Everything You Need to Know About Editing

Today the music world has no rules.

Artists have the freedom to create and mix any form of music they can imagine. Music has reached the point where artists have the independence to create new categories of music by mixing rhythms and genres.

However, creating music still comes with its stages, dos and don'ts. In order to make good music that people will enjoy listening to, you still need to follow stages of music production that have been perfected over the years by professionals.

Like a chef in the kitchen, just because you have unlimited ingredients and tools to play with does not mean you should. There are some things when you mix and match that just don’t taste good.

On that note, check out Jony Studios’ mixing & mastering services that will help you elevate your sound and bring your song to life!

After tracking comes editing:

WHAT IS EDITING?

Digital editing has made the possibilities of capturing great performances easier. Editing has given artists the capability to take their music from good to great.

According to Media Music Now, “Audio editing is the process of manipulating audio to alter length, speed, and volume or to create additional versions such as loops.”

But, this tool should always be used as a safety net rather than the go-to. A great song is only great if it sounds natural. With heavy editing, the natural element of the song disappears.

REASONS WHY EDITING IS A SEPARATE STAGE

Since editing is more of a tool to improve your songs sound, it shouldn’t be a factor while you’re writing or recording.

Make sure not to overdo the editing either since, as mentioned above, the song can start sounding “chopped up” and without a soul.

Another reason to not think of editing while you’re recording or writing is to ensure a solid performance. If you think of editing as the last stage, your performance will be a lot better and you will be able to capture what you need for the final product live

Follow the general rule of “if it sounds good, it doesn’t need to be touched” while editing. The editing stage should be only used to move parts around that are not in time, or to fix pitches that were a bit off or to polish the tracks.

The only goal for this stage is to make the song sound as good as it can be and nothing more.

Conclusion

Editing is a powerful tool when it comes to making your song sound good. But it needs to be done carefully. This is why musicians employ professional editors such as Jony Studios to edit their songs for them.

Jony Studios’ offers music production services that will help you elevate your sound and bring your song to life!

Contact us here to get started.

- By Neha Agarwala

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Curious about the other stages of music production?

Check out these blogs to learn more:

Songwriting

Arranging

Tracking

Mixing and Mastering

How To Promote Your Podcast

You have a podcast you love and enjoy creating. 

Now comes the question, how do you promote it?

As podcast production experts at Jony Studios, we have the answer for you.

Quality and content play a big role in creating a successful podcast. You want to create a podcast that attracts attention and the way to do that is to make sure you are talking about something you enjoy. As for quality, it all depends on the sound quality and editing.

If you require professional help or advice with editing and producing a podcast, contact Jony Studios. We provide audio production services which will greatly increase your brand value and help you garner a large audience.

Hear a sample of our work here.

Below are a few tips and suggestions on promoting your podcast:

RELEASE 3 EPISODES ON LAUNCH DAY

Some people get upset when they only have one episode to listen to when they start a new podcast.

Think of it as when you begin a new show. People generally want to see something which has a season or at least a handful of episodes to watch. 

The same principle holds when you are creating a podcast. Researched has shown that podcasters should at least have 3 episodes released on the launch day.

This will help your audience retain more information and get familiar with your style.

CELEBRATE THE SMALL ACHIEVEMENTS PUBLICLY

Creating and launching a podcast takes time and sometimes, money.

The first few weeks after the podcast is launched is extremely crucial. The first eight weeks not only decides your commitment to the podcast but is also crucial in deciding whether your podcast is noteworthy.

A few steps you can take to make your podcast noteworthy is by garnering attention by celebrating the small achievements such as a two-week anniversary.

You can grab potential viewers attention by:

• Doing giveaways

• Switching out your email signature from a personal one to one that describes you as a “Podcast Host” or “Podcaster”

• Getting your podcast shared on social media by family, friends and co-workers/teammates

SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTION

Social media is a powerful tool that can help your podcast gain more views.

Share your podcast episodes, clips from your podcast, blogs about your podcast, basically anything and everything related to your podcast.

Make sure to cross-promote your posts on all social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. But make sure to edit your post in terms of the platform.

For example, when you post on Instagram, make sure to use hashtags so people can find you. Use hashtags and tag people when you post on Facebook. And formulate a short update for your twitter.

CONVERT IT TO A YOUTUBE VIDEO

YouTube is another social media platform where you can promote your podcast. This will double your exposure and give listeners another platform from which they can listen to your podcast.

All you need to do is convert your MP3 file into an MP4 file that is compatible with YouTube. Choose a picture of your podcast as the image for your video and if you want, add closed captions on your video so it’s easy for people to follow.

You can further promote your podcast by mentioning your website, other platforms from which listeners can access your podcast and giving a brief description of the episode and podcast in the description box.

Last but not least, you can also think of recording your podcast session with a video camera so people can see you as they listen as well. This will give the viewers something to watch and keep their attention on the content for a longer duration.

TRANSCRIBE YOUR PODCAST

Many shows have started transcribing their episodes for a better SEO result and to highlight important parts of an episode.

Websites such as Rev provide transcribing services that can convert your audio into text for $1.25/minute.

HAVE PARTNERS MENTION YOU

This strategy is similar to mentioning a business or a person in a blog post. Every time you mention someone on your podcast, it gives you the opportunity to reach out to them and share the good news of featuring them on your show.

All you have to do is shoot them an email saying you mentioned them on your show and that you’d be honoured if they mentioned or shared your podcast on their social media. An example of a possible email by Neil Patel is “Hey I love your work so much so I linked out to you in my latest blog post. Check it out. P.S. If you shared it, it would make my day.”

This strategy will help you reach a wider audience. With every share you get, your podcast is presented to more potential listeners.

ENCOURAGE REVIEWS AND COMMENTS

The success of a podcast is usually measured with the number of views you receive and through your podcast’s ratings.

So every time you record a new episode, make sure to encourage your listeners to share and leave a review for your podcast on the app. The higher your ratings are, the wider your audience will get.

You should also encourage your family, friends and co-workers to share and leave reviews for your podcast when it’s in the beginning stage.

MAKE A TAGLINE FOR YOUR SHOW

Creating a tagline will not only give your audience a sense of consistency but it will also help in promoting your podcast.

Try recreating the tagline with your guest and use it as a trailer for the episode. This will ‘introduce’ your guest to the audience as well as work as a teaser without revealing too much information about the episode’s content.

START A NEWSLETTER

Lastly, encourage viewers to leave their email when they visit your website. This will help you create a contact sheet for sharing newsletters and updates with your audience about upcoming episodes, guests, or giveaways.

Conclusion

Podcasts are fun to create and entertaining to listen to. They can be playful, informative and educational. It can also help build a community or bring people with similar interests together.

But in order to reach that audience, you need to know how to promote your podcast and this blog helps you do that.

For more tips on Podcasting, click the button below!

- By Neha Agarwala

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If you need help making your podcast sound amazing, we offer podcast editing, mixing, and mastering services that can elevate your brand and clearly share your message.

Learn more about all of our podcast production services and hear a sample of our work here. We look forward to adding massive value to your podcast development process.

7 Mixing Tips By Award-Winning Engineer Miles Walker

Miles Walker (@mixedbymiles) is a Grammy-winning, multi-platinum record selling sound engineer who has been a staple of the music industry ever since 2003. That year he graduated Berklee and began his career by moving to Tennessee to work with Music Row Records and quickly found a calling in pop music.

He found himself surrounded by the vibrant hip-hop R&B and pop scene and moved to Atlanta where he began to work at the famous Patchwerk Studios. Already music industry veterans like Bryan Michael Cox, David Banner and Leslie Brathwaite began to take notice, but soon he transitioned to another studio to work for Usher at Ush records.

By this point, his fate was sealed and countless massive artists and other industry professionals were inspired by his hard work including Britney Spears, Enrique Iglesias, Rhianna, Katy Perry and Wiz Khalifa. In 2010 Miles won his first Grammy for Beyonce’s “I am… Sasha Fierce” and in the following years, he would win 2 more.

Lately, Miles has been generously offering some of his golden mixing wisdom to the people of Instagram and we here at Jony Studios have been incredibly inspired. From inside tips to realities of the music industry, Miles Walker has given us an insight into what it takes to be an award-winning sound engineer. 

Here are some of our favourite #TuesdayTips, from the past few weeks in the words of Miles himself:

Project Preparation

“As a mix engineer, you have to honour whatever decisions the artist might have made before the record makes it to you. Mixing decisions start getting made early in the process—your job is to work with them, not against them.”

“Although file prep isn’t glamorous, and if we’re being honest, this is probably about 50% of the work of mixing. And it happens before you even lay a single finger on a fader.

For me, here are a couple of rules for file prep and some tips to make it easier for the entire crew:

1. I want the exact session that the rough mix came from:

   This is so I can have all the choices from the mix they sent over. Many times I’ll get a rough mix and it won’t match the session. This is tough because I don’t know the decisions that were made to take something out. To me, stems limit creativity. That’s why I always want the session.

2. I want to meet you in the space where you were creative:

   I don’t ever want a client to have to move their session over to PT or something else. I’m happy to do that. I’ll work that into my process–I never want someone to have to work theirs into mine.

3. Please send me the files zipped up from a service that DOES NOT require an account

   If you’re going to send the files this way, then please send your mixer a zip via a link. My favourite is WeTransfer and I can’t tell you how much I love them. I’ve had problems with corruption with many other services, but not them.

   It’s free, secure, and if you have a pro account you can send something up to 20gb. The best part is the fact that you get an email confirmation when I download it. You can see I’ve downloaded it, which means I’m about to start on it, which means that you can move to the most important step…

4. Communicate!

   After you’ve sent everything over, be in communication with your engineer. Don’t just send a link and then go radio silent. After you pass along the files, follow up to make sure that it’s everything that's needed.

   Delaying the start delays the finish. This saves everyone time, and time is money. We can fix small things quickly, so I can get back to mixing and you can get back to creating.

Keeping everyone happy

“Producers, mix engineers, recording engineers–we’re all stewards of the creative process. Meaning we help move that process along by filling crucial supporting roles to the artists. And if you believe your boy Plato, art is imitation. So at one point or another, each of us has been asked to utilize methods, techniques and styles from other artists.

For mixers, that most often comes in the form of a reference track. Artists will send you a list of tracks that they like something about. It could be the sound of a drum, the stereo separation or a track or something else.

It’s the same thing as asking a recording engineer to help your guitar sound like David Gilmour’s solo on Pink Floyd’s “Time” or maybe to get the bass tone that James Jamerson laid down on What’s Going On.

So when do those come in to play?

For me, I don’t even listen to them until I’ve gone through my first pass at the mix. When I’m building the essence of the song up, I am working with that specific performance. As I said, I’m picking the winners with the magic they created. And just like I don’t listen to an individual track when I’m setting up the session, I don’t listen to reference materials either. Even if I’m familiar with the song or the artist, I’ll try and keep it from influencing my first mix.

Now after that? Absolutely. We can definitely talk about reference tracks. But for me, I use them as a communication tool to help decode what the artist wants versus a template to try and copy.”

“Whenever I get the files for a mix, I do everything in my power to NOT listen to the files. I’ll usually have my amazing assistant @jumperatl set them up. It’s on purpose. I don’t want to hear the parts, I want to hear the song. Before I had the luxury of having an assistant, I would set them up myself (obviously.) But I would do it at the very end of the day when I’m burnt out.

Why?

Because by turning the process into something strictly mechanical, I’m able to tune it out (so to speak) & keep my ears fresh to hear the WHOLE song the next day. And that’s what I ultimately want to do. Hearing each part out of context could cloud my judgement as a mixer, & I think my judgement is one of the things people use me for.

When you as a mixer (or even as a listener) hear something the first time, you INSTANTLY react to it. "That’s a cool bass line, the vocal hook is good here, the drums lock in nicely"–you’re instantly making these notes, whether you want to or not. After my session is set up, I listen to the ruff mix. I make these mental notes, assigning a level of importance to each element–drums, vox, synth, etc.

And then I follow my most important rule–you have to pick one winner for each part. And like the Highlander, THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE. And the mix needs to reflect that.

That’s not to say there can’t be a different winner in each section of the song. And look, you can have runners up–they can share the podium. But there can only be one winner. And that’s what I think about when I’m listening to it the first time. Because that’s how fans listen to it–something hits them. And what hits me is what I’m going to mix. I want to pick the winners from the magic they made.

Of course, artists and producers can & will disagree. But one of the reasons you hire a mixer is because you’re too close to it. This outside perspective is valuable.”

Presentation

“You’ve put all this work into a mix, and it’s time to send it back. How do you present it?

Well, there are a couple of things that I’ve learned over the years. The most important thing is this: conveying your excitement about the work you did. Bottom line? If you can’t be excited about what you’re doing, nobody else is going to be. If you can show your excitement and point out what you did to highlight those moments to people will be more receptive. So how do you do that?

Three is the magic number.

Like we talked about earlier on, you have to pick a winner for each section of the song. This is similar. Pick your three favourite moments and then talk about what you did to highlight those. Part of mixing a track is changing what they have. And for artists, these are very personal things.

If you change just to change, it comes across as you messing it up. But if you tell them what you were excited about and what you did to highlight that excitement, they’ll understand that. You liked the drums so you lifted them up in the chorus. You thought that vocal melody was AMAZING so you made sure it stood out.

And they’ll agree, or disagree. But like I’ve said over and over, they come to us for an opinion. So be confident in what you chose. Because if you don’t believe in it, why should they?”

Finishing the mix isn’t the end of your day

“If you’re gonna start, you need to be committed. But that’s not enough. If you’re going to finish, you’re gonna need consistency. Keep growing, stay hungry, be focused, and outwork everyone else around you.”

“There’s always this perception that when you’re a musician or a creative, that’s all you’re doing. You’re writing music, making beats, mixing records. And while this is true, the part that you don’t see a lot (especially on social media) is just how much of the grind is spent on your business.

Taxes, bills, marketing, business planning, accounting are just as paramount as being good at your craft. I once saw an interview with a brewery owner who talked about how everyone thought he had the best job–dreaming up beers, tasting them and seeing them make it to stores and bars. He said that way over half of his job is chemistry and cleaning, and less than 10% was all the “glamorous” stuff.”

Conclusion

All these great mix tips and more can be found on Miles’ Instagram including some incredible mixing memes. Jonathan the owner of Jony Studios is a big fan of Miles and highly recommends him! You can work with Miles Walker on your project by filling out the contact form on his website here.

There are tons of great audio engineers in the music industry today, who are some of the mixing and mastering pros that inspire you in your music? Let us know in the comments below!

- By Erik Steiner