At some point we (Ariana and I) usually decide to create a “product”, let’s say a new music CD. That marks the “official” starting date of a production. For that sort of thing to be kicked off, a few things need to be in place:

1. We need to be sure that we know how to play the music well when the recording date(s) come around. No matter if we record in the studio with overdubbing, headphones and the works, or if we record live on a stage, we should be able to play every part of the music by itself or together, with and without metronome. Not being musically rehearsed and prepared typically is the largest financial blunder in CD production.
2. We need to know (or guess) how many CD’s we can sell at a specific price within a specific time frame. For example: We might know we can sell 100 CD for $15.– within the first 5 weeks of it’s release: That would mean we can achieve a gross income of $1500.– within a bit more than one month. More likely $2000.– within two months, before sales taper off. There goes our production budget. Two grand.
3. Have a time schedule! Rehearsal dates. Recording dates. Mixing dates. Mastering date. Replication date. Shipping date. Release date: that’s the important target to know ahead of time. Most of our professional friends plan at least 6 to 18 months ahead when it comes to important events for their career. Failure to have a firm time schedule can affect your finances in most insidious ways…

In quantity (>1000), CD replication costs, let’s say, a buck and a quarter ($1.25) per CD. Ka-boom! The first 1250.– of our budget are already TOAST. (If the CD were to contain let’s say 10 cover songs, you’d have to ad approximately 10 cents per song per CD. That’s another thousand dollars and a large amount of paper work, putting you already $250.– into a hole, at least in the short term. We don’t record much covers these days)