Short Run CD Duplication

Internal CD duplication is, again, something that can be done relatively easily with high-quality results. The big problem here is the amount of time it takes. If you’re burning half a dozen discs in the optical CD burner on your desktop PC or laptop, that’s fine, but if you need 50 discs or 100, that could equate to many hours needed to complete the duplication side of the project. . One solution is to purchase a duplication tower that allows you to burn multiple CDs simultaneously. Investing £400 in a duplication tower that burns up to 10 discs at a time might be a good idea if duplication is something you plan to do quite frequently. But if your short-run CD printing project is a one-time or very occasional requirement, outsource the job and save yourself some time. Even if you printed the discs and the pieces of paper for the packaging yourself, you may be able to find a supplier that will do only the duplication part of the project. Most service providers have mirroring suites that house hundreds of tower units. This means that they can duplicate 100 or 200 CDs very quickly and cheaply.

Master CD Contents

Whether you decide to stay home or seek outside help for your duplication, you’ll need a good quality master CD to produce copies. No matter how beautifully printed and packaged your CD is, if the sound is poor or the mix is ​​rushed, the end user will be unhappy and unlikely to make any further purchases or recommend your CD to others. If time is a big concern with your short-run CD printing project, opt for plain disc printing and basic packaging and spend most of your time refining your master. As mentioned above, fantastic software packages have been made available to almost every musician in the last 15 years, regardless of whether the budget for the project is small or large. Believe it or not, a high quality multitrack recording package that will run on an average spec PC or laptop can be had for less than £20. They also present the user with a staggering array of effects and enhancements so you can perfect every appearance of your recording. Take the time to watch tutorial videos or join a related online product forum to find tips on how best to use the software to get the results you want. This software is particularly useful for multi-instrumentalists who want to publish recordings on the Internet and make them available via Sound Cloud or iTunes.

Your finished files must be in high quality .wav format. iTunes standard submission requirement for audio files is 16-bit/44.1kHz sample rate, which is a standard CD-quality audio file, but if you can record at 24-bit/44.1kHz sample rate 48kHz (or higher), iTunes will accept your files and you can produce a higher quality master. The maximum sound frequency that is generally audible to the human ear is 20kHz and the vast majority of audio releases are mastered at 44.1kHz so this should be perfectly fine for most musicians.

Standard CD capacity and track length

One thing you will need to consider is the maximum capacity of a standard CD. You can put a maximum of 74 minutes of music or 682 MB of data in there, so make sure the final edit of all tracks will fit on your CD. If you have more than 74 minutes of audio, you will need to spread the tracks out over multiple discs, and this will greatly affect your choice of packaging for the project, as well as your production costs.

Copyright Issues Affecting Audio CDs and Software

If your audio compositions contain any work, in whole or in part, that has been previously recorded and copyrighted by another artist, you must obtain permission from the copyright holder before you can publish your work on the public domain. This type of problem often arises when samples of other artists’ work are included in a recording.

You will also need to deal with the copyright of your own original recordings. Copyright law in the UK is basically as follows:

Copyright in an audio recording is held separately from copyright in the lyrics and music on the recording. The initial copyright owner of an audio recording is usually the producer of the record.

The composer of music on an audio recording will be the author of the musical work and will normally own the copyright to that music. Song lyrics are separately copyrighted as a literary work and will normally remain the property of the writer.

An audio recording will also contain the rights of the performer, such as:

• The right to reproduce the recording.
• The right to distribute the recording.
• The right to rent or terminate the recording.
• The right to benefit from equitable remuneration

To obtain the copyright of an audio recording, the best source of information is the Internet. There are organizations that will register your copyright for you for a small fee and act with you in the event of any future copyright infringement.

ISRC Codes and CD Text

Once you’ve finished your recording and are happy to release it for duplication, you may want to consider including ISRC codes (International Standard Recording Codes) on the master for each track separately. The ISRC system is recognized throughout the world as the standard system for numbering audio and video recordings. The code consists of 12 alphanumeric digits and is used to individually identify each track so that you can receive royalties paid on sales of digital music and tracks offered through online music and video streaming services, and also when your music is released. played on the radio or in an audience location over a sound system.

If you have a large fan base and expect your music to be very popular, perhaps you would like to track your music on the Billboard charts. You will need to register your ISRC codes with SoundScan so that your sales figures can be recorded independently.

Search “ISRC Code Application” online and you will find companies that can help you obtain ISRC codes and register them with the appropriate industry bodies. The process is very simple and inexpensive and will help you secure your royalties due or in case there are any copyright issues after the track is released.

If you prefer to leave the sound engineering to an expert in a professional recording studio then you will need to be prepared to pay them for their time and if you only intend to release a small number of recordings then it can be difficult to get it back. the cost.