Palm Radio Productions – Music Notes

Jackie Gore, formerly of the Embers Band , now with the Legends of Beach, performed this song, "Cuddle Up" which was the last song written by Allen Ball.

Allen Ball was an extremely talented musician, writer, singer and friend. Allen traveled with the Shadows back in the late 60's when we were playing from Louisiana to Washington, DC.  Allen's main instrument was sax but he could play a really good rhythm guitar, harmonica, and keyboard. Up until his recent death, Allen and I would talk 'music' almost everyday by phone.  He came back with the Shadows for a while a couple of years ago until he had to divert his energies to helping his aging parents.  When Allen's dad died, it seemed to increase his drive for caring for his mother. He put aside his own dreams and ambitions to stay by her side until her death.  He and I had planned a recording session of some of his original material, but a scant two weeks after his mom died, Allen had a stroke and was hospitalized. While in the hospital, complications developed and he spent a painful month, never recovering and passed away.

His funeral was held in LaGrange, NC. There only a few people in this world that I could talk for hours about writing music, or discussing how a 'hook-line' worked in a particular song idea. Allen was one of those people. We would critique each other's music without getting offended. I would like to think that we were both the better for that interaction.

Listen to his last song….'Cuddle Up."  This video also pictures the lady that he had re-connected with after many years. She seemed to make a very lonely person very happy again.            Barney Conway

Gone. but not forgotten. 

CD cover design, photography, artwork, type style… Just add the phrase "How do I get quality ______" and fill in the blank.  These questions don't get asked enough. If you've invested hours in the studio on a project that you are really proud of, why would you have the cover just thrown together?  We'll cover several basic areas in this post.  

1. Overall cover design.
2. Photography
3. Artwork
4. Type styles

OVERALL COVER DESIGN

When considering overall cover design, think in terms of your music or project. Is it dark and moody or bright and upbeat? If the project is on the dark side, like emo (a style of music), having a bright smiley face on the CD might seem contrary to the theme of the project. Likewise, if you have recorded a CD of funeral music, a smiley face would definitely not be appropriate.  But by the same token, the CD of funeral music would be a bit morbid if the cover pictured a casket. In this case you might be better served by picturing a restful scene by a peaceful pond or stream, or even a photo of birds flying high in the sky. In general, a heavy metal CD wouldn't be pictured the same as a classical or even bluegrass CD.

The point being is that the overall cover design should present itself as representative of the content or the artist.  Put a little thought into the overall design.  It would be very wise to contact a professional in this field that can help you with some creative suggestions.  Tammy Taylor Woolard of TaylorDesign would be an excellent source for some ideas. Her work is both professional and affordable. She is familiar with CD design and her ideas can take over objectively where your ideas might be limited to some pre-conceived notion that may or may not make good graphic sense.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Everyone with a camera is not a photographer. And, yes, I do understand that some of today's cameras can eliminate blurry photos, red eye, and make Uncle Jake look like Aunt Jane, but there is one critical component that is missing… the trained photographer's eye.  Look at it this way, you could have a $50,000 Steinway piano in your home but you might only be able to play Chopsticks. Call a pro like Guy Livesay. You can see some of his photography at his site by clicking on his link. Incidentally, this is not a paid endorsement. This photographer knows his stuff. The difference could be as much as that between a toy piano from Walmart and that $50,000 Steinway piano mentioned earlier.

ARTWORK

This is closely related to overall design, but get in more detail. Overall Design is the creative concept of the cover and inside packaging. The artwork is how you will define that concept and make it appealing to the general masses or your target audience. 

Make it too radical, you may miss the point of your project, make it too bland or understated and you could be missing sales due to lack of pizzazz. Take time to look at the CD's that are on the market today.  Don't be afraid to grab an idea from here and there and combine them into your own package.  Everything we create is a direct result of all of our experiences, good and bad, visual, aural, physical or whatever. Put your ideas down on paper and then see a graphic artist such as Tammy Taylor (mentioned above). Then you can watch your ideas turn into reality.

TYPESTYLES

If I were switch TYPE styles too often it could get DIFFIcult to READ.  The accepted rule of thumb is use no more than three type styles.  Also, do not use a script type for small type that provides details about the selections on the CD. DJ's want to be able to read them at a glance.  Make it readable.  

Any comments are always welcome.

Contemporary Christian music may have its newest rising star… Maria Cox.  Her initial offering is "Lord I Need You" and was written and performed by Maria as well as produced with her doing her own engineering at the college she is attending.  When you listen to this song, I think you will hear the same thing that I did, pure talent and emotion.

I first heard this song when Maria was interning at Music Box Studio in Hamilton.  Usually, when someone says that they have something they want me to hear, I brace myself and get ready to try to be gentle with my comments. In this case, both Ted Etheridge and I were literally blown away with her talent! 

Major labels should pay attention to this young lady, she's extremely talented, well-educated and has a personality and demeanor that defies her young age. She has an extremely good ear for music and her personality is unassuming and genuine.

Hats off and 5 stars to Maria Cox.*****

CLICK HERE TO HEAR MARIA COX & LORD I NEED YOU

When this group takes the stage, brace yourselves! Sistaz N Christ recently recorded this CD with Palm Radio Productions. The CD was recorded at the historic Flatiron Building in Williamston as a live recording. Group leader, Angela Cherry wrote and produced all the songs in this CD. 

The remote tracks were recorded by Barney Conway and Palm Radio Productions and then mixed in his studio. Congratulations to Angela and the Sistaz N Christ for a job well done!

CLICK HERE TO HEAR A SAMPLE, "MY GOD WILL MAKE A WAY"

For booking and other information contact Angela Cherry at 252-320-6666.

Music Licensing and Royalties… Confusing?

Jumping through the hoops to get the necessary license or permission to record someone else's song can be a daunting task, especially if you've never done it. 

One option is to go to The Harry Fox Agency, probably the largest publisher representatives in the business. They have an excellent video tutorial that explains LIMITED QUANTITY LICENSING. You can click on the Harry Fox Link to be taken directly to that video. IN the example given for digital downloads, for an estimated 500 downloads of someone's else's song, the cost is about $60. That includes a $15 processing fee and the required mechanical license fees.  

We suggest that you let Limelight  handle it for you.  At the time of this writing, the going rate is as follows:

$.091(that's nine and a tenth cents) per copy pressed, burned, duplicated or replicated for any song that is less than five minutes long.  If the song is over fives minutes long, add $ .0175 per minute, rounded up to the nearest minute.  These rates vary for streaming and digital downloads. Check the variables at the limelight site by clicking the link above.

Limelight has a fee of $15.00 per song (they have price breaks as you add more songs).

You can start with as many copies of that song as you want with that license.  You can start with as little as 25 copies but do the math, That's $17.28 to release 25 copies of one song… legally. If you were to order a mechanical for 100 copies, the tab would be $24.10. That means that the licensing fee for that one song on one CD would be $ .241 or just over twenty-four cents whereas for the 25 copy license, it would be $ .691 per CD. 

You can go to the websites of either BMI, ASCAP, or SESAC to try to locate the original composers/writers of a particular song. There are other similar organizations, but these are the main three.  My personal preference is BMI.  You can go to these sites and enter the song title into their search engine and you will probably have several items show up. This is usually more of a problem with rock, r&b, blues, country, gospel and bluegrass music that it would be with classical titles.  A lot of the more modern (1940's through the present day) have similar titles whereas it is unlikely that you'll find multiple listings for classical music. When all else fails, find the original recording and in most cases, you'll find the writer/composer and publishing company listed along with their affiliation, BMI, ASCAP or SESAC printed on the actual record.

Hopefully, you will sell more than 25 copies and hopefully you'll sell more than 100. Limelight has a pricing guide that can guide you through the process.

If all this gets too confusing, let me know and I'll try to walk you through it.

Barney Conway

Ted Etheridge at the console of Music Box Studios

Having worked in some of the finest studios in the US, I had serious reservations about the quality of recording facilities I would find when I moved back to eastern North Carolina. 

When I first spoke to Ted Etheridge by phone a couple of years ago, I was just imagining some minor league facility stuck out in the boonies with a 4-track mini-disc recorder and a couple of microphones.

Boy, was I wrong!  I walked in Ted's Music Box Studio and met a young man who was to become a very good friend.  He was someone that I could actually speak the 'studio' and 'music' language with and not need an interpreter.

The facility is well-equipped with the Digidesign C-24 console with Focusrite preamps, Adam monitor speakers and a great selection of mics. For keyboards, you've got the Motif and a couple of Rolands plus an acoustic piano. When it comes to drums, there's a set of Pearl Masters.  By the way… Ted is a great drummer.

I've worked in studios from Hollywood to Atlanta and I have to say that the atmosphere in this studio is as laid back and conducive to creativity and recording as any I've seen.  Ted makes it that way with his easy-going personality.  But don't let that laid-back appearance fool you. He is a full-blown citizen of the tech world and knows his stuff when it comes to recording and music. If you screw up a track, he'll tell you so and suggest that you re-do it.  Ted feels that if you don't do your best, it reflects on him.

Being a producer/engineer and musician, I've recorded in some studios that have a cold, mechanized aura that can put a damper on getting the right vibe or feeling when you trying to lay down some tracks. It's always been hard for me to let someone else handle the mixing when I'm involved in a session.  Not so with Ted.  I would just mention the kind of sound that I'm trying to go for and he delivers. One of the reasons for his success behind the console appears obvious when you see his CD collection. It consists of every kind of music available. He studies the different sounds that artists around the world are putting down, analyzes them and if you mention a particular artist's sound that you like, chances are that he will be able to help you create it.

The studio is located 12 miles north of Williamston just off of Highway 125. Coming from Williamston, just make a left at the only traffic light in Hamilton and head out of town a few miles. The studio is on the right with a small sign in the front next to the road.  You can call Ted at 252-798-1310.

Calvin wrote and recorded this song back in 1968 on Venture Records right after he left Motown Records. After Calvin had a hit with it, Rufus Thomas and Ray Johnson also did a cover version. Calvin had a string of hits while in Atlanta with the team of Barney Conway, producer/engineer and Tommy Stewart, producer/arranger. The three guys made a great team with a long list of Billboard Top 100 records. 

It's a new era now with Norwegian, Nora Noor, wailing away with a woman's version of this song. It's doing great. Congratulations to long-time friend, Calvin Arnold. This is just proof that a great song will never die!  If you want ot hear Nora Noor's version of the song, click the link below.

CLICK HERE TO HEAR NORA NOOR'S "FUNKY WAY"

CLICK HERE TO HEAR CALVIN ARNOLD'S ORIGINAL "FUNKY WAY"

(Left) Calvin, in the early days                         (Right) Nora Noor

Barbara Coston has just released her new CD, Bible 101

This CD was recorded at Music Box Studio in Hamilton, NC, and features Barbara teaching the books of the Bible using a light hip hop rhythm. The CD has been well received by the public and Barbara has plans for more releases including a proposed radio series, "The Daily Scripture."

Best of luck to a very talented and determined lady. 

For copies of the CD or DVD, you may contact Barbara at 252-215-7277

Palm Radio Productions

211 N. Smithwick Street – Williamston, NC 27892 USA
252-661-3820
email: bconway@suddenlink.net

Why use Palm Radio Productions?

• Fast turnaround – Usually 2 to 4 days
• Proofs of artwork forwarded via email to save valuable time
• No minimum order… why keep boxes of CD's in your garage tying up your cash
  when you can order what you need and receive them quickly.
• Full color printing on all orders
• Re-Mastering service available – tweaking your tracks for the optimum sound
  using our in-house ProTools V-8 system
• Radio promotion service available – for radio stations anywhere in the world!