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Compact Disc Recording
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Compact Discs have been with us since the early 80s, but for the longest time we wanted to record them too, as if they were cassette tapes, without the large expense of a huge production run at some factory. Up until the last 5 years or so, doing so was both cost prohibitive and technically a little shaky. That is, discs made in the one-at-a-time mode would refuse to play in some CD players and other assorted problems. But as the CD powers that be (usually referred to as "they") defined and refined the technical specifications for Compact Disc-Recordable (CD-R), it became possible to make CDs at the studio that were good enough to send off as the masters for regular mass-production runs.
At this writing there are basically two approaches to personal CD recording. One is the stand-alone CD-R unit which works very much like you would expect an audio CD-Recorder to work, with Record, Play, Skip, Search, and Track ID buttons. Put in a blank CD, hit record, start your master and burn baby burn. Simple. On the surface, this approach has much merit, but as you dig deeper (as we are wont to do) you uncover a few things that aren't so hot.
The other is the computer automated approach, where you get the music on your CD via a computer data transfer after you have arranged everything properly. Well this is absolutely the best way to go because you have incredible control over where all the track IDs are, how the songs flow from one to the next, and the volume and tone of each track.

Some Good Uses Are
  • Make a master CD for duplication. You can be present during the mastering process to answer questions and make decisions. This means more control for you, and that's good. Then take that CD and play it on as many systems as possible to get an accurate "real-world" check out of what your release will sound like. No more guessing what your CD will sound like based on regular cassettes, which are the bottom-feeder of the audio food-chain for sure. If everything's ok, send the disc off to be duplicated. The CDs you get back from the plant are sonically identical to the one you sent out and you have made your best effort at making sure your artistic intentions reach the consumer as intact as you can make them.
  • Put your club or wedding demo on CD and you can make quick, high-quality custom demos by using your CD player's track programming feature. Plus, cassettes made from a CD sound a whole lot better than cassettes made from other cassettes.
  • Get a copy of your cassette-only release or EP on CD and when you go for a radio interview take it along so you'll sound as good on the radio as the national artists.
  • Make a few CDs to give to local radio stations so they can play your stuff (radio stations don't play cassettes on the air as a rule).
  • Save your digital audio master file as a computer CD-ROM or DVD-ROM for the ultimate in inexpensive reliable backup of priceless data.

So your CD is done, what now?
You have an audio master CD in your hot little hands and you of course want to release it as fast as possible! What now?

Well you need to find a duplicaton company, check out their prices and design specs and come up with a packaging design. We do the bulk of our duplication with a very good local company, QCA Inc.

No matter where you do your duplication, you will be faced with basic decision: how many to make? Obviously the standard economies of scale dictate that the more discs you make the less each one will cost you, but the more money you have to shell out for the initial order.

We recommend getting 1000 CDs. Why? To make CDs in the manner that you see in stores requires some relatively expensive up-front costs (ultra pure glass master, clean rooms etc.) that mean your first disc of the run is relatively expensive, and each of the following ones costs a nickel. So 1000 discs is enough discs that the up-front costs are well distributed across the run, but it's not so many discs that your granchildren will be still selling them 50 years from now.

For instance a certain popular package type costs $1.29 per disc if you get 1000, but $1.74 each at quantity level of 500, $2.63 if you get 300 discs. So your cost per unit is less than half which translates to $1.34 more profit per disc for you each time you sell one.

The only reason we can see to not get 1000 would be if you can't, in your wildest dreams ever imagine even getting rid of 300 discs because you're just going to give them away and not really try and sell them or some other consideration that puts your project outside the realm of traditional commercial considerations.

If you want help designing your cover and packaging we can help you with that too. We have done quite a few covers for our clients over the years and we can guide you through the process. If you're technically inclined and have good computer graphics skills, we have prepared a document that can help you make sure you don't do anything that would cause delays in getting your project out the door. Click here for our CD Cover guide.