EQ Magazine - January 2008 - (Page 4)

Talk Box IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT Or is it? The digital genie is out of the bottle. Anything that can be copied digitally has become de facto public domain. Music has been devalued to the point where bands are expected to give away their music to promote their gigs . . . which unless they’re at the top of the heap, usually don’t pay very well. With CD sales tanking, major bands want to make more money off tours. So we’re seeing astronomical ticket prices that effectively bar the kids who don’t have a lot of bucks—precisely the people the industry needs to cultivate for the future. Now, there’s no doubt that the traditional record labels fumbled their opportunities. But that’s a separate discussion. The question here is whether musicians will be able to make any money in this brave new world. One possible model is that music will go back to the way it was for centuries: A recreational activity for individuals and groups of people, with occasional royal (or in today’s terms, corporate) sponsorship of a select few musicians. Is Wal-Mart doing an exclusive deal with the Eagles any different than the king being a patron of the arts? In any event, the days of “I’ll get signed to a major label, tour, and make money” are, if not over, in their twilight. And if musicians don’t make money, then studios don’t make money . . . and neither do the companies that make gear for studios. Yet, as has been pointed out many times, there’s more music around than ever before. There are millions of tracks being “traded” at any given moment. The major music industry trade shows have ever-increasing attendance. EQ’s circulation is going up. Apple sells millions of iPods, and trust me, people aren’t using them just to store photos. Many pundits are forecasting doom and gloom for the record industry, and they’re probably right. But for the music industry? They’re probably wrong. True, we’re going through a period of change and realignment. True, we don’t know how it’s going to turn out. Yet you never know what’s just around the corner: No one in 1962 could have predicted the Beatles, and how they would change the music industry. And we can’t predict with certainty what will happen next year. But be ready to roll with the punches, because there will indeed be opportunities in the future—although it’s highly unlikely they’ll be the same opportunities that existed in the past. NEWBAY MEDIA CORPORATE President & CEO: Steve Palm Chief Financial Officer: Paul Mastronardi VP Web Development: Joe Ferrick Circulation Director: Denise Robbins Marketing Director: Nancy Gregson HR Manager: Ray Vollmer IT Director: Greg Topf Controller: Jack Liedke Vol. 19 No. 1 January 2008 www.eqmag.com Executive Editor: Craig Anderton, canderton@musicplayer.com Editor: Matt Harper, mharper@musicplayer.com Managing Editor: Debbie Greenberg, dgreenberg@musicplayer.com Contributors: Jeff Anderson, Cliff Goldmacher, Tony Gross, Garrett Haines, Roberto Martinelli, Shane Mehling, Michael Molenda, John Payne, Roy Stein, Richard Thomas, Jeff Touzeau, Jake Wood Art Director: Paul Haggard, phaggard@musicplayer.com Asst. Art Director: Damien Castaneda, dcastaneda@musicplayer.com Staff Photographers: Paul Haggard, phaggard@musicplayer.com, Craig Anderton, canderton@musicplayer.com Publisher: John Pledger Associate Publisher & Advertising Director, Northeast: Gary Ciocci Advertising Director & Business Dev., Northwest: Greg Sutton Advertising Director, Southwest: Jon Levy Advertising Director, Midwest: Jessica Sullivan Advertising Director, Southeast: Grace Newman Director of Specialty Sales: Mike Montgomery Specialty Sales Assistant: Allison Smith Production Manager: Amy Santana MUSIC PLAYER NETWORK Group Publisher/VP: John Pledger Editorial Director: Michael Molenda Senior Financial Analyst: Bob Jenkins Production Department Manager: Beatrice Kim Group Project Manager: Lauren Gerber Web Director: Max Sidman Web Editor: Lania Cortez Motion Graphics Designer: Tim Tsuruda Marketing Director: Christen Pocock McFarland Sales and Marketing Coordinator: Molly Corman Marketing Designer: Joelle Katcher Systems Engineer: John Meneses Associate Circulation Director: Cheri McElroy Fulfillment Manager: Rosario Perez Please direct all advertising and editorial inquiries to: EQ, 1111 Bayhill Dr., Ste. 125, San Bruno, CA 94066 (650) 238-0300; Fax (650) 238-0262; eq@musicplayer.com Please direct all subscription orders, inquiries, and address changes to: 800-289-9919, outside the U.S. 978-667-0364, eqmag@computerfulfillment.com Back Issues: Back Issues are available for $10 each at 800-289-9919, 978-667-0364, eqmag@computerfulfillment.com EQ (ISSN 1050-7868) is published monthly by NewBay Media, LLC 1111 Bayhill Drive, Suite 125, San Bruno, CA 94066. EQ is a trademark of NewBay Media. All material published in EQ is copyrighted (©) 2007 by NewBay Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction of material appearing in EQ is prohibited without written permission. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to EQ., P.O. Box 232, Lowell, MA 01853. Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, photos, or artwork. All product information is subject to change; publisher assumes no responsibility for such changes. All listed model numbers and product names are manufacturers' registered trademarks. Periodicals Postage Paid at San Bruno, CA, and at additional mailing offices. 4 EQ JANUARY 2008 www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - January 2008

EQ Magazine - January 2008 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Robbers On High Street Rafter RTX Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings Toolbox Rahim Dimmu Borgir Wu-Tang Clan Special Feature! Mastering for Musicians Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drumheads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Cakewalk Sonar 7 IK Multimedia Virtual Instruments Yamaha MSP7 Shure KSM137/SL K+H O 300 & O 800 Sonica Livetracker Apple Logic Studio Novation XioSynth 25, Audio-Technica ATH-M50, Samson G-Track

EQ Magazine - January 2008

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