What styles of music does Super Demos produce?
Because our studio is always busy with people doing many different projects, we have experience in many of the most popular American music styles. Our producers have experience with Rock, Pop, Ballads, Country, Hip Hop, R&B, Smooth Jazz, and we have several top 10 charting releases in the Dance/ Electronic genre. Feel free to bring in other songs to use as models for your production, or choose to be adventurous and let's work together to create something totally new!
Who plays and sings on my song?
Our core production team (Brandon, Diana, Keith and Mitch) lay the basic tracks on all demos. In house we have acoustic drums, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, piano, mandolin and flute, with matching excellent players. We also have many synthesizers and modern production tools, and are experts at getting the most out of them. We round this out with top notch production and mixing talent that is focused on keeping up with current trends and sounds, and we also bring in LA session players and singers on an as-needed basis. We have good working relationships with many great players and from this pool we choose the appropriate musician for your song.
What do I receive from you?
Every demo package comes with three mixes of your song. You get a full mix, which contains all instruments, vocals and background vocals, and an "minus mix" (also called a "TV mix", it is a mix of the song without the vocals) so that you can perform the song live or cut your own vocal in a local studio. An instrumental mix with all the vocals muted is also provided. Your WAV and mp3 mixes are available via download.
Who owns the rights to my songs if you arrange the music?
All mail-order demos are done on a Work For Hire basis. This means you retain the rights to your song and the music we produce for you. You own the copyright and you receive all royalties and fees that your song generates. We do charge an arrangement fee for composing music to your lyrics or melody. This fee acts as your buyout of all our rights in the arrangement, so you end up as sole writer and copyright owner of the finished song. A copy of the Work For Hire Agreement that we send with every finished demo can be found here.
What equipment does Super Demos use for recording?
Gear-heads can check out some of our favorite tools here. Super Demos features state of the art studios powered by Pro Tools and Logic Audio. We have some of the best musical instruments and microphones available, as well as real drums and guitar amps. We are constantly working on our skillsets to optimize our use of these tools as they evolve. Our demos sound great, there is no doubt about it. Just listen to the samples on the Listen Page and see for yourself.
What if I don't play an instrument?
If you sing but don't play any instruments we can arrange a track to fit your lyrics and melody (Arrangement fee applies). Simply mail in a tape of yourself singing your song (a cassette recording will do) and we will turn it into an impressive radio-ready cut. If you don't sing we can also work from a lead sheet, or create a melody for your lyrics.
Should I purchase master tapes?
The master tapes, or Master Session DVDs, contains all of the raw tracks, mixing information, and mastering data for your song. Generally, you will only need the Master Session DVD if you plan on continuing to work on the music at another studio. We keep your session archived here at the studio for 2 years. Two CD Song Masters are included with every mail-order package. One CD contains only the full mix, and the other CD contains full mix and TV track (full mix without lead vocal). Cassettes, DATs and session archives are optional. Session archives are shipped in the format that was used to record the song; either Pro Tools or Logic Pro. OMF exports are also available. See the pricing chart on the order page for more information. If you would like a copy of the Pro Tools session or Logic Pro project for your song please indicate this at the time of your order.
How many instruments will be used on my demo?
In many music genres (other than country) the variety and density of instrumentation varies widely. For this reason we charge a flat fee for our demos, excepting the rare instance in which we have to bring in outside players to handle a part. While working on the song we may feel that it needs something extra, like additional guitars or more percussion, or a modern pop song may require added synthesizer tracks. We want to be able to add whatever is necessary to present the song in the best light. Also, songs in different styles require dramatically different instrumentation. The distorted guitars we use for rock and pop would sound out of place in Country. The synthesizers found in pop would be anathema to rock listeners. Our productions are targeted at discreet styles while taking into account the needs of each individual song, and since every song has different requirements to make the mix complete we feel that our flat fee allows the freedom to give each song just that.
Is there an extra charge for more instrumentation?
We only charge extra for instruments when we have to call in a player, such as pedal steel, fiddle, or saxophone. Even then we only charge the players session fee, with no markup. Nine times out of ten we can complete the song’s orchestration with in-house personnel. In these cases, we charge a flat fee for our mail order demos, no matter how many tracks there are. You can check out our roster of session talent here.
Q: Why should I hire MMM to master my recording?
A: Mastering is union of two sub-disciplines, one creative, and one technical. The first step is the creative application of appropriate equalization, compression, saturation and limiting to enhance the euphonics, translation and impact of your music. The technical second step involves level optimization for the intended distribution channel, whether that be streaming, vinyl, CD or broadcast, and then assembling relevant metadata, and formatting for distribution.
Q: Does MMM have experience with my style of music?
A: Yes! With a combined three decades of experience, we have worked with most of music's popular genres. Our clients cover the musical spectrum from Pop, Rock, Alternative, Jazz, Blues, Country, Classical, EDM, Club, R&B, Hip Hop, Rap, Metal, Acoustic and Folk. From major name artists to local bands: you name it, we have worked on it.
Q: My engineer says he will master my record. Why should I use MMM?
A: Mastering is not rocket science. Your engineer can probably do a fine job using the amazing off-the-shelf software solutions available today. But has s/he curated and assembled the set of (stupifyingly expensive) tools that we have here to glean those incremental improvements that only come with hardware? Specifically the magic of inductors, tubes and transformers? Those subtle warm colors, delicate delicious saturations, exquisite resonances, and heavenly radiant euphonics that software cannot yet achieve? Probably not. That's why we are here. Plus, many recording engineers aren't as well versed as we are on the boring technical intracacies of music releases.
Q: What does MMM need from me to complete the mastering process?
A: I can work with whatever format you’re mixing to. If you’re mixing to a digital format you can bring/send a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, hard drive, flash drive or use the File Upload tool on this site to send the files electronically. All formats are accepted – with a preference for high resolution interleaved .wav or .aif formats. Here’s a list of information that will help in the process:Artist / Group NameAlbum TitleSong Titles and SequenceSpecific editing instructions such as crossfades, timing between songs, hidden tracks, inter-song ID marks, etc.ISRC informationEnhanced ContentOn-line Database submission informationType and number of masters and reference copiesJob Number, Plant Info and Matrix Numbers for Vinyl ProjectsIt’s also important to include any other notes that will help communicate how you want your music to sound.
Q: What is an ISRC and do I need it?
A: The International Standard Recording Code is a 12 character alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies each recording for digital distribution. Your label or distributor can help you get this code and I can include it on your finished master. ISRC codes can also be obtained directly from RIAA for $2 each plus an administrative fee ($30 at this moment). For more go here: http://usisrc.org/
Please Note: ISRC is NOT required to use our services, but they are necessary for tracking your royalties on Spotify and other streaming services as well as distributors. They are also embedded in the PQ-data encoded in your DDP (cd replication master). We recommend getting your ISRC/UPC codes early... it's easy!
Q: Do you master for vinyl? Is my CD or streaming master vinyl-compatible?
A: Most masters that we create are ready for vinyl release. However, If you plan to release your music on vinyl please let us know by checking the "Check Vinyl Compatibility" box in the MMM Track Sheet. We will double check that your master won't violate any of the electro-mechanical playback rules that are unique to records. and if necessary we will create a dedicated master with sibilance and other high frequency elements well under control, a vinyl appropriate amount of limiting, and centered out-of-phase low frequencies.
Q: What if I would like to request changes?
A: We believe that making music is an interactive process between all team members and such we welcome feedback and revision suggestions. We include one revision for each song, and one revision to the DDP. You may purchase extra revisions as needed. New mixes are treated as new masters and require a separate purchase.
More questions? Call us! (818) 241-4435
