COVID-19: Writing Songs In Isolation
I spent the morning processing the news and tweets and everything else surrounding the coronavirus and whilst I’ve been in somewhat denial (I’m under 30 I’ll be fine, it’s a conspiracy, I drive everywhere so I’m OK, the music business won’t be hit) it’s now definitely a reality that not only have we been hit hard on the touring and live side but it’s now going to affect our writing sessions and the business of songs too. It is also our duty to protect the more vulnerable and elderly and staying at home seems to be better for everyone in the long run to prevent this getting out of control. Just how it will affect music streaming is another story, but with Spotify’s offices closed and likely Apple’s I’m sure this pandemic will disadvantage our upcoming releases as well. However, the safety of people and our friends is the priority here — so as a company we’re pausing on writing sessions for the time being.
If you’re a songwriter/producer and want to know how to keep your sessions going, skip to the next section below to cut out me waffling on for another paragraph or three.
Management
I picked up the phone and rang a handful of managers and it seems like everyone is fine with cancelling writing sessions but also unsure on who should do it first or when we should. It’s odd that the UK seems to be behind on the advice and measures the rest of the world is taking but maybe we should take from the rest of Europe & also Los Angeles/New York and pause on writing sessions and meetings from here on. As a manager who works from home my day to day doesn’t change too much, but it’s probably not wise or fair to continue booking in sessions for my clients who have to meet and spend time with (mostly) strangers on a day to day basis.
So how do we keep busy given the situation? With everyone working from home I’m assuming this is probably a good time to do all the tasks we usually put off as we’re so busy scheduling. If there was ever a time to go through the thousands of demos on your hard drive and make your pitch playlists it’s now. A&R’s and managers are sitting at home and are probably up for listening to songs and still getting stuff done. You can research and brainstorm marketing ideas, reach out to new people and have meetings via video call. Redesign your one sheets and social media profiles and websites, do your accounts and expenses even and reply to all the emails you’ve ignored.
There’s tons of tech companies who run completely remote and there’s no reason why we can’t either. It’s time to go through every demo and work out the publishing splits and send them on, work out the writers on every song and close the paperwork and deals on the records to come. Rumour has it Mike Caren is in an underground bunker head to toe in a protective suit right now listening to all his incoming demos and sending notes within 30 minutes of receiving them, thanks to his cancelled meetings. Send your songs out and get them cut.
The Songwriters & Producers
Some people have been suggesting “sessions on Skype” and whilst that’s probably possible, I’m not sure if the community is making the most of the technology and solutions we have for making this possible. I’ve done some digging and have made a list of tools and software that should make remote writing sessions easier and very possible and will get into that below.
1) Loopback
I haven’t witnessed a Skype session take place but I assume it’s done via the video call feature and also the screen sharing tool. Two people or more should be able to hear what the other is doing and “write” a song. My concerns with it is firstly the sound quality and the lag, and secondly the inability to control the other person’s screen.
Nevertheless, there’s an amazing tool called “Loopback” that will allow you to route the audio from your DAW (Logic, Abletone) directly into Skype so rather than the writer hearing the sound from your microphone they’ll hear it directly from wherever you’re working on. This should greatly improve the quality, lag and remove any feedback and allow them to write their topline on it or add their bits. You could also use Loopback to send any input coming into your Mac into Skype/Zoom/Google Chrome; i.e your interface and whatever is plugged into it. You could plug in a guitar and send that straight through the call.
The other person could then use Loopback to wire the audio in from Skype (or FaceTime or Google Hangout) and into their DAW so they can add your parts on top of what they’re doing — allowing two people to contribute to the same project in essence and also record what’s being written. Zoom has a Pro tier at only £11.99 a month that allows you to record the call in full (upto 1GB) but you could effectively record it with Loopback for free. Loopback also lets you turn multiple audio sources into one hardware device on your Mac and it offers some pretty powerful monitoring solutions too — so you can wire the input from the call into your headphones and not through your studio monitors, for example. I’d say it’s not only essential for remote studio sessions but also for running multiple DAW’s in the studio and more.
2) My files are stuck in the studio
Right so you’re stuck at home and your Logic files and parts and sound banks are stuck on the studio computer. Firstly, you all know this I hope — Splice. Login to your account and you’ll be able to download everything you’ve bought and get some new samples while you’re at it.
Secondly, you’re probably going to have to venture out to the studio one last time and set up a remote file sharing system. Wash your hands, chuck on a mask if you’re feeling a bit rough and get to the studio. Try not to touch too many surfaces or door handles or get too close to anyone.
Turn on your Mac/PC and install a remote working client. I’ve always sworn by LogMeIn because I’ve used it for over 10 years. You can extend access + file access to multiple users and drag and drop the files you need onto the computer you’re working on. You can also access via iPhone & iPad. You can share your screen with someone else so they can see what you’re doing and control if you want them to as well. You even do remote sound and listen to what’s coming out of the computer which is key here.
Teamviewer is another great one that my clients Mac & Phil use and you can drag + drop files and also blank the screen so anyone that isn’t self-isolating and has broken into your studio can’t see what you’re doing. If your Mac is sleeping you can wake it too. It also has a free tier which is handy. Anyone worried about leaving their Mac on for a week or two, it’s not an issue — you can remote restart and that’s probably good to do here and there for computer health but leaving it on and in sleep is fine so not to worry. Whilst you’re there get a fresh hard drive and run a backup too, take it home. We don’t know how this will all play out. Spend the money and get a SSD for speed.
I’d install Loopback too so you can run the sound from your interface straight to Logmein/Teamviewer to make sure the sound works. Once you’ve installed the client and Loopback, wipe down the keyboard and desk and run back home to safety.
3) Collaborating on shared projects
Now that you’re set up with Loopback and a remote sharing/viewing client, you’re ready to set up and run sessions. You’ve added parts to your Logic file and you want to bounce them out and send them to the producer/other person. I wouldn’t really recommend email as there’ll be a lot of back & forth and file size issues. Sign up to Dropbox & download the desktop client. Make a folder for “Remote Sessions” or something and inside there make a new folder for each session you do. Share that folder with your collaborator. Your Dropbox will show in Finder so you’ll be able to bounce your parts straight out from Logic into the shared folder and as soon as you do, whoever you’re in (virtual) session with will get a notification and the file will synch to their Mac so they can drop it into theirs. If you’re on video call and feeling something you’re hearing “that’s dope, bounce it out” — within 2 minutes it’ll be on your Mac. Or you could record it straight into your project using Loopback. Either way, a proper file sharing set up is key.
4) Using the same DAW at the same time
I’m not sure how possible this is. You could share one screen in one call with two or three people and also run your audio from your DAW out to each person and be the only one producing for example (via the above). You could also use LogMeIn and invite everyone to see and/or control the main computer and screen that’s running the DAW. This is all dependent on the internet connection. I had a look online and found some other alternatives built specifically for music collaboration over the internet.
- Ohm Studio — https://www.ohmstudio.com / A tool that lets you invite people to a shared workstation. It probably doesn’t allow VSTs or plugins but it’ll be good enough to run ideas and get demos down.
- Amped Studio — https://ampedstudio.com / Another online DAW that lets you share projects. You can invite people, it’s only $4.99 a month and it runs on Google Chrome.
- Skytracks — https://skytracks.io / This looks dope. Another cloud based DAW but this also has a plugin for your own DAW’s that lets you collaborate in real time. Not sure when they last updated it or how quick it is but give it a try and let me know if it’s any good.
5) I’m a songwriter and need to send a vocal
If you haven’t got a set up at home or an interface here are some microphones made for iPhone/iPad that will give you a decent enough vocal to send a rough to your producer. Click the product name to take you to Amazon (with Prime delivery). You can also download Dropbox on your iPhone and send your recordings straight to a shared folder so they can receive and chuck it straight into Logic :)
- Shure MV88 iOS Condenser Mic
- Apogee MiC 96k — needs separate lighting iOS cable or USB to iOS adaptor.
- Shure MV5-LTG
- Apogee One — audio interface for iOS
- Apogee Duet 2–2 — works on Mac & iOS with separate cable.
- iRig HD 2 — connect a guitar & more.
That’s all I’ve got for now. If I find anything else I’ll add it here but until Logic/Ableton add shared projects in real-time (Apple probably should and will given you can with Keynote, Pages etc.) running them with video call & Loopback may be the best shout. If anyone has any other methods or tools they use I’d love to know so hit me up on hannan@wearenwn.com. Feel free to reach out for any tech support or issues too, those of you that know me know that I’m a self proclaimed Apple “genius”.
Stay safe people. Stay indoors. Keep writing songs. Keep sharing songs. We all need music in times like these. I’m grateful most of us can continue working from home and our clients can still practise their art in self isolation. Granted we’re going to lose the magic of having people in the same room on the same vibe and energy, but hopefully the coronavirus situation doesn’t stop amazing songs being born from strangers for too long.
Hopefully some of the tools I’ve mentioned make it easier for collaboration over the internet and someone out there is writing their best record right now.
I’m Hannan Malik and I manage songwriters, producers & artists. I partner with creators and brands and help build their businesses. If you’d like to reach out feel free to say hello on hannan@wearenwn.com
