Music Demos: Most Important Step or Relic of the Past?

Does the demo still matter? Or did the DAW kill it? And what should music pre-production look like in the 21st century?
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[@SonicScoop]

What does your pre-production process look like? ►🎚Mixing Breakthroughs: mixingbreakthroughs.com ►🎛Compression Breakthroughs: compressionbreakthroughs.com ►🎧 EQ Breakthroughs: EQBreakthroughs.com ►🔊Mastering Demystified: MasteringDemystified.com ►✅Become a channel member here: kzbin.info/door/qEKv3KIZoZrjv2LymD3iMgjoin ►Big thanks to Soundtoys, Baby Audio and Focusrite for making this episode possible. ►Get 15% off Baby Audio plugins at babyaudio.io/sonicscoop with code SONICSCOOP at checkout!

[@mcdove]

I'm old school so I still recommend to artists I work with to make the demo record if I think it need work, then advise them to go practice it to near perfection then we record the record for mixing, mastering and it subsequent release. I find it works best in the ling run.

[@SonicScoop]

💯 %

[@practice_Chinese_yoga]

What a great theme to bring out a lot of helpful ideas Justin, really good to see!

[@SebAndJosAddesso]

As mostly a song writer. Producing this in the daw. This is something I have to think about as I'm laying it out. This is why I feel i spend more time on the production and the editing so it doesn't seem to sound demo. This is why I may re recorded sections more than once to get a sense of feeling or emphasis on how I want the song to be without actually editing perfection quite yet

[@stripedelicstudios]

Yup!! I'm a musician that became an audio guy trying to do it all myself. Haha! But I grew up in a super small town and it was hard to find competent band mates. I'm now in a slightly larger town and I'm pretty happy with where I landed...as audio/mixing has become my main passion... now I'm helping other awesome local musicians get the sound they've always longed for. Great video, Justin! As always

[@SonicScoop]

Great to hear! I’m happy with where I wound up too :-) I just want musicians to know it’s a possible outcome of going too far down the rabbit hole 😅

[@tortugulaproductions]

totally live!? where have i heard this before?? justin, you’re not lip syncing your podcasts are you?

[@SonicScoop]

Haha, not yet. I haven’t gotten to the stage where I train an A.I. to do the podcast for me either. 😆 I don’t think I ever will!

[@xxczerxx]

Have you got a background in broadcasting/TV or something? Your delivery style is my absolute favourite on KZbin, it's a mixture of how you articulate ideas and the overall presentation style, it's just 💯

[@SonicScoop]

So awesome to hear! I do not, but I get that a lot. People asked me if I was in radio long before I started speaking publicly. I come from a verbal (and musical ) family and I’ve listened to a lot of good radio, podcasts and lectures over the years. I imagine that helps! I also got practice lecturing in colleges for several years in my twenties and thirties, so my first videos did pretty well. And I have now been doing the podcast for 6 years, so I HOPE I’ve gotten better, but sometimes I’m not sure! 😄

[@lunarfifthstudios]

Thanks for this one, I am really resonating with this message! 👍

[@SonicScoop]

Awesome to hear! Glad it struck a chord.

[@MariJu1ce]

Im gonna stop making demos! Ive just made a record, spent way too long on it. The demo process really killed the whole energy and momentum. We made way too comprehensive demos. And we could never recreate the vibes from the demos, next time im gonna make a record im going to make sure i get it right the first time, at the moment i get the idea, because i can never seem to capture the emotion of the first spark. Trying to rerecord these demos 5-6 times each to get the emotion like the demo really made me so sick of these songs and when it was finished i have no desire left to want to play it live or promote it. Atleast i know now i have the confidence that my own recordings are good enough and sometimes better than when i go «record it for real» with a vintage 47 in a good studio. The feeling is all that matters, and there seems to be a golden window for me when i get the idea. Just do it right the first time, dont half ass it for it to be later recorded «for real». 😊 I also heard Dave cobb say that he never does pre production, he doesnt wanna hear the song before they are ready to record it, which sounds interesting since hes probably my fav producer. Why is the voice memo recording always better than the rehearsed version?☠️🥴 soo frustrating. Even when i have the excact same chain or a guitar setup, when i try to rerecord it later it sounds way different, i think the energy is very important.

[@SonicScoop]

Every once in a rare a while, the demo is better than the album. In that case, release the demo! :-) See Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska” as a famous example. That said, if extensive demoing necessarily leads to stale performances, then live music in general would be doomed to staleness. Which it’s not :-) The whole point of a performance demo is that you get good enough of playing this song when you can deliver an emotive performance, rather than worrying about getting the take “right”.

[@pepe7drum]

A great recording can really make the difference, one great example I can think of right now is Maroon 5 - Songs about Jane, and I'm not even a fan of the band, but I'm a huge fan of that album, it was recorded prefectly, you can tell the band was on the top of their game, actually it would be great if you did a review of it, I would like to hear what you have to say about it

[@SonicScoop]

Thanks for the comment! I’ll think about it for sure!

[@thecruddybug4437]

I’m going to disagree to an extent about taking a really long time to get something right. I think if you take too long, the initial emotion of that song can leave or fossilize and will become stale. You’ll end up just going through the motions. Yes I agree it’s good to get the best performance you can get, but at the same time don’t drag it out too long. Some of my favorite stuff I’ve made has been recorded totally off the cuff and super quickly, because the new raw emotion is there.

[@SonicScoop]

The point of demoing is so you can do exactly that. You get really good at performing the song, so you don’t have to do a million takes when you want to record it for real. If you know a song inside and out you should be able to give an emotive performance if it. If not, then live music is doomed to being stale. …which it’s not.

[@TannerByTheSea]

ILok code or something? I hope my messages got in there ! Amazing show as usual Justin !! 🙏🏼

[@JustinColletti]

Hey Tanner, what’s this in reference to?

[@SonicScoop]

I did see your messages in the chat, but am not sure what you’re referring to about iLok code.

[@vektacular]

Well, I can see how you would think that the demo is the most important piece but….im gonna get into the politics of it….the problem is most people know the entire truth now and nobody’s gonna go anywhere until they bow down to the agenda of corporate America….in the golden era the artist had a lot less to do. People back then were chosen first by their nature of being controlled as far as what was put into their art and then the second selection process revolved around talent….today talent is basically a non factor because they can make talent outta technology and it simply revolves around your beliefs or what you’re willing to pretend to believe….its just the truth. Not my fault.