Part 4: Designing the Sleeves

Let's face it, none of us have enough room, if I just wanted the music it would be far more practical to get it digitally, but i don't. I want the THING cos it's beautiful, the grooves, the labels, the 12" mailers on the doormat, the 7" bag in the pub... and the SLEEVES

I've lost track of the unlistenable records I have bought cos they look fantastic, and more importantly the hits I haven't cos they look dreadful.

A well designed sleeve in a shop or on a record stall makes me want a record I have never heard. 

Is it the same for you?

In which case (obviously) use your imagination to design a sleeve that will stand out on a shelf load of its peers - have a chat with your art college and photographer mates who, I assure you, are itching to design a record sleeve. Money is always going to be tight so think of alternatives to the regular card sleeves, talk to local printers, think about hand making, invite all your chums round when you have the parts and have a put-it-all-together party.

If you decide to hand over the sleeve with the record to the manufacturer, talk to them, make sure you have the right templates, resolution and bleeds.

Perhaps also think about coloured vinyl or picture discs, although they will put the unit cost up considerably.

If you're putting together a number of different releases, think about a standard label sleeve you can use for all of them (these can all be printed in one go, and so end up much cheaper per unit), or a theme (if I have part four of a seven-single set I'm going to find it hard to walk past the other six) but remember NEVER to trust a band with a logo (metal excluded).

While you’re working on the pictures think very carefully about the WORDS - have you credited everyone? Is the catalogue number correct? Is the tracklisting in the right order? have you thanked the guitarist’s previous boyfriend by mistake? Have you called the producer the engineer? is the band name spelt correctly? Have you included website and social media details? For you AND the band?

Are you including sleevenotes too?... perhaps a guide to releasing your own records?

Read, re-read, re-re-read and re-re-re-read, give it to a friend to read a few times too, and then leave the corrected copy for a weekend, and re-re-re-re-read it before sending it off to print.

A good cover will help, but won't guarantee, you sell your records - at the very least you will have a handsome pile of unsold pop sleeves to wallpaper your pad.

Part 3: Do The Paperwork

yes, this is the stage you've all been waiting for - doing the paperwork... thanks very much to all the labels who have helped out with putting this together (Tom Fika Recordings, Frances Clay Pipe Music, Trev Oddbox, Tim Kingfisher Bluez, Nick Occultation, Ian Fishrider and Luis Elefant)

Do The Paperwork:

Remember, this is just an overview, for the specifics you should always seek proper legal advice.

So, you've found THE BAND, and RECORDED THE SONGS you want to release, now to the PAPERWORK!

Firstly make sure you (the label) and the band/artist know what your responsibilities are, perhaps a quick email, so it's clear, and you both have something to refer to. The basics like who owns (basically, has paid for) what, what you both can do with it, and what will be given in return should cover it.

For example, perhaps the band have paid for their recordings, you plan to licence those recordings to manufacture 300 12" coloured vinyl records, and release digitally in Europe - in return you are giving the band 10% of the stock, and agree to promote and distribute the record (laying out a rough plan) and to split any profit (!) 50/50 once all of your costs have been recouped, perhaps with a timescale... Put it in writing, so you all understand what's going on.

I find regular "meetings" (pub chats) really help here too - make sure everyone's doing what they said they would, etc. - they also throw up some good new ideas.

If you feel something more, um, contractual is necessary think about joining the Musicians Union, or AIM - both will offer excellent advice.

Once you all have a rough idea what the plan is it's time for the grown up stuff...

In the UK there are three professional organisations you and the band may need to register the record/songs with:

1. the MCPS licences the use of songs on behalf of its writer and publisher members whenever their works are distributed to the public – this means that before making your record you should get a licence from the MCPS to do so – usually this will be an AP2 licence (MCPS offer a waiver for people releasingtheir own material so you don’t need to pay yourself).

2. Record labels might also want to join PPL - the UK society that collects and distributes airplay and public performance royalties on behalf of the owner of the sound recording. If you are asked for an ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) number, this is where you need to go. As well as your audio tracks  you can register videos with PPL - you can assign them separate IRSC codes, which go in to the YouTube metadata to collect revenue from views.

3. If your band regularly performs their own material at licenced venues, or if you publish the tracks you are releasing you should consider registering with the PRS.

Then, you should include the correct copyright notices on your record sleeves and inlay cards:

1. the (p) (it stands for Phonogram) symbol refers to the owner of the copyright of the sound recordings, and should be followed by the year of release and owners name,

2. the (c) (Copyright) symbol refers to the product package (i.e. the order of tracks, the artwork, sleeve notes etc.) and should be followed by  year of first publication, and the name of the first owner.

There will come a time when the band asks you how their record is doing, so you should keep track of manufacture, press and promotion outlay from the off - just adding your costs to a simple spreadsheet as they are incurred is far simpler than filling an envelope with receipts.

And then, once you have the final disc you need to keep track of sales. Whether you are selling the record direct or through a distributor, you need to keep an eye on where your stock is, for example:

How many copies have been sold?

How many copies are with the distributor?

How many have you sent direct to shops?

Are these sale-or-return or cash-up-front, and what were the unit costs?

How many have you sold at gigs or record fairs?

Now you’ve done the preparation, you just need to make sure you do everything you promised to, keep track of costs & sales and (I know it’s obvious (and easier said than done)) try not to let it build up – everything else will be much more fun without a looming pile of paperwork.

Part 2: Record The Songs

so here we go with part two of our seven step guide to releasing your own records... for those of you following along at home, Fortuna POP! mogul Sean Price told us where to Find The Bands last month

this month recording star, performer, producer, singer and songwriter (basically Walthamstow's answer to Prince) Darren Hayman gives us a guide to recording your songs:

Recording the songs:

Don't get weighed down by the myth of recording technology and studios. Studios are great but so are you. Studios are just as likely to dull your ideas as they are to make them shiny.

If you own a tablet, laptop or phone then you already own more music technology then the Beatles did for Sgt Pepper or Brian Wilson did for Pet Sounds.

If you are going to prioritise spending money then buy a decent £200 condenser microphone and a sound interface for your computer. This will cost less than two days in a studio and will give you years of recoding time.

Garageband is perfect for a beginner and Logic gets cheaper and cheaper and has more inside it then you will need in a lifetime.

If you can't afford this, then just use your phone. Jafar Panahi is an Iranian film director who's Government has banned him from making films for life. Two years ago he made a movie on an iPhone and smuggled it out of the country on a memory card in a cake. He risked jail to make a movie on his iPhone because he needed to do it.

You have no excuses.

Think of your priorities as a long chain running from the source to the listener. The most important thing is the song and the performer, followed by instrument, microphone, room, recording device, mastering, medium, listening device. It's all gone to shit if you don't have a song.

There are million tips on how to make your recording sound 'good' but what is 'good'? You have imagination, press record and start. Capture everything. There is no 'wrong'. 

Try not to think about recording THE version of the song. Think about recording A version of the song. The biggest mistake I see in people new to recording is endless, slavish attempts to make something definitive. No-one cares about your vision. Perfection bores everybody. Record buyers want to hear unrepeatable moments, mistakes. You find this magic by recording everything, all the time and then editing hard.

I'm not advocating punk rock. You can make beautiful, pretty intricate things in this manner too, but we still want to hear the accidental.

Don't be scared of the red light. It’s just a light.

Here's the hardest thing though, finish it. Everyone starts things. Few finish. Houses everywhere are full of uncompleted songs, novels, poems and movies. Starting is easy, finishing is trickier.

In fact don't finish it. Just abandon it and give it to the world. If you did it with enthusiasm and bravery then it will be fine.

Let us hear it.

You have no excuses.