Recording Tips

Making the Perfect Demo.

An Interview with Ben Mesiti, owner and chief engineer of Radiogram Records:

Q: Ben, tell us a little about how Radiogram Records came to be?

A: When I was 9 years old, I decided to hook up a cassette recorder to a microphone and record myself playing the piano and singing. That’s when I got hooked on recording. I originally started the studio to record my own projects, but as my experience grew and my taste for truly high end gear flourished, I realized that I had to start recording for other people to make the money to get the gear that I really wanted. Eventually, business had done so well that I decided to officially open the studio to the public.

Q: On your website, you give a lot of tips for musicians about recording in a studio, what would you say is the biggest mistake young musicians make when recording?

A: The biggest problem with the newer musicians is that they do not realize the value of preparation. So many musicians take twice as long or more do to the same job that they would have done if they had been well practiced and well planned. Remember, in a studio, time translates into $$$!!!

Q: What would you say is the difference between “The Demo” and “The Album” and how can you tell the difference?

A: The line between the two has blurred dramatically in the past 10 years or so. A “demo” used to be exactly that; an example of what the music would sound like if the artist had the budget of a big label. Now, it is so much less expensive to record, that many “demo’s” become the “album”. I would say that, in today’s terms, a “demo” is a recording that reflects the talent, passion and desire of an artist, while also reflecting the artist’s limited budget.

Q: Is it better to record just samples and blips of a whole bunch of songs, or just record the whole damn thing? What do the club owners want to hear?

A: RECORD THE WHOLE DAMN THING!!! What people do not realize is that it is not that much more expensive to record a whole song than it is to record half of it. For example, if a band spends three hours setting up and sound checking, and 5 hours recording half-songs on a demo, it would probably only take another hour or two to record the whole song. If you’re going to spend the money in the first place, do it right. It will cost a lot less money to record the whole song now, then go back and spend more than twice as much recording the full versions later.

As far as club owners, I suggest to my clients to make a montage of the best parts of each song and put it on a CD, as well as the full cuts. That way, a club owner can choose which he would like to hear.

Q: What do you think the record companies want to hear?

A: Record companies nowadays want to hear something VERY close to the finished product. Since recording is much less expensive than it used to be, record companies expect more. If you have a good recording and professional packaging, your CD is more likely to get listened to because you’ve shown that you are willing to put the time and money into yourself. After all, if YOU don’t invest in yourself, why should the record company???

Q: Some musicians feel they show off their versatility by recording a slow song, a fast song, or a pop song. Others feel you should just record what you do best. What do you think is the best route to take in making good demo? How do you pick the right songs for your demo?

A: If you’re trying to get noticed as a songwriter, then show your versatility. Put a good mix of styles that you enjoy writing on your demo. If you’re trying to get noticed as an artist, try to stick to one genre that you do well. If James Taylor put a punk song and a hip hop song on his album just to show that he could do it, I don’t think he would be quite as popular… then again, I’d like to hear that!

Q: Finally, what are the best things bands and songwriters can do with their demo when it’s done?

A: Let people hear it! It sounds like a no brainer, but you’d be surprised how many times an artist will invest lots of money in recording and duplicating an album, then they let the CD’s sit in a corner of their house, never to be seen again until the house is excavated by geologists many many years later! Go out and gig, shop the demo to labels, or hire an entertainment lawyer to shop the demo for you. Whatever you do, just get people to listen to it. After all, that’s what it’s all about, right?

Ben Mesiti can be reached by email at RadiogramMusic@aol.com or visit the Radiogram website by clicking the link below