Making Your Own CD in the
Digital Age Ð ItÕs Easier Than You Think! By
Ted Miller
When First Baptist Church of
Corpus Christi (Texas) started receiving requests from their congregation for
copies of their weekly musical selections on CD, the Music Ministry was not
only expecting it, but was already one step ahead.
ÒWe were receiving between
250-300 requests per month for music CDs, says Johnny Glover, Minister of
Music. ÒThe timing was right to make the transition to digital media.Ó
More churches than ever today
are moving to digital media. The recording of musical performances and church
services is becoming radically more affordable for churches big and small. And
switching to digital media is also making it easier for those churches to
duplicate, distribute, and use their own productions for outreach, promotion
and fundraising purposes. It also allows churches more creative freedom in
producing their own in-house music CDs. The face of the music ministry is
changing and First Baptist Church of Corpus Christi is living proof.
Background
The First Baptist Church of
Corpus Christi (FBC), based in Corpus Christi, Texas (pop. 277,454) has
slightly over 1,500 resident members and a staff of 21. FBCÕs Music Ministry is
comprised of 150+ worship choir members and volunteers and employs a staff of
four. They have a full-time Music Minister and Communications/Media
Coordinator.
The Transition to Digital
Media
ÒFor years we had been making
audio cassette copies of our weekly musical selections and VHS copies of our
services,Ó explains Glover. ÒWe made single copies and kept them in our
library. There was never a big demand for audio cassettes or VHS tapes among
our congregation members.Ó
ÒIn the past year or so we
have been getting a lot of requests for CDs,Ó explains Glover. ÒPeople would
come up to us after the service and ask if we had any CDs that they could
purchase and take home with them.Ó The trend towards CD and digital media is
well-noted, and has caused many churches to change the way they produce and
distribute music.
After some discussion, FBCÕs
administration finally made the decision to convert to CD, and turned to
long-time Communications and Media Coordinator Mac Aipperspach to handle the
project.
ÒThe infrastructure was in
place,Ó explains Aipperspach. ÒThe transition to CD was seamless as we already
had the experience to record and produce music and had spent a number of years
and investment upgrading our audio and video equipment.
The key to transitioning to
digital media is preparedness. It is having people on staff that understand
digital music production and what the needs of the church community are.
Asked if cost were a major
issue, Aipperspach replied, Òcosts were not that much of a consideration as to
the timing of this project, but the important thing was that switching to
digital media has actually helped us cut our work and costs in half.Ó
ÒDigital media has made it
easier for us to make the necessary copies to meet demand and allowed us to
better store the content in our media center library,Ó adds Glover. ÒPlus,
digital media also has allowed us to produce recordings with a lot higher
quality which is important since we are now reproducing and distributing our
recordings.Ó
The Control Room
Over the years, FBC has
continually updated its production control room and worship center to handle
live broadcast and rebroadcast of its weekly services, giving it the
infrastructure needed to make the transition to digital media.
FBC has actually been ahead
of the curve for a number of years when it comes to audio and video production
of their church services. ÒOur church service is broadcast weekly over the
local CBS affiliate and rebroadcast over a local cable access channel,Ó adds
Aipperspach. ÒOur annual budget for our audio and video production is close to
$100,000.Ó [This is obviously a large number, associated with a large ministry.
But even small and medium churches can do a great deal in this digital age with
progressively smaller budgets! Ed.]
Our control room is equipped
with a 40-channel Mackie board for audio production and recording, a
three-camera JVC multiple camera set-up tied to a JVC switcher for the video
recording, and a PC that is loaded with Audio Premiere 6.0 and Cakewalk for
audio and video editing. In the worship center, we have a MiniDisk unit,
cassette deck, an additional 40-channel Mackie board, a DVD player with 5.1
surround sound in order to use the occasional click tracks, and another
computer. In addition, we recently purchased two Disc Makers Reflex1 CD/DVD
duplication towers to allow us to quickly and easier make digital copies of our
CD and DVD recordings.
Although FBC has an extensive
set-up and significant budget, any church with audio recording equipment and a
computer can record and produce their own music. The gap is growing a lot
smaller.
ÒWe have such an extensive
set-up because of the extras needed to do a live broadcast, record it, and edit
it.Ó explains Aipperspach. ÒHowever, on the audio side, the technology is affordable
and simple enough for smaller churches. All you need is a simple mixing board,
a laptop, and the right recording software to record the music, and a
duplication tower from a manufacturer to make copies on demand.Ó
Post-Production
Once the music is recorded
and edited, the post-production process can be the most important part of the
overall project. This includes additional work such as making copies of the CD
(duplication), on-disc printing, and packaging. It is important to budget for
the necessary equipment and understand the production capabilities of your
staff in order to be prepared to match the demand of the church community.
Plus, the quality of the end product will be a direct reflection on the Music
Ministry as a whole. You want a CD that you and your congregation can be proud
of.
ÒRight now we are just
starting off with our CD duplication, but have already identified somebody
on-staff to design our artwork and purchased two duplication towers from Disc
Makers,Ó explains Aipperspach. ÒWe are also in the market for a high-end inkjet
printer for label and/or on-disc printing. We expect to have the complete set-up by later in the year
and will have a much better idea of production needs Ð meaning how many
requests we expect to get for our weekly music selections and original
recording.Ó
At FBC, the demand for CDs
has been steadily growing. ÒIn the
past we had been getting one request at a time, maybe a few per week,Ó says
Jane Scott, Director of the Media Center and Library. ÒNow that we have CDs, we have been receiving many more
requests during the week and even more, immediately after the service. We have
had to upgrade our production to meet the demand of the congregation.Ó
Making Your Own Music CD
With the infrastructure in place
to record audio and produce a professional-quality end product, Glover decided
the time was right to record and produce his own in-house music CD.
ÒIn addition to the weekly
services and special musical performances, we had been getting a lot of requests
from the congregation for an original CD of our worship choirÕs music, says
Glover. ÒWe have an extremely talented and dedicated group, but had yet to
record our own ÔstudioÕ album.Ó
ÒWith our new digital media
set-up, it made a lot of sense, logistically and financially, to do this
project now. We are currently in the planning process, but the CD will be
recorded on-site this fall, and include a combination of original tracks and a
sampling of our most popular covers. The originals will include contributions
from our pianist, choir members, and my own writing. For the cover songs, we
are setting aside some dollars to pay for copyrights for use of the music. Our
goal is to make the highest-quality CD that truly represents the talent and
beauty of FBCÕs worship choir.
According to Glover and
Scott, once the CD is completed later in the fall, it will be available for
sale to members (and anyone else) at the media center, after weekend services,
and on-line on FBCÕs web site.
ÒThe goal is not to make a lot of money off the sales of the CD, says
Scott. We are simply looking to recover our costs and have a little left over
to put back into the music ministry.
Whether one is an independent
recording artist, or a church music team, some issues commonly apply. What
shall we include on our project? When recording a song written and published by
someone other than yourself, statutory mechanical royalties must be paid to the
publisher for each copy made. This usually amounts to just pennies per song,
but the only way to be sure is to contact the publisher and see how much they
will require. This must be done for each song you use Ð unless you record
original material. If itÕs good, this can be very sensible. After all, J.S. Bach
wrote some of his best work for use in worship in the Leipzig church where he
was music director.
Many unknown but gifted
songwriters produce projects of exclusively original material. Not just for
pride of authorshipÕs sake, but often as a showcase of writing. ThatÕs fine for
that writerÕs purpose, but one has to face the reality that exclusively new
material may have limited appeal Ð for obvious reasons Ð nobodyÕs heard of it.
To foster a project with wider appeal, you may choose to include some already
loved songs in the genre of your project. This may be praise & worship,
choral classics, etc. If the song (many hymns fall into this category) is in
the public domain, you need no permission to use, record, arrange, or whatever
you wish to do with it. Most newer popular worship songs have publishing rights
requiring permission and a small royalty. So consider your purpose, the market
for your recordings, and plan a mix accordingly. As with a worship service,
variety in music and style is usually helpful, and will assure a broader appeal
and enjoyment of the listening experience.
In order to make your own CD,
consider the following types of equipment and accessories that your church will
likely need.
1) An audio engineer (with experience in digital music
production) Ð may be in your church already
2) Minimum of a 2-track digital recorder or computer with
recording software
3) An automated or manual duplication system (unless you
plan to make large quantities, then it may be cheaper to outsource)
4) An on-disc inkjet printer with label maker software
(much better than stickers)
5) A large supply of blank CDs
6) A large supply of CD sleeves, jackets, or jewel cases
The decreasing
costs of high-quality, feature-rich recording equipment, including CD and DVD
duplication, has allowed pastors and media ministry directors to bring nearly
every type of audio and video function in-house. Fueled by the desire to offer
their congregations more elaborate production values, churches are increasing
their technical capabilities, with some even going as far as integrating
full-service recording facilities into their ministries, developing
fully-integrated media marketing plans, and creating interactive consumer Web
sites.
To take advantage
of the new technology and these opportunities, your church needs to decide on
the level of investment that you are willing to make, and whether you have the
infrastructure to support such an effort. Proper research is required to
understand what technology is right for your churchÕs specific production
needs.
The once
complicated task of recording your own music CD in-house, including
post-production and distribution, is becoming easier and much more realistic
for more and more churches as we enter the digital age of music production and
recording.
____________________________________________________________________________
Ted Miller is a freelance writer and public
relations specialist for Miami-based Max Borges Marketing Solutions.
Special thanks
to First Baptist Church of Corpus Christi, TX and the contributions of Mac
Aipperspach, Johnny Glover, and Jane Scott. To learn more about First Baptist, go to www.fbc-corpuschristi.org.
© 2004 Christian
Sound & Song. All rights reserved. Churches are encouraged to reproduce for
use in their ministries. For any other use, permission must be obtained from
the publisher.
www.soundandsong.com