few years , I have surely noticed a growing trend in terms of preserving the quality of production , there is more emphasis on recording live instruments and better recording quality and use of best equipment . Also the loudness war ( as we audio engineers call it ) is slowly coming to terms with loudness normalisation incorporated by YouTube / Soundcloud / iTunes and other popular online platforms . The output levels are eventually going to be consistent across all platforms . We couldn ’ t have been more thankful !
How technological innovations has altered the way music is produced
We have come a long way ! Our recording gears have become quite powerful and compact . Today we can record more than 200 tracks at the same time ! There are numerous ways to edit and correct our performances , lots of interesting music
space created by them . This change has happened ever since music piracy couldn ’ t be contained & illegal downloading became easier for people . In the past few years , we have seen an increase in the number of creators . As the technology gets more and more simplified , we are expected to see more creators , music producers are coming into the limelight .
The future of music production
The pace at which the technology is advancing , someone like me could only assume the possible directions in which the music production will take . Artificially intelligent softwares will replace some of the common studio operations like audio noise restoration , cleaning up clicks and pops from a recording , pitch correction etc . before it ' s sent for further processing . Currently in our industry , something similar is already happening in the field of
genres and sub genres that are being discovered as a result of the abundance of the sounds available to us . For the most part producing music has become really easy . One can record & produce an entire song from their bedroom studios . If you are musical ( very important ), then all you need is a good recording software , a mic , MIDI keyboard and a descent pair of monitors and headphone to convert your musical ideas into a fully produced song . There are numerous plugins available in the market which could be used to replicate the sound of a real instrument , moreover giving the creator a varied choice of sounds / textures to play around with . If one is still not happy then they could record an organic sound & sample them in their production which could add some sonic value to a song . You have access to so many readymade ideas ( Apple Loops / Loop Library ), pre-sets & tools that an individual is never limited with their options while producing music . Performance can be enhanced too via pitch correction and time quantisation methods- “ so not to worry if it wasn ’ t a perfect take !” This wasn ’ t so easy 20-30 years ago .
On the downside , a musician can take full advantage of the technological innovations & somewhere musicianship is compromised . Artists are turning into entrepreneurs who also have to sell / promote their music . You ’ ll find musicians / artist ( including myself ) taking up social media platforms like Facebook , Instagram , YouTube etc . as means to promote their art . Earlier record labels companies used to discover new talent & nurture them through their career . Now they are mostly dormant & instead artists approach them mostly to get a name association & use the popularity mastering . Landr and Aria mastering are two different online softwares which does mastering in a matter of few mins . It isn ' t perfect yet however in future it will be .
As of now , we are in the transition phase . With more innovations , music as we know may have different definition in the future - sounds / textures will play a more important role than it is now . As more and more researches are happening , music will find a wider role in our society . It ’ ll branch out to medical sciences to find cure for an illnesses and many other such fields where music is used at a very fundamental level . We shall see the introduction of newer instruments and experimental music will take a new form . You ’ ll see extraordinary musician skills being developed by certain musician . Let ’ s hope to make it through all the changes that may occur in the future . ( laughs )
About Deepak :
Deepak is a trained , professional music producer , mixing engineer , and teacher . Having taught at a leading music conservatory in India for many years , Deepak has nourished many young music producers and mixing engineers who work professionally in the South and North Film industries . He has studied Sound Engineering from SAE , certified as an Apple Music Production trainer , and has worked across many studios in Chennai as a recording engineer . Besides production and teaching , Deepak has worked extensively on ad jingles , film collaborations , and performs with his project – Indore Gharana .
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