embrace it. A shrinkage higher paying jobs is fact, but with the increase of more and more people making indie films, the market will remain. It’s just going to pay a lot less if anything at all.

Social responsibility locally for the film company is not even close to the financial responsibility they have to the investor. TV shows, films, websites, even toys are so focused on the “celebriality” in life. They teach children and teenagers that they deserve to be millionaires. A narscisist generation being taught money before responsibility. I don’t expect things to get better in future for composers. These myspace kids and bling-bling offsprings have stronger profit ambitions than the generation before it. Finally, I spoke to Grammy nominated friend of mine, he said that the talent pool is the same, it's just that there are so many people trying to do it because technology has made it available. That does not mean the quality has increased as well. It's just takes much, much longer sorting through demos. If your film company finds a great composer in China for $500 vs $5000 in the USA, what would you do?

[Ryan]

Well it really depends.. Since I work for a CD manufacturer and see all the people coming to me both from a broker ( Tunecore ) or individual i see it all. One thing to keep in mind is how we can distribute music to individuals as low cost as possible. Gone are the days that people should be selling music for the $10 range. Look you can buy movies in stores for $5.00, so should you beable to buy music too. Since manufacturing at the level that I do, I get to see the pricing difference between the higher numbers 100k+, the mid 50k+, and the low's the price differnce isnt much. But look at your customers. If discs were available for only $5-$7 how would this change the online market and the sales of music as a whole. I dont think many people would even start to think about downloading illegally when you can buy it so cheap. Its when prices get so ridiculous 12-15+ that people dont see the need for it. ANyways. this is just my 2 cents. HOpe this helps.

[David Cousino]

The "major" entertainment industry can and will do whatever it wants to continue to stay alive and profitable. True independent artists are not and have never been part of that equation. From the artist perspective things are good it you actually have the skills to work. I think it's interesting that people will pay $4.00 for a cup of coffee, but are inclined not to pay .99 cents for a download of a song. Our culture doesn't value arts because most non-artists have no concept of the work required to develop those talents, they just see the "magical" end result. A few things that I've noticed about making a living playing music. 1) you have to diversify, by performing as many styles as possible. (I learned this as a "budding young rock ape" when I took my first country band gig for the money.) Now, I play my own music, jazz gigs, society/wedding band gigs, teach music lessons, do recording sessions as a performer, as an engineer, or as a producer, (whatever is required). 2) My production/engineering services in my home studio are becoming a primary income source, then gigs, then teaching. It used to be teaching, and gigs, with almost no recording revenue. That's an indicator of something. Probably that most musicians don't really relate to what the "majors" are doing, but they still need creative outlets. This is a type of "insourcing" to coin a term. Maybe big projects can be outsourced, but for the low budget production, a well equipped home studio environment is creating opportunities that never existed for independent artists.(and if they live in your neighborhood or town and you're affordable voila') 3) Live performance is still the foundation of building a fanbase, and most people enjoy seeing highly skilled humans performing on musical instruments. Even manipulating performance machines, if it's done in an entertaining way via looping and dancing around with a few flashy lights. 4) Eventually good music and films will surface, and the majors will swoop in and capitalize on those trends just like they did in the '70's. Then they'll eventually screw it up again by forgetting that it's art, and they have to create fertile environments for art to flourish, and then exploit the stuff that resonates the most.

[J.C Wrightson]

As a musician i find this idea of outsourcing worrying, our outlets are being taken away because of supply and demand. In an ideal world the industry should be supporting homegrown talent, do they not have some kind of responsibility? We need to evolve beyond these capitalistic views. Unfortunately i understand that this is just business, but lets look to the future... If more and more money is going to be sent overseas how is that going to affect the 'local' artists, surely they will need to find some other way to survive leaving less time to pursue and hone their talents. The foreign countries will eventually get wise and their prices will increase - then what? It seems to be that the artist is continually exploited for the sake of profit and loss - a sad state of affairs.

[RA]

You have some great thoughts and insights on this subject. Outsourcing (I call it off-shoring myself) sickens me. It puts American citizens out of a job. This is no different than, say, calling Best Buy Customer Service to go over your account and the next thing you know, you're in India.

Yes, the companies are cutting costs. Yes, those in India need a job just like we do. Is it their fault? No, it's the company's fault for lessening the number of job opportunities for US citizens and exploiting hungry people in other countries.

It's more about greed than cutting cost. And greed is part of what has reduced the music industry to what it is today. I have no sympathy for them. I am glad that there are services like Tunecore which are putting more power and control into muscician's hands.

There will be a greater strain on freelance musicians abroad. And the in-studio creativity, that has spawned so many brilliant albums, that you refer to, is brilliant because you are a musician in that studio, in person, living and breathing with those around you. Not sitting in your underwear in front of your computer, through a video feed into a recording studio which is trying to cut a record. This is all just a way to get it done faster and cheaper, and to continue lining the pockets of all the fat cats on top who are only concerned about dollar signs. And the more of those that there are, the happier they will be and the richer they will get.

As a side note, you mentioned being in the heart of creativity which is NYC. Why do think NYC is the heart of this kind of creativity? I'm not disagreeing with you. I actually don't know. I'd just like to know why you feel that it is. Good luck with your article and let me know when it comes out, if it hasn't already.

RA

[Outsourcing Philippines]

Thank you for posting. I really love music, it's my passion. Production of music is really nice and talking with outsourcing of music production, it sounds interesting. I really love it.