MULTITRACKS
DOES COST EQUAL VALUE ? | Jesse Schaefer
Like every fourteen-year-old that learns guitar , I wanted to be a rock star as soon as I learned how to play The White Stripes ’ “ Seven Nation Army ”. With each new riff came visions of being on stage and touring the country . From then on that ’ s what I pushed for . Anyone who was willing and available to play music with , I was there . Garage band ? Yes . Church worship team ? Yes . Open mic nights ? I was there . And after many years , I did it ! A rag tag group of people as singleminded as I was found ourselves busy enough to create and perform music full time .
We scraped together funds to facilitate tracks , in ear monitors , lighting , and music gear . It wasn ’ t the best , but we found a way to make it work for us , and cheap . Night after night it was the same set , same production , same band members . We ’ d drive six to eight hours , unload tons of gear , play for an hour , load up , and do it all again . We planned the set once and would rinse and repeat every time we were on stage .
Worship leaders are in an entirely different situation when it comes to planning and preparing . Not only are we doing it for a greater and much more worthy purpose , we ’ re also not always on stage with the same band members . We don ’ t play the same songs every time . And oftentimes we change our style and sound based on the services we ’ re planning . In fact , when it comes to resourcing our worship and production teams , every single week comes with a new set of needs . Over time this can take away from why we got into ministry in the first place … pastoring people . Not to mention the added training and expense of starting over every week .
When it comes to resourcing our services , we often conflate price and value . And while there is often a connection between the two , being a good steward of the resources given to us means making sure we manage our budgets well . Price is the amount you pay , but value is the quality and effectiveness of what you get .
These days , there are so many solutions that provide immense value at a more accessible price than ever . Digital sound consoles with wi-fi connectivity for remote mixing on a tablet ; USB interfaces with 12 outputs ; and even high quality in ear monitors from Amazon that have exploded in popularity over the last few years . Creating an environment ideal for keeping attention on what matters can now be accomplished without cutting corners or breaking the bank . Tracks should be the same way .
If you use the Playback app from MultiTracks . com , you ’ ve experienced the versatility of customizing song arrangements , connecting your lyric slides and lighting with MIDI Production Cues , and even having the flexibility to go anywhere you want in the moment with help from Pad Player and more . Playback Rentals gives you that same value at a fraction of the price , simply by only paying for what you need . Choose the number of songs you need each month and run them with the full power and flexibility of Playback , exactly when you need them . It ’ s the only subscription of its kind and the most affordable way to use tracks in Playback .
As with all things , the more you free up in one area , the more you get in another . When you streamline your prep time and getting the most value for price , you have more bandwidth to pastor your leaders , grow your ministry , and ultimately spend time on what matters more .
Jesse Schaefer Product Marketing Manager at MultiTracks . com , where he is passionate about connecting worship leaders with recourses that improve their services and give them time back to focus on what matters .