Co-writer Splits for Indie Artists from TuneCore or CD Baby Revenue

If you're an independent artist/songwriter who has released music that was written with co-writers, what you owe those co-writers once the money starts to come in can be a bit complex and confusing. 

Most independent artists release their music via distributors like TuneCore, CD Baby, DistroKid, etc… or artist managed stores like BandCamp or Loudr.  As the streams and downloads rack up, money is generated and placed in the artist/writer owned account with their distributor of choice.

Here's the breakdown of an example a friend recently asked me about, concerning payouts to co-writers.

He is an independent artist, who brought in some friends to co-write with him on 2 songs from his most recent release.  He self funded the recording and release of the project (which means he owns the masters and acts as his own label), and distributed through CD Baby.

Once the album was released, it was streamed on Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming sites.  It was also downloaded on iTunes, Amazon mp3, and other purchase to download sites.

Money from these streams and purchases was generated and placed in the CD Baby account.

So, what does this independent artist owe to his co-writers?

The only money owed to the co-writers from the CD Baby money is a mechanical royalty for each purchased download in the US (iTunes, Amazon mp3, Google Play, etc…).  This royalty is set by law, and is 9.1 cents per download, divided amongst the songwriters based on their ownership percentage.  In countries other than the US, this mechanical royalty is paid to a collection agency who then pays the songwriter/publisher directly, not the owner of the master and/or their distributor.

There is no money owed to the co-writers from money paid by the streaming sites through CD Baby (or whatever distributor is used).

The reason for this is that the mechanical and performance royalties owed the co-writers are to be collected by their publisher and PRO (ASCAP, BMI, Sesac, or GMR).  Those monies are not payed through to the artist/writer who release the material via BandCamp or TuneCore (or other distributor).

To calculate the payments owed to co-writers, my friend would need to:

-Log in to his CD Baby account (or TuneCore, Band Camp, etc…)

-Count up how many song downloads have been purchased of a particular song (excluding streams). Most distributers make this easy by allowing you to search your account to filter “downloads” in “US”.

-Multiply number of downloads x 9.1 cents = TOTAL Mechanical payments owed to all writers of the song

-Take the TOTAL, and using each songwriters percentage of ownership, calculate how much each writer is owed from the TOTAL mechanical payment for each song

Because streaming has overtaken downloads, this will usually be a relatively low amount of money.  The rest of the money owed the co-writers will be collected by their publishers, PROs, and other collection agencies like the Harry Fox Agency.

If you are a co-writer, and interested in receiving all of your cut, here’s a great article by Ari Herstand about all of the revenue headed your way, and who can, will, and should collect it on your behalf:  

https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2016/02/15/how-to-get-all-the-royalties-you-never-knew-existed/

One side note…mechanical payments (and other music business details) are about to shake up.  Congress has just passed the Music Modernization Act, which will change things a bit once it is signed into law.  All for the better.  Until then, the details in this blog will hold up.

Ty

Music Business: A Primer

For a “cliff notes” version of this blog, you can visit my Instagram profile at @tyrobins and view the saved story highlight “Music Business”.

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There are two main money making properties in the recorded music business, the Song Copyright and the Sound Recording Copyright.  These properties and their owners are protected by U.S. Copyright Law and subsequent amendments.

Song Copyright is the song composition, owned by the songwriter(s).  

This legal protection begins once a song is “fixed in a tangible medium of expression”, which means it has been recorded or written down.  Some songwriters are under the mistaken impression that they must do something, such as file certain paperwork, to “get the song Copyright-ed”.  

This is incorrect.  Copyright Law protects author’s ownership as soon as the work is “fixed”.  This confusion is likely because a song and it’s subsequent copyright protection can be registered with the Library of Congress.  This registration allows for easier proof of ownership in court in case of infringement, and allows for owners to seek particular statutory damages.  Registration is recommended, but copyright ownership and protection is automatic once the work is “fixed”.

The music industry and Copyright Law view a song as 50% music composition, which includes vocal melody, and 50% lyrics.  If a song is authored by a single writer, they assume 100% ownership.  If multiple writers author a song together, they must decide how to split the ownership of the song based on each writer’s contribution.  These ownership percentages are then detailed on a Song Split Sheet.  If no decision is made, and no Song Split Sheet is filled and signed, the law will split ownership equally between all songwriters, regardless of contribution.

Sound Recording Copyright is a particular recorded version of a song.  This copyright is also known as the “Master”.  

The Master is owned by whoever paid for the recording to be made.  This is typically a record label or an independent artist.

The Copyright Law has a different set of protections for owners of Sound Recording Copyrights.  For instance, song owners have the protected and exclusive right to perform or broadcast their songs publicly.  In the U.S., this protection is not given to owners of master recordings. 

Protected Rights

As mentioned above, the Copyright Law gives owners exclusive rights over their work, and protects them from infringement.  

This means that only the songwriter/owner can:

- Record and distribute the song

- Perform and broadcast the song

- Synchronize the song with a visual work

If someone who is not the owner of the song would like to use it, that person must first get permission from the song owner.  This gives the Song Copyright owner the ability to sell limited permissions to use the song.

Similarly, only the master recording owner can:

- Use the master recording

If someone who is not the owner of the master recording would like to use it, that person must first get permission from the owner.  This gives the Sound Recording Copyright owner the ability to sell limited permissions to use the master.

This buying and selling of limited permissions is what “Music Licensing” is all about.

Music Licensing

If someone would like permission to Record and Distribute a song, they must buy a Mechanical License.  This is usually purchased by record labels who take this permission, make recordings of the songs with their artists, and distribute those recordings to the public.

If someone would like permission to Perform or Broadcast a song, they must buy a Performance License.  This is usually purchased by broadcasters like radio stations and TV networks, so that they can broadcast songs.  It is also purchased by venues like restaurants and bars for permission to play songs for their patrons.

If someone would like permission to Synchronize a song with a visual work they must buy a Synchronization License.  This is usually purchased by TV shows and film studios for permission to synch songs with their visual work.

Similarly, if someone would like to use a master recording they don’t own, they must buy a Master Use License.  This is usually purchased by TV and film production companies who wish to use a particular recording in their work, or artist’s and their labels when using samples of master recordings in their own new works.

There is an interesting inter-play between Song Copyrights and Sound Recording Copyrights.  It is possible to use a song without using a particular recorded version of that song.  But it is not possible to use a master recording without simultaneously using the underlying song.

This means that any time a Master Use License is purchased for permission to use a particular recording, the purchaser must also buy a license for use of the underlying song.

A frequent example of this is when a TV show or film seeks permission to use a recording in their show or movie.  They must purchase a Master Use License from the owner of the master, and also purchase a Synchronization License from the songwriter.

Music Publishers

Music Publishers are companies that take on the task of selling permissions on behalf of the songwriter.  They collect the licensing revenue and account for it all.

This way the songwriter can focus on doing what they do best…writing songs.

This help selling licenses is so valuable to songwriters that the industry standard split of revenue between publishers and songwriters is 50/50.  This split can change once the songwriter enjoys success and gains leverage when negotiating their next deal.  

This 50/50 split of song licensing income has become so typical in the music industry that each songwriter’s ownership portion and income is talked about in two halves…the writer’s portion, and the publishing.

Here’s an example:

A song is written by two writers.  One writer writes all of the music, including the vocal melody.  The other writes all of the lyrics.

Writer #1 owns a full 50% of the song copyright.  This portion is referred to by its two halves…the writer’s portion and the publishing.

If writer #1 signs with a publisher to a typical publishing deal, they will give up the “publishing” portion of income to the publisher.  If they haven’t signed a publishing deal, then they are considered self-published, and are on their own to entice labels, TV and film companies, etc… to purchase licenses and collect those payments.

The same goes for writer #2.

That’s all for now.  In the following weeks I’ll be diving in to each license to explain the revenue streams and collections of each.  Stay tuned!

-Ty

Hey Indie Artist, You Are Your Own Record Label and Publishing Company

I've found it helpful for students of my music business classes to think of their music careers in terms of holding multiple jobs, instead of one gigantic, passionate dream. This helps to strategize and plan in more realistic, goal-oriented ways. 

A fundamental understanding of how money is generated by recorded music, and what kind of companies do the work of mining that money, can help give some focus and direction for setting goals. In my last post, I talked about two important copyrights that generate money for their owners. Here's a quick review.

Songs - owned by the songwriter and/or their publisher. Copyright law protects authors, and songwriters are authors of music and lyrics. Once a songwriter "fixes the song in a tangible medium" (writes it down or records it), it is then protected as a work of authorship. Only the song owner can record, distribute, broadcast, play, etc... the song unless they sell someone else one of those permissions. The 3 main permissions songwriters and publishers sell are Mechanical Licenses, Performance Licenses, and Synch Licenses (broken down further in my previous post).

Master Recording - owned by whoever pays to make the recording. Known as Sound Recording Copyrights, this copyright protection is given by law to owners of recordings, and only the owner can sell, distribute, broadcast digitally, etc... the recording unless they sell someone else one of those permissions. Permission to use a master recording is called a Master Use License (super creative).

Publishing companies take up the duties involved in selling licenses on behalf of songwriters, collecting the money for them, and administrative type duties involved in protecting and registering the song copyrights.

Record Labels buy mechanical licenses from songwriters and publishing companies and pay to make master recordings of those songs with their artists. Then they market and distribute those recordings, with hopes that they sell enough to make back the money it took to pay for the recording (and then some).

Independent artists need to take up the duties that an artist with a publishing deal and a record deal would have done on their behalf. Thinking of yourself as not just an indie artist, but instead as a songwriter (song copyright owner), artist (performer), publishing company (song permissions seller and money collector), and record label (funding recordings and selling those recordings) can help break down the money generating paths and help set more specific career goals.

In further posts, I will flesh out the details of these income streams further. If you have any music business questions, feel free to go to the "Contact" page of the site and send me a message...I'd love to help.

Ty

Publishing and Licensing Basics

Here’s a primer on some of the basics of the music business.  I hope it helps you to further your understanding of licensing and publishing.

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All revenue in the recorded music industry is generated by ownership of 2 main copyrights:  Song Copyrights and Sound Recording Copyrights.

Another way to say this is all money flows back toward the owners of either Songs (Song Copyright) or Masters (Sound Recording Copyright).

Lets first take a look at Song Copyright ownership.

Songs:  Publishing and Licensing

As soon as a songwriter has written a song, and they fix that song in a “tangible medium of expression” (write it down or record it), the song is protected under U.S. law by the Copyright Act. This protection gives the songwriter exclusive ownership and a particular set of rights. No one else can use the song without permission.

To make money off of the song, the songwriter can then sell limited permissions (licenses) to other people and businesses who would like to use that song in a particular way.

This selling of limited permissions is what “Licensing” in the music industry is all about. There are 3 main licenses that songwriters sell:

Mechanical License - Buys the purchaser the right to make a recording of the song and distribute those recordings.  This license is typically purchased by record labels and/or producers, looking for the perfect song to match with their hot new artist.

*Once the record label funds that recording, the second important copyright (Sound Recording Copyright) is created and is owned by that label.  More on this later.

Performance License - Buys the purchaser the right to play the song publicly or broadcast the song.  This license is typically purchased by radio and TV broadcast companies and venues like bars and restaurants.  These broadcasters and venues use the music to attract viewers, listeners, and patrons.

Synchronization License - Buys the purchaser the right to synchronize the song with a visual work.  This license is typically purchased by TV and movie production companies to allow them to use songs in their productions.

So what is a Publishing company, and how do they factor in here?

Publishing companies make the following pitch to songwriters: 

“Hey songwriter, you’re great at writing songs, but horrible at the business of getting those songs to make money and accounting for the minutiae of registering your songs with the appropriate organizations. We like your songs, and think we can go convince people to use your songs. Why don’t we partner up?  We’ll handle the business, and you’ll handle the creative output.  We’ll give you an advance on future royalties upfront, and once we’ve recouped that advance we’ll split all subsequent profits 50/50.”

The money generated when the publisher goes out and sells a license is split into 2 halves (based on this typical 50/50 split).  The industry has long taken to calling the half that goes to the writer the “Writer’s Share”.  The half that goes to the publisher is called the “Publishing”.

So what is “publishing”?  It is 50% of revenue created by the selling of permissions to use the song.  (usually via selling mechanical, performance, or synch licenses)

This 50% can be given to a partner, like a publishing company, in return for their services.  It can be also be kept by the songwriter.  If the songwriter holds on to this 50%, they are said to be “self-published”.

Should you give over your publishing?  The answer to that is totally dependent upon what the person or company asking for you to give it to them can deliver for you.

Occasionally a particularly successful songwriter has enough leverage to get a better than 50/50 deal. But the typical “publishing deal” is 50/50.

Now let’s look at Sound Recording Copyright ownership.

Master Recordings:

The person or company who funds the recording of a song will own the subsequent master recording.  This is usually a record label, producer, or independent artist.  The Sound Recording Copyright is protected under Copyright Law much like the Song Copyright.  Only the owner of the master can use it.

If some other person or company would like to use the recording, they must purchase a…

Master Use License.  This license is needed when wanting to put a particular recorded version of a song in TV or film, or when an artist or producer would like to sample a part of the sound recording to create a new work.

The trick here, though, is that it is not possible to use the master recording without simultaneously using the underlying song.  That’s impossible (of course).  

Huh?

Let’s use an example to sort this out.

Let’s say you own a movie studio, and are creating the next big blockbuster film.  The director of your movie just has to have the song “Single Ladies” in the film.  

You would need to seek out the songwriter(s) and their publisher(s) to purchase a Synch license for permission to use the song.  You would then need to seek out Beyonce’s record label to purchase a Master Use license for permission to use her particular recorded version of the song.

There will only ever be one song “Single Ladies” (just so happens it was written by Tricky Stewart, The Dream, Thaddis Harrell, and Beyonce).  But, there can be multiple recorded versions of that song. 

This would be the case in the well known example of the song “Smooth Criminal”.  The song was originally written and recorded by Michael Jackson.  This makes him the Song Copyright owner and his record label the Sound Recording Copyright owner.  It was then re-recorded by Alien Ant Farm.  Two different recorded versions of the same song.

So if a movie studio wanted to use Michael’s version, they’d have to go to Michael’s publisher to by a Synch license, and then to his record label to buy a Master Use license.

If a movie studio wanted to use Alien Ant Farm’s version, they’d have to go to Michael’s publisher for the Synch license, but then to Alien Ant Farm’s record label for the Master Use license.

And guess what Alien Ant Farm’s record label had to purchase to get the permission to record another version of “Smooth Criminal” in the first place?  They had to go to Michael’s publishing company to buy a Mechanical license.

In review, Song Copyright owners (and their publishers) sell Mechanical, Performance, and Synch permissions.  Sound Recording Copyright owners sell Master Use permissions.

This system of ownership of copyright, and selling of permissions, is what publishing and licensing is all about.

I will continue this primer in subsequent posts.  For now, if you have any questions, feel free to head over to the “Connect” page of the site and shoot me your questions.  I’d be happy to help.

Ty

New Home, New Studio

Been a while since I've had time to post an update, but finally found time to slow down a bit today.

A couple months ago, Sarah and I closed on our first house.  The house had "great bones" (as realtors say)...which means we've been eyeballs deep in renovation since closing.  We've done quite a bit to update the home, and learned a ton.

The property also includes a 600 sq ft finished out, detached garage that we're building into my dedicated studio space.  I'll be putting my 'textbook' studio design knowledge to practical use and doing most of the design and build myself.  I'll also be pelting my audio/acoustics knowledgeable friends with questions (thanks ahead of time Jacob Meador, Gary Bailey, Brad Murphree, Case Mundy, Mike Thompson, and Ashton Nagle).

Back to the house... here's what we've done and some of what I've learned:

When we first toured the home, it was obvious to us that if we could "open up" the main living areas, the house would be much more fun to live in.  That meant removing 2 load bearing walls, and a load bearing drop down header.  The previous owner also had a much stronger affinity for forrest green than we do (much stronger), so the floors needed updating.  And backsplash.  And appliances.  And cabinetry.  And plumbing and electrical and sheetrock and texture and paint.  Did I mention we've learned a lot?  Check out that carpet.

Here are some pictures of the house as we bought it, started the renovation, and about where we're at now:

A lot went into taking out those walls, including 3 glue lam beams, and a lot of demolition.  I let the professionals handle the beams (smart move), but helped out with the demo...cause it's fun.

Here's some of the chaos in between those relatively calm pictures above.  The main beam is huge.  Wife for scale:

And here's a step further (that's the island being built in the living room, it's now back in its rightful place in the kitchen area):

Of all of the things I've learned during this process, the most important is...

...do lots of research and hire great people.  If it's important to you, and within your budget, don't skimp.  I researched a lot (via Google, Home Advisor, Angie's List, and word of mouth) looking for the best general contractor to manage our project.  After that research and reading a lot of reviews, I called 12.  Of 12, I met with 8.  Of 8, I got 5-6 bids.  

Per advise from parents and friends, I tossed the highest and lowest bids.  That narrowed it down to about 3.  Then, I just went with the one that seemed the most trustworthy.  It was a prayer based, gut decision.  And we got it right.

Here's some more recent pictures, since the details have started to be installed:

Yep, we're keeping a little forrest green.  As tribute.  (I said not as much an affinity)

If you're curious, we hired Ben Jurney, owner of Kainos Properties.  Not only has Ben been communicative, informative, and professional...his sub-contractor/trades have been the same.  If you'd like his contact info, I'd love to give it to you.  Just drop me a line.

"But wait, Ty.  What about the studio?"

Glad you asked.  

Right now the studio is acting as an air conditioned storage space.  Once the floors are in (very soon) we'll move on in to the house...and then the real studio build out begins.

Until then, I'll leave you with this picture.  The day after we closed, I was anxious to do something productive in my new studio space.  I had a hammer with me, so I got a little #demoday therapy in:

As I type this, the flooring guys are finishing up floating/leveling the foundation cement in preparation to install the floors.  We're. So. Close.

Stay tuned, I'll have more to report once the studio build starts up in full force

Ty

Where to Invest $ In Your Studio: Part 2

In my last post, I described the basic "building blocks" of the modern studio, and advised that your $ is best spent on these building blocks, before diving too deep into purchasing outboard gear and plugins:

As a continuation of that post, I'd like to give you some "starter" studio rig options...fully functioning studios that will give you a high quality studio from which to learn and grow.  Many of the pieces I mentioned in my previous post show up here.  The goal of this post is to brainstorm what fully functional rigs, made from gear I've used and trust, might look like and cost. 

I will add to the "building blocks" a pair of headphones, so you can have isolated monitoring during tracking for vocals and other acoustic sources.

I've left out gear options that would put you out of range of high quality, professional sounding results (which means you can put together a working rig for cheaper, but will need to replace certain gear sooner rather than later if your goal is "studio quality").

Keep in mind that there will be some additional costs associated with ancillary equipment like cables, stands, furniture, screens, and acoustic treatment.

Studio 1:  

Here is my list for a really great entry level studio.  This will allow you to record vocals and overdubs at high quality, and monitor at a quality appropriate to mix well.

$500 - Microphone - Avantone CV-12

$900 - Pre Amp, A/D+D/A, and Monitor Management - UA Apollo Twin MKII Duo

$700 - Computer and HD - 2.6GHz Mac mini 8GB memory, 1 TB Hard Drive

$25/month - DAW - Pro Tools 12 monthly subscription

$700 - Speakers - Yamaha HS8

$100 - Headphones - Sennheiser HD 280

TOTAL - $2,900 + $25/month

Studio 2:  

This arrangement expands your studio to 4 channels of quality pre amp, and gives you room to grow into your 8 channels of available A/D at a later time.  The mic selection is a little better (making use of 4 channels simultaneously), the computer a little more feature rich, and the monitoring section adds a sub to represent low frequency information more accurately (which I find important).  Headphones are the same.

$1,100 - Microphone - Mojave MA200

$400 - Microphone - Shure sm7B

$200 - Microphone - Shure sm57 x2

$1,800 - Pre Amp - Daking Mic Pre IV

$2,000 - A/D and D/A, and Monitor Management - UA Apollo 8 Duo

$1,300 - Computer and HD - 2.8 GHz iMac 8GB memory, 21" screen, 1 TB Hard Drive

$25/month - DAW - Pro Tools 12 monthly subscription

$1,150 - Speakers - Yamaha HS8 + HS8Sub

$100 - Headphones - Sennheiser HD 280

TOTAL - $8,050 + $25/month

Studio 3:

With Studio 3 we've upgraded quite a bit.  Five microphones, a "legendary brand name" for the pre amp, dedicated monitor management with great features and aesthetic, a MacBook Pro which will allow for portability, a much improved speaker set, and better headphones.

$3,500 - Microphone - Lawson Tube/FET Combo

$400 - Microphone - Shure sm7B

$200 - Microphone - Shure sm57 x2

$2,715 - Pre Amp - API 3124+

$2,000 - A/D and D/A - UA Apollo 8 Duo

$2,000 - Computer and HD - 2.2 GHz MacBook Pro, 16 GB memory, 15" screen, 256GB SSD hd

$25/month - DAW - Pro Tools 12 monthly subscription

$2,000 - Monitor Management - Dangerous Music Monitor ST

$3,700 - Speakers - Focal Twin6 Be

$200 - Headphones - Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro

TOTAL - $16,715 + $25/month

When perusing the above lists, you should also consider mixing and matching certain elements.  For instance, maybe take the computer and A/D+D/A from one option, and the microphones and pre amp from another...whatever works best for your situation and priorities.

So, what might my shopping cart look like if I just won the lottery?  Or a distant relative left me a substantial inheritance?  It's fun to dream...let's put together a super-studio.

$7,600 - Microphone - Bock 507

$10,100 - Microphone - Neuman M149 x2

$3,500 - Microphone - Lawson Tube/FET Combo

$2,600 - Microphone - Royer R-121 x2

$2,360 - Microphone - Coles 4038 x2

$1,140 - Microphone - Sennheiser MD421 x3

$160  - Microphone - Sennheiser e 602 II

$400 - Microphone - Shure sm7B

$200 - Microphone - Shure sm57 x2

$190 - Microphone - Shure Beta 52

MICROPHONE TOTAL - $28,250

$5,035 - Pre Amp - Shadow Hills Quad Gama w/ PSU

$2,715 - Pre Amp - API 3124+

$4,200 - Pre Amp - 1073MP dual channel w/ power supply x2

PRE AMP TOTAL - $11,950

$4,300 - A/D and D/A - Apogee Symphony I/O Mk II 16x16

$5,000 - Computer and HD - 3.5GHz Mac Pro, 32 GB memory, 1 TB hd

$2,500 - DAW - Pro Tools HD

$3,000 - Monitor Management - Cranesong Avocet IIA

$18,500 - Speakers - ATC SMC100ASL Pro Pair

$500 - Headphones - Sennheiser HD650

$800 - Headphones - Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro x4

THE REST - $34,600

TOTAL - $74,800

...just to start, then add to that a long list of outboard compressors, EQ, and whole lot of plugins...

Whew! That was fun!  I should go buy a powerball ticket.

After investing in your studio rig's "building blocks", the next purchase I would advise is a good plugin bundle.  For my next post I'll give you a couple different plugin bundle options, of varying prices, that I think are best to start with.  Stay tuned!

Ty

Where to Invest $ In Your Studio

Every modern studio in the world uses the same common building blocks to capture and monitor audio.

From the large, multi-million dollar recording studios to the smallest bedroom and hobbiest setups, this signal flow is common in them all.

An understanding of the basic equipment needed to build your own studio is necessary to make informed decisions about where to invest in your money, and what will pay off in truly raising the sonic quality of your rig.

Think of this graphic as the bare minimum skeleton of the recording studio.  In some large studios, other ancillary gear (consoles, patchbays, etc...) seem to make the system more complicated...but at the heart of any modern recording studio is this signal flow:

Microphone - Transduces acoustic waveforms into corresponding electrical (analog) signal.

Pre Amp - Boosts low level mic output to a usable line level signal.

Analog to Digital Converter - Samples the incoming analog signal into discrete points of information (between 44,100 and 192,000 times a second) and outputs those samples as strings of binary words, usually 16 or 24 bits in length.

Computer and Hard Drive - Communicates with the A/D converter (via DAW software) and stores those discrete samples on the hard drive, then sends the sampled information to the D/A converter.

Digital to Analog Converter - Receives discrete binary samples from Computer and DAW and converts to an analog signal.

Monitor Management - Allows for control of monitoring level and speaker selection.

Speakers - Transduces the analog signal into acoustic energy for monitoring purposes.

My advice is to focus on these basic building blocks.  Make sure to invest in these 6-7 pieces first, because these will have a direct impact on your studio's sonic abilities (except for the computer...it's contributions aren't sonically based, but instead based on storage, speed, and workflow).

Some companies offer units that put a few of these building blocks in the same form factor (an A/D and D/A converter that also contains monitor management and a few channels of pre amp).  When just starting out, these can be a great option.

Let's take a look at some of the options availble on the market for each of these individual building blocks.  I'll give you some suggestions based on gear I've worked with and have liked, catagorized into different price levels.

Microphone

Most studios would benefit most from investing in a high quality, versatile large-diaphram condenser mic.  A large diaphram condenser can be used on so many sources...from vocals and acoustic guitars, to percussion and guitar cabinets.  Because of how important having a good mic is, I'd suggest spending at least $500.  Here are a few options:

$500 - Avantone CV-12 - This tube mic has great tone and for the money it's hard to beat.  It has multiple polar patterns, and comes with a nice carrying case and a shock mount.  If looking for a low cost, versatile mic...start here.

$1,100 - Mojave MA-200 - I've owned this mic for years, and it has been a workhorse in my studio.  It is a recreation of the Neumann U67, a famous vintage tube microphone.  Many records I've produced have featured this mic on vocals and acoustic guitar.

$3,500 - Lawson Tube/FET Combo - Lawson is a mic company based in Nashville, and they have a combination package that comes with 2 mic bodies (one tube, one FET) and 2 interchangable capsules (U47 and ELAM 251).  This gives you access to 4 different high quality clones of legendary mic tone:  beefy and warm U47, clean, full, and strikingly clear FET47, airy and gorgeous 251, and unique FET body/251 capsule arrangement.  I've made heavy use of the first 3 arrangements mentioned, and they are top notch.

$7,600 - Bock 507 - This is Bock's (very expensive) take on the Neumann U47, with some Bock designed improvements to the capsule.  If you're looking to spend a ton of money...this microphone will not dissapoint.  Amazing tone.

Pre Amp

While the difference in sound between pre amps is not near as drastic as the difference from one mic to another, it is still an important link in the sonic chain.  Each mic pre will add its own personality to the tone of the microphone.  If investing in a pre amp, I've always liked the idea of getting a 4 channel unit.  This usually allows you to get multiple channels of high quality pre amp for a lower price per channel.  If budget is tight, you can get 1 high quality pre amp channel, and expand later.

$1,800 - Daking Mic Pre IV (4 channel) - Fairly clean, with just a bit of weighty personality, thanks to Jensen transformers on the output.  This is a great 4 channel class A pre amp to start with.

$2,715 - API 3124+ (4 channel) - Punchy and aggressive, this 4 channel pre amp will pump up the attitude on any mic you feed it.  Industry standard for drums, bass, and guitars that you want to have an in your face quality.

$5,035 - Shadow Hills Quad Gama + Power supply (4 channel) - This is my "desert island" pre amp.  It is extremely versatile, with a switchable output transformer matrix that switches from STEEL (huge bottom end, open top, great color and grit...my alltime favorite electric guitar, bass, and acoustic guitar pre amp tone), IRON (Neve-esque, with great thickness and presence in the mids and low mids), and NICKLE (airy, beautiful high end. Very clean, but not boring...top of the heap for me when tracking vocals).  I invested in this pre amp for my studio early on, and have loved it ever since.

$600 - Daking Mic Pre One (1 channel) - A single channel version of the Daking Mic Pre IV.

$1000 - UA Solo/610 (1 channel) - A single channel version of the UA 610, a tube mic pre with a warm, full bodied tone.

A/D + D/A Converter

While pre amp selection makes less difference to sonic character than microphone selection, converter selection makes even less difference.  Each of these options I've listed is "professional" studio quality.  Each of them will sound subtly different, but only experienced engineers and audiophiles will be able to determine a difference.  Even still, make sure to invest in a high quality "professional" converter...even if you can't tell the difference right away, hopefully your ears will develop to the point of being able to hear the difference.  At this point in 2017, I would pay a little extra to invest in a Thunderbolt capable model.  USB and Firewire are on their way out.

$900 - UA Apollo Twin MKII Duo Thunderbolt - 2 channel AD/DA converter with built in monitor management, 2 channels of ok/decent pre amp, and processing for UA plugins (which are considered the best in the industry).  Great unit to start with in a small, budget conscious studio.

$2,000 - UA Apollo 8 Duo Thunderbolt - 8 channel version of the above unit.

$3,000 - Antelope Orion 32+ Thunderbolt - Best bang for the buck, by far - but may be way more channels than needed.  Great converters, with 32 channels of mastering grade AD and DA in a 1U rack.  I've used this converter to interface with the SSL 4000 I mix on from time to time, and it has been a great investment.

$4,300 - Apogee Symphony I/O MKII Thunderbolt - I own the 16x16 version of this converter, and it is my main AD/DA for my home studio.  Great, high quality converters with seamless integration with mac OS.

$7,500 - Avid HD Native IO 16x16 + Thunderbolt Native - Avid's (makers of Pro Tools) newest converter system.  With this HD IO release, they really stepped up their converter quality.  But there are much less costly options for a studio looking to invest in high quality conversion.

Monitor Management

Monitor management is often an overlooked and under-funded element in building a studio.  It's not the most exciting purchase, but it is extremely important.  Every bit of audio in your studio will pass through this device.  Its ability to stay out of the way, and give you a clean, clear picture of the audio you are capturing and manipulating, is of utmost importance.  It may be tempting to cut back on cost here, but I would advise against it (I'm looking at you Mackie Big Knob and PreSonus Monitor Station).  Unless your budget is extremely tight, I wouldn't look for anything much less than the options I've listed.  Side note: many of the AD/DA Converters listed earlier have high quality monitor management capabilities.  If budget is tight, consider those options.

$900 - Dangerous Music Source - Great quality and bang for your buck.  This unit has dual speaker selection, input of both analog and digital audio sources, and 2 headphone outs.

$2000 - Dangerous Music Monitor ST - This unit has served my studio well.  All analog, and super clean, this unit boasts 4 input selections, 3 speaker select with sub on off, selectable LPF roll off for sub control, individual speaker select level control to balance speaker sets and sub, headphone out, talkback mic, and a very attractive remote control to put all features within easy reach. 

$3000 - Cranesong Avocet - This is the "end all, be all" option.  3 stereo analog inputs, 3 digital inputs, 3 speaker select, sub on/off, talkback and level matching...with a great remote featuring built in metering.  If you're looking to buy something you'll never want to upgrade, this is your choice.

Speakers

All of your creative and engineering decisions will be made based on what your speakers are capable of showing you.  Not a place to cut corners!  But there are some good starter options that won't totally break the bank.  I'll divide them into active and passive (those with built in amplifiers to power the speakers, and those that will need a separate power amp).  For smaller studios, I tend to lean towards active speakers...simply because it's less equipment to buy and maintain.

Active

$700 - Yamaha HS8 - I started my studio with these speakers.  While they aren't as flat and revealing as the speakers I've since upgraded to, they were perfect speakers to learn and grow my abilities.  If budget is tight, these speakers will get the job done.

Side note: I wish I could tell you differently, but there's just not a lot of great options in the $1,000-$3,000 range.  My advice is to start with <$1,000 speakers, and wait to upgrade when you're ready to jump to the >$3,000 level.

$3,700 - Focal Twin6 Be - About 4 years ago, I upgraded my speaker set to these Focals.  They are extremely clear and focused.  Because of the super low distortion levels, they are great to work on all day without fatiguing my ears.  I've loved owning them, and they have served me well.  They aren't speakers that will give you loud SPL levels, but I mix at a fairly quiet to moderate volume, so they work great.

$10,500 - Barefoot Sound MicroMain 27 - If you want nearfield active monitors that you can crank up to impress the clients and shake the room, these will get you there.  Many top producers and engineers have adopted these into their studios.  If you're looking to spend an arm and a leg, these pack a sonic wallup.
 

Passive

$800 approx - Yamaha NS-10 (without power amp) - Some people love em.  Some people hate em.  I tend to find myself closer to the "love em" camp these days.  These speakers reveal something to me that is lacking from most other sets.  Power amps run from $200 to $4000, with varying levels of quality.  Also, Yamaha no longer makes the NS-10, so you'll have to scour eBay or Reverb.com to pick up a "pre-loved" pair.

$2,600 - Pro Ac SM100 (without power amp) - Great nearfield monitors at a reasonable price.  Many top mix engineers use these as their main reference monitors.

$18,300 - PMC IB2S (without power amp) - These speakers are hyper revealing.  I've used them for years when mastering and mixing at Wire Road Studios.  Because of their hefty price tag, I would recommend buying a few scratch offs or contemplating how much you need both kidneys before falling in love.  Joking aside, investing that kind of money in speakers means they will only be appropiately useful in a ground up, no expense spared, professionally designed studio space.

That's it...the basic building blocks of the modern studio, where to invest your $, and some personally time tested suggestions.

Most of the options I've listed would be at home in the highest quality studios.  For some engineers just starting out, practical budget considerations make those options impossible. 

For my next post, I'll outline some great budget/starter options to get your feet wet.  You may outgrow budget options within a few years, but it's well worth getting some engineering experience while you wait to upgrade your studio's quality.  Stay tuned.

Ty

5 of My Most Used Plugins

Here's a list of 5 of my most used plugins, a brief description of their sound, and how I tend to use them.

1.  SSL Channel Strip  -  Softube Console 1 SSL4000 and Waves SSL4000

With my love of mixing on the SSL 4000, it should come as no surprise that I make a lot of use out of SSL 4000 channel strip emulations.  The one I use most often is the Softube Console 1 emulation.  It's eq curve emulations are the most true to my experiences with the console, particularly in the high end.  I use the Softube Console 1 on most individual channels when I want the familiar curves of the SSL console.

The downside to the Softube is that its compressor doesn't use the same fixed attack settings from the console (either fast or normal - program dependent).  That's where the Waves emulation comes in handy.  Great snap in normal attack, great control in fast attack mode.

Used on shaping individual tracks.

2.  1176  -  UAD 1176 Bundle and Waves CLA-76

Ah, the good ol' 1176 compressor.  The working man's compressor.  It seems to work on anything. Each one of these emulations from UA and Waves have a unique tone and crunching action.  

I find the UA rev A (blue stripe) has a really beautiful, lush tone that works great on lead vocals, some guitars that need added smoothness and depth, and the occasional snare.  UA rev E (black face) has a harder edge, and gets the play on bass, snare, and guitars that need more edge.  

Waves CLA-76 Bluey is super aggressive with a great in your face quality.  It gets used on vocals, and various drum tracks.  The CLA-76 Blacky is a little more buttery (if you can ever call an 1176 buttery) and works from time to time on bass, vocals, and percussion.

3.  DMG EQuillibrium

This EQ is incredible.  Seriously.  It is the best sounding, most flexible, most outrageously complex and yet best designed EQ I've ever used.  By far.

It can be constituted in its settings to be very light on processor power -or- you can make one instance of it choke all the power your machine can muster.

This is my go to EQ for everything.  It is a carving machine.  It is unstoppable.  

I use it on individual tracks for shaping, I've used it many times on the master bus, and I use it regularly in mastering.

4.  API 2500  -  UA API 2500 and Waves API 2500

The API 2500 compressor has a great tone that it imparts on any program material it touches.  Each of these emulations has its own "shade" of that tone.  

The Waves emulation is snappy and sharp.  Even when applying no gain reduction, it adds a top end presence and blocky thickness to the low mids.  I've used this on drum bus in the past, and still use it on some acoustic guitars.

The UA API 2500 has a more chunky weight than its Waves sister.  It gives a great grit and girth to the signal.  Its compression action is much more useful than the Waves version.  And I LOVE that UA added a mix knob to this amazing sounding emulation.  

Great on drum bus, and anything that needs added weight and girth.

5.  Decapitator  -  Soundtoys

There is so much that can be done with this plugin.  It can mangle and distroy audio, blow it up sky high, and add copious amounts of grit and distortion.

But...it can also be used to add a tasteful amount of sizzle, warmth, grit, energy to any track or bus it touches.  The tonal variations and energy enhancements this plugin holds in its deceptively simple form are a blast to use. 

I'd suggest getting to know the presets that come with the plugin to figure out what all the Decapitator can do.

Used on anything that needs harmonic enrichment or added warmth or energy...vocals, drums, bass, guitar...everything.

Well there you have it - those are 5 of my currently most used plugins.  This list changes a little bit from time to time, but I made an effort to keep this list to the ones I think I will use for years to come.  

I have buckets and buckets of other plugins that I enjoy using (we didn't even get to reverbs, delays, and modulation!), but these 5 are the staples that get used on almost every mix.

Try em out, and I hope you have as much fun with them as I do!

-Ty