A few things we’ve discovered along the way

When making your master:
If it’s a music CD, make sure the tracks are in the right order, it is an audio CD that can be played on a stereo and that you’ve had a listen to it. It’s amazing the number of people who never have a final listen to their master before getting 500 copies made. If it’s a DVD video, make sure it plays on a few different DVD players and works on the computer. It’s not good to find out that the master you’ve provided is incorrect AFTER getting copies made.

Use a good graphic designer who has done CD Album / DVD work before. Sort out the images, text and perhaps suggest a few examples of artwork you like and then just leave them to it. We’ve seen many releases die because artwork projects the wrong message or isn’t very professional looking.

Make sure a copyright notice is on both the disc and the packaging. Very important!

A barcode on your packaging - essential for retail sales - also boosts credibility and makes it easier for distributors

For every song / album you’ve recorded, make sure they have ISRC codes (see www.ppnz.co.nz) these are usually added my your recording studio at mastering time. This ensures you & others get the royalties and recognition for all the hard work – www.ppnz.co.nz/uploads/docs/the-music-map-2011.pdf - also see www.apra-amcos.co.nz

Put contact / website / YouTube/ Facebook details on albums and posters. This helps build your fan base and it means they can follow your every move. It also ensures that customers can get a hold of you to find out where to purchase your product.

For choir and church albums, try to include a photo montage of all the people who were involved in some way. This means that family, relatives and friends will all become potential customers.

Thank all of those involved in your project as well, such as other musicians, studios, graphic designers, photographers and producers. This will help you network with lots of other industry contacts on your journey.

Create a one page, bullet point biography. You may know how much you’ve struggled and how long you’ve been working on your project, but others need an understanding of where you’ve come from. This is also a good lead‐in for interviewers and journalists to probe further.

Don’t order more copies of an album/DVD than you’re comfortable with. A 2000 run of your first project is courageous and the unit price may be very low, but we’ve heard too many stories of 1500 discs lying under beds for 10+ years!

Start working on the next album/DVD as soon as you can. You learn a lot from doing it the first time so don’t let it all go to waste. Just remember back catalogues are still making the Rolling Stones good returns.

Get your music reviewed by the NZ Musician – send in two copies of your music and a biography to www.nzmusician.co.nz/index.php/ps_pagename/getintouch with a friendly cover note!

And good luck from the Team at Amstore!