WORDS FROM THE WISE

READ THIS BEFORE STARTING YOUR CD MANUFACTURING PROJECT

1. Make sure your Master is EXACTLY how you want it before submitting it to us: The CD you submit to us should be the exact CD you want duplicated. If songs are at different levels, in the wrong order, etc. it will require studio time to fix. There is no point in spending more money than you have to if you can get your project done right from the beginning. Remember, whatever master you provide us with, we are running with. If it sounds like doo doo, all your CDs will sound like doo doo. Depth Charge does offer basic mastering services should you need them.

2. Your artwork should be designed by someone who knows what they are doing: If you've never designed anything professionally before, your CD project shouldn't be your first crack at graphic design. If your designs do not meet our specifications, you will have to redo it which can cause serious delays in the manufacture of your project. Artwork should be designed using professional software such as Illustrator, Quark or Corel and should be at 300 dpi resolution. We can provide the proper templates for your designs. Simply contact us and we will e-mail them to the address you specify. If you are ordering our popular one color thermal print for your on-disc printing, we recommend not using photographs on your CD. Although some photos turn out fine, most do not. Keep your designs to artwork, logos and text for best results. If you are getting bulk CDs and are keeping your on-disc print simple, feel free to come by with your text and any logos or artwork on a floppy disc or CD-ROM and we will put it together with you in-house at no additional charge.

3. Don't schedule your release date, release parties etc. until you receive your order. Delays are not typical, but whenever something is being manufactured, the possibility always exists. If you are releasing your CD commercially, you really want about 4 to 6 weeks worth of time to set up your press, promotion and distribution once you receive your CDs. This will give journalists the opportunity to write about your CD so the articles will run closer to your release date. This will allow you to coordinate with your distributors to make sure they can get the product from you and to all of their stores in time. If your project is delayed for any reason, you will not want to go through the madness of altering your commitments.

4. If this is your first CD, and you are trying to make some noise, order a quantity you know you can move. Unlike other larger CD manufactures, our unit prices for lower quantities are not nearly as high. If you only have orders for 200 CDs, and you are only servicing 200 DJs, press, industry contacts etc., you shouldn't order 1000 CDs unless you are willing to give away a lot of copies to get your music out there. You can always reorder more CDs if you blow up so set clear goals for your projects and make your orders accordingly.

5. Don't give your CDs away to people who should be paying for them. Your friends are the ones that should WANT to support your efforts and pay for your CD. If you can make a list of 100 friends that will pay you 10 bucks each for your album to show their support for you, that's $1000 and a great start to your independent music career. Save the free copies for press, radio, industry heads and people who would never have bought your CD.