Audrey’s goal for The NAMM 2020 Show was to check out the educational side of the Show In this article, Audrey shares the best advice she picked up from some of the biggest names in the industry including Bob Clearmountain, Lenis Bent, Ross Hogarth, and Leslie Ann Jones. 

The NAMM Show is not all about the gear! There were some really thought-provoking panels and demonstrations designed to help attendees take their businesses and production quality to the next level. I’ve compiled some pieces of advice that intrigued me or have changed the way I think about working in the recording industry.

Top Takeaway: Invest In Your Professional Development

There was a theme in the advice I heard all over the NAMM 2020 Show: the best investment is one you make in yourself. Whether that means joining AES and the Producers & Engineers Wing of NARAS, or reading industry news before bed every night to stay on top of trends. Investing time and money in your career always pays dividends.

I don’t remember which panel I attended, or who said this for sure, (I think it may have been CJ Vanston), but it’s something I’ve been thinking about since: Which type of doctor would you want? The doctor who spends 90 minutes on social media every day, or the one who spends 90 minutes a day catching up on the latest information related to their field? It’s the same in our industry. Joining and being an active member of professional organizations is one way to do just that.

When you’re deciding what the next career move should be, ask yourself these questions…

• What needs to stay the same?

• What needs to change?

• What should go back to how it used to be?

Then use those answers to help you figure out a direction and a plan.

With that in mind here is some more specialized advice from some of the panels I attended, covering topics like mastering, podcasting, and immersive audio.

SoundGirls Mentoring

• When working with a new client, set expectations early on. For example: “Don’t give me last minute stuff, 2 - 3 weeks is a better timeline.” Being proactive with managing expectations opens the lines of communication and puts you in a better position to not be taken advantage of down the road.

• Have an Elevator Pitch ready for when you’re stuck in an elevator with your personal hero or someone who could help with your professional goals. It should be about 15 seconds and tell the person exactly who you are and what you do. Here’s mine: “Hi, I’m Audrey. I own a studio in Madison, Wisconsin where I engineer and produce mostly singer-songwriter, classical, and jazz with the occasional podcast or audiobook thrown in.” See how easy that is?

• Go to the party! I know, I’m a fan of going home and melting into a puddle on the couch before pouring myself into bed too, but so much of the business of the music industry is done at social functions. It’s where Person A knows that Person B is looking for a gig and connects Person B to Future Employer C. I’ve even seen this in action: I went to a release show for a record I mastered. There were three acts that night and I had worked with two of them. They introduced me to the third artist and a couple of months later they were in my studio working on a record. 

• Be the one who identifies and solves a need before it arises. Lenise Bent told us that she sometimes will test a group of students by leaving a paper cup or a wrapper on the floor of the studio. Most of the students usually look at it before continuing to their seat, but the one who picks it up is the one who is considered for an internship or job. I think I’m going to steal that trick...

Immersive Audio - The Mixer’s Perspective

• Ever wanted to do a DIY Binaural Recording? Stand in front of your source and position two mics by your ears. Record and listen back to the results in headphones. It’s not practical for any kind of lengthy recording but the results promise to be “freaky.”

• Give working in Dolby Atmos a try. Receivers are already being released for Dolby Atmos at home and Netflix is going to start streaming in Atmos. Sooner or later you’ll need to become familiar with it.

When Loud Is Not Loud - What You Need To Know

• A super-loud master sent to streaming services is turned down by that service so that all of their music is perceived to be of similar volume. When a loud master is turned down, that music won’t pop as much as music that hasn’t been turned down. On YouTube, check out Stats for Nerds to see the original volume of a song and how much it was turned down to comply with YouTube loudness standards. 

• Mixes with more bass can cheat more volume. Compacting the midrange leaves more room for bass frequencies so you can make your mix sound louder while still metering at -14 LUFS.

• Check out NUGEN MasterCheck. NUGEN MasterCheck is a plugin that allows you to audition how streaming codecs will affect your master. Listen to your mixes as the end-user will such as on Spotify mobile. Fun fact: Loudness considerations for streaming platforms translate nicely to vinyl. 

The Producer and the Creative Process

• You’re beating it to death after take 3. You’re trying to capture the essence of an artist, taking too long to do that blurs the picture. For more see: ‘a great performance makes a great record’ below.

• Let everyone in the room gel together before jumping in with the business. You’ll want to make sure everyone is feeling comfortable and welcomed before you hit them with the to-do list for the session. It’s like taking time to wake up and drink a coffee before you’re confronted with catching up on emails at the office. 

• Pre-Production is a time-saver. Work out parts ahead of time so that you’re using recording time for recording, not song-writing. 

• A great performance makes a great record. Artists can suffer from “Piece of Shit-ism” where they think everything that they’re recording sucks. Sometimes you need to hold their hand and sometimes you need to employ “Ruthless Compassion,” where you cut off their head so a new, better head can grow in its place. In other words, pull that extra bit out of the artist to show them where they can go. Look for what material you and the artist jive with and build from there.

• Pick artists who gel with your vision and the type of projects you’d like to work on. Look for artists who give you goosebumps, who are honest, and have a vision, who are not just out to please people. However, it’s important that the artist is able to take ownership of the music so don’t push your vision onto them. 

The Power of Podcasting

• Consider a podcast in lieu of a blog. Google likes websites that have fresh content. A podcast is a great way to keep a website relevant. The show notes can even act as the blog.

• Always be authentic. Being authentic makes it easier to stay and sound consistent. Don’t put on a character. I believe it was Chris Graham who mentioned that he realized the had a “phone voice” that was different from his “podcast voice” so when people called, they didn’t recognize his voice at first because he wasn’t being authentic on the phone as he had been on the podcast. A hidden benefit of podcasting is that people will know your story before you even talk to them.

• Podcasts compete for divided attention, YouTube competes for undivided attention. Podcasts are perfectly suited for while you’re doing the dishes. With podcasts, there’s no fear of missing a vital visual element because there is nothing to see!

I hope you found some of this advice helpful. If you heard something at NAMM that really stuck with you, we’d love to hear about it in the comments.