National Media Services in the News

An article published in Americana Ryhthm Magazine's July/August issue.


July/August 2009

Good Or Bad, Music Makes A Lasting Impression
By Greg Tutwiler


Most active groups try to cut a CD about once a year. Often, they like to schedule that to coincide with the holiday season / new year. That way, their playing schedule for the upcoming year can support the new music project. Of course, the band hopes you will enjoy the new music enough that you would consider taking home a copy of their new CD.

How does that whole process work? I’ve been involved in the music industry in some fashion since I was a teenager. And now as a publisher of a music magazine, I’ve always been fascinated with the process of making and distributing music. Things have changed dramatically in the last dozen years, especially in this economic choke hold we find ourselves in.
Maybe you’re a member of one of the many music groups who read this magazine. Possibly, either you’re preparing to record a new project, or putting one together for the first time. Either way, I’m guessing you might be as curious as I, and are interested in
the process.

I invited a good friend of mine, Mark Tobosky, who is a project consultant with National Media Services in Front Royal,VA, to answer some questions for me, and tell me more about their CD replication company. (You can also view the back page of this issue
to see their full page ad all about the services they offer.)

I posed this question to Mark; “I'm in a band – we have a fan base and want to have a CD for sale at our gigs. We have a pretty good recording of the group already, How can you help me?”

“While the advent of digital downloads has been a huge advantage to the independent artist, most still need a product to sell at gigs and through internet retailers. Manufacturing can be a challenging endeavor to the beginner and veteran alike. Questions often arise concerning mastering, graphics, packaging and marketing. We guide clients through the manufacturing process from start to finish.”

Mastering Is The Key
National Media Services offers complete recording and mastering facilities. “If you have a good mix and haven’t mastered your recording you’re selling yourself way short,” Mark said. “Depending on your genre, your recording has to sound as “clean”, “dynamic”, “hot”, “full” and “big” as anything you hear on the radio. Mastering in this definition is referring to
the final step in your musical production before it goes to manufacturing. From project studios to professional facilities, the independent artist to the major record label, mastering is understood as being an essential process in the completion of any
musical production, and is the final step that will make your mixes sound bigger and better. A combination of
the right hardware, software, and most importantly, the trained ear is utilized in this process.”

Design And Presentation
You’ll be helped in the design process by their professional graphic designers as well. You can send pictures, credits and even a stick figure sketch and they’ll bring it to reality, complete with bar code, shrink wrap and ready to put on the shelves and sell at your gig! If you have your own graphics no problem! They can accept them in many formats and have templates for all the
products we manufacture. If you want something other than the traditional plastic jewel box, you’ll find their line of Earth Friendly board packages to your liking. And if you want to do something totally custom, they probably can do it! Most bands want additional promotional materials too. They can also provide all your needs from posters and postcards
to t-shirts and even magnetic signs.

I can't afford 1,000 CDs --can you still help me?
“The statement we’ve heard during our over 30 years in the manufacturing business is this: I don’t need 1000 CD’s. I only need a couple hundred. How many indie artists, bands, filmmakers and small businesses need or can afford to make 1000 pieces? And the big guys doing the manufacturing set their prices up so that it doesn’t pay to get less than 1000,”Mark told me. “And if you need less than 500 pieces, you’re sent to an automated web site and spend hours uploading music files, “trying” to design your
package, only to hit the send button and hope for the best. In fact, in many cases it’ll cost you more to send your master and speak to a human being. If your project needs to be “Retail Ready” you may be disappointed. Many of the short run online services are laser printed inserts and fall far short of the professional “retail ready” look you need in today’s indie market. National Media Services has the latest in digital offset printing technology in house, enabling us to print “better than” offset quality printed products on demand, and in small quantities. We can do as little as 50 pieces. Our “retail ready” packages are complete with bar coding and shrink wrap. Why spend $1000’s when you can spend $100’s and get promotional materials as well? The way I see it, it’s better to get a 150 pieces, posters, bumper stickers and t-shirts, and have enough money left in your pocket to pay for gas to get to your gig.” And most orders will be ready to ship in five business days or less from final approval.

First And Lasting Impressions
“In the independent market, first impressions are everything. Granted, the quality of your product (the music, media content etc.) has to be a given, but it’s what the potential customer sees that makes the biggest impact. How many times have you bought a CD because the cover was cool? From our experience, one of the best things you can do is let a professional graphic artist design your project. Give them the basic information, ideas and imagery to work with and let them do what they do best…be creative!
An unbiased take on your music and image can do wonders. As musicians, we tend to get too close to our own project and that can limit your view from a commercial standpoint. Also, when things tend to go wrong during production, it’s typically due to graphics
not being supplied in the proper format or specs. This can cause delays and cost you money.” “Your music needs to sound as good on a clock radio as it does on a great stereo system. The levels, spacing, continuity and “feel” of your CD has to be consistent with major label releases. Again, as with graphic design, an unbiased set of ears will typically yield results that go far beyond your expectations.”

Compliment your CD with promotional items. T-shirts, stickers and posters are revenue makers you shouldn’t ignore. Being able
to get all these things done at a reasonable price and in small quantities is a huge benefit to the independent artist struggling to
make ends meet during these difficult economic times.

Give Mark a call at National Media Services and let the experienced staff in every department help give you a product you’ll be proud to offer your fans. You can reach Mark at (540) 635-4181 (ext 241) or at www.NationalMediaServices.com.

Barbershop!? I thought it was a recording studio!

Members of the barbershop quartet Four Man Vocal Band, along with their coach, after wrapping a recording session with Will Shenk at National Media Services. Pictured L to R: Randy Lazear, tenor; Dave Cureton, bass; Bob Bates, lead; Larry Walker, baritone; and their coach, Joe Cerutti. Joe is Musical Director of The Alexandria Harmonizers, the chorus of the Alexandria, VA, Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society.

The Harmonizers bill themselves as “the premier a capella show chorus of the DC Metro area,” and have won four international barbershop chorus championships. All members of the quartet have performed with The Harmonizers at venues including Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center Honors and the White House.

Both the quartet and Will found it very helpful to have Joe in the Control Room during the session, coaxing the best out of the foursome.

In its current iteration, Four Man Vocal Band has been together for more than seven years, though the quartet has been active far longer than that. The quartet rehearses in Front Royal because its members live in Fairfax County and Massanutten. They’ve performed at First Night Alexandria and at National Harbor as well as in Winchester, Berryville and Front Royal. Their next local performance is Saturday, September 19th, at Front Royal Presbyterian Church on Luray Ave. To inquire about booking Four Man Vocal Band, contact Larry Walker.

Will Shenk
Chief Engineer, National Media Services, Inc.
613 N. Commerce Ave.
Front Royal, VA 22630
(540) 635-4181