Rebirth in America

(Thanks to Xuelong and Guiyuan Tianji for the reward, I will add an update today)

In the early days of recording, microphones were not used, but loudspeakers were used!

The musician plays into several large trumpets, and the sound directly enters the recording equipment, driving the recording needle to carve grooves on the record. Needless to say, such recording is troublesome. The quality of the recorded sound is extremely poor, and it is impossible to restore the complex structure of the human voice.

The main difficulty in early acoustic recording was to directly pick up and record weak sound wave energy. People have long realized that a better solution is to try to convert sound waves into electrical signals. Around the 1920s, this idea gradually became Reality.

This was mainly due to technological progress in broadcasting and wireless telegraphy, which gave birth to necessary equipment such as electrical microphones and power amplifiers. After 1925, record companies applied these technologies to record recording one after another, and began to enter the era of electroacoustic recording. .

Fortunately, Alex was reborn around the 1950s, when recording technology was already very mature. The microphone system using electric amplification can capture a wide range of sounds. Musicians no longer have to painfully squeeze around the speaker in the recording studio like in the era of acoustic recording, but can play freely in a more relaxed environment. .

What's more, by the 1950s, almost all record companies were using tape media as the original master tape for making records. This means that longer music can be recorded repeatedly and at a lower price.

After these master tapes are recorded, they need to be further edited and edited, and will eventually be burned onto a record. There were two types of records in this era. One was the LP record released by Columbia, which was the so-called 78 rpm record. The other is the 45 rpm record launched by his competitor RCA.

Both types of records have their own advantages. 78-rpm records have high sound quality and long playback time, and are usually used in the field of classical music.

The playback technology of 45 rpm records was relatively easy. RCA produced a portable turntable with a built-in speaker in large quantities and marketed it among teenagers. It turned out to be very popular and became the best choice for them to hold parties. Teenagers simply called this turntable "Hi-Fi".

The popularity of this type of "Hi-Fi" greatly promoted the prosperity of the singles market in the 1950s, while LP was only popular among those who listened to serious music and had strong financial strength, and eventually became popular music. The artisticization provides a material basis.

The Carpenters' songs would eventually be recorded on 45-rpm records because they were cheaper.

Generally speaking, record production requires collecting songs, confirming the demo, and then editing, over-taping, instrumentation, backing vocals, harmony, mixing, mastering post-processing, etc.

However, they are not planning to release this record, and they do not need professionals to do the voting and screening, let alone find an arranger to communicate. The singing and harmony are all rehearsed at home. That just leaves the post-processing of recording, mixing and mastering. These require equipment and dedicated personnel to complete.

The first thing they recorded was "Song for Mom". At the beginning, the accompanist band was not very comfortable with this style of music. After several runs-in and rehearsals, it finally reached 70% to 80% of the level Alex remembered.

"These two little guys are so awesome!" Rudy said to Bart when the Carpenters sang the first line.

"Of course, they are my sons!" Bart said proudly. He was now standing outside the recording studio, looking at the people inside through the glass.

"Do they usually sing so beautifully? When did they start singing!" Rudy asked Bart while adjusting the recording equipment.

"They started singing when they were very young, and the 'Carpenter Brothers' group is very famous in our area!"

"I don't think I have heard this song before. What is this song called?" Rudy continued to ask.

"This is a birthday present they wrote to my wife, and they are very filial!" Bart explained.

"What a genius! Just by listening to the singing, you can tell that their hearts are very beautiful!" Rudy was silent for a while and then said, "They will definitely become famous singers in the future!"

During the recording process, several unexpected situations occurred and the recording had to be interrupted. After all, Alex and the others were recording for the first time, so they didn’t understand many things.

Rudy was a responsible producer with lots of experience and gave the Carpenters a lot of useful advice. At the beginning, the recording was quite slow, but after they became familiar with the recording process, the work speed suddenly became faster.

While recording, Alex would compare it with the original version in his mind from time to time, and when he found any problems, he would immediately raise them. Some effects were limited by the equipment technology at the time and they couldn't achieve it, but with Alex's golden fingers, the recording quality was very good.

This song, originally sung by four people, was performed by the two Carpenter brothers and was not much worse than the original version. It even went a little beyond, especially when they sang this song with their childlike voices, which was very touching.

"Their abilities are no worse than professional singers!" Rudy said while listening to the song while recording. He said this very seriously. From his professional perspective, the Carpenter Brothers' songs were enough to make the charts last week.

After hearing this, Bart felt very proud. After so many years of hard work, he was finally paying off. He looked at his son inside the glass wall and said: "Our goal is to become professional singers, to become No. 1!"

Rudy thought for a moment and asked, "You guys haven't signed with a record company yet, right?"

"This will happen sooner or later! After we record this album, we can sign the contract." Bart said with great certainty.

"Then are you interested in signing a contract with my company?" Rudy said to Bart seriously: "I am the boss of this company. Although the company is relatively small, it can still record high-quality records and has a good reputation. Sales channels."

Bart looked at Rudy in surprise. He really didn't expect that the other person was the boss of this company.

"How's it going? Are you interested?" Rudy saw that Bart seemed a little excited, so he asked again.

"Well..." Bart hesitated a little. He didn't know how to answer: "Let's wait until the song is recorded and we can discuss it before telling you!"

Rudy knew that he couldn't push the other party too much at this time, so he smiled and said, "Okay, let's wait until you think about it."

It took almost a day of hard work before I finished recording this song. Fortunately, Bart had already prepared and booked this recording studio.

"Kids, come here." Bart pulled Alex and Richard out of the door, and he repeated Rudy's words.

After Bart waited for his sons to digest the information, he asked, "Do you think you should sign with them now, or wait until the record hits the radio?"

Alex and Richard were silent. They were a little surprised as to why Bart would discuss this matter with them.

"Alex, tell me!" Bart had no choice but to ask by name.

"If I had a choice, of course I would have to wait until I became famous before signing the contract." Alex said slowly, "However, I guess you are a little tempted, otherwise you wouldn't be so hesitant."

Bart did not respond to Alex's statement, but asked: "Richard, what about you?"

Richard thought for a moment and said, "Actually, we don't know if this song can get on the radio. If Rudy helps..."

"Yes! If Rudy helps, this song will definitely be played on the radio." Bart sighed and said, "I spent a lot of time looking for connections with the radio station, but I never found one. If the radio station refuses to play it, , there is nothing we can do.”

Alex really didn't expect that radio stations in this era would not easily play records like theirs. Unless there's someone on the radio, or they're a famous singer.

He only knew that Elvis's songs became popular after they were played on the radio, but he did not know that many radio stations refused to play Elvis' records. If it weren't for the record company behind it, it wouldn't be so easy for Elvis to become popular.

"Also, we don't understand marketing at all. Even after it is broadcast on the radio, if it does not achieve the effect we want..." Bart did not continue, he thought his sons already understood it very well.

This time Bart has taken out all his family's savings and invested them in this record. He had always had full confidence in his sons, but the possibility of failure flashed through his mind from time to time. More importantly, as a de facto agent, he has never been very qualified. He worried that he would be a stumbling block for his sons, a thought that haunted him.

"Don't worry, we will never fail! Don't think so much now, just take one step at a time!"

Alex doesn't want to sign a contract with someone right away. He doesn't think it's time to "sell out" yet. If you want to sell, you have to wait until the value appreciates before selling.

Bart still refused to give up. He continued: "How about we ask Rudy about the conditions he gave us. If they are good, signing a contract with him would be a good choice."

Richard also thinks this is a good idea, but he can ask about the conditions first.

Alex reluctantly agreed, thinking that it would be foolish to be nervous about signing the contract now. If you take a big step, you will have to hold on to your balls.

The terms Rudy offered them were unexpectedly good, and the record company gave them a 60-40 split. The record company took 60% of the profits, and the Carpenters took 40%. This is much better than the contract offered by ordinary record companies. Generally speaking, the most a singer can get is about 20%, and the maximum amount is 30%.

Besides, the Carpenter Brothers haven't debuted yet. If it were another company, 3% of the profits would be considered pretty good. Michael Jackson debuted for several years and won numerous awards for his records, but when he was in his first record company, he could only receive 2.5% in royalties. Converted into profit, it should be less than 5%.

According to Bart's calculation, this 40% profit is approximately 20% of the copyright tax. In other words, if they sell a $2 record, they will get $0.40.

This condition was so good that Alex was confused. He doesn't think anything good will happen.

"Alex! Richard! What do you think? Should we sign a contract with him?" After Bart calculated the result, he couldn't hold back anymore.

Of course Richard agreed, and he was also convinced by Bart's calculation results.

"There is still a problem, Bart!" Alex still felt that this was a trap, and he continued: "You ask him to convert the profits into copyright taxes, UU read books www.uukanshu.net and then give us a 30% down payment first. "

The so-called advance payment means that the record company will pay a part of the money in advance when signing a contract with the singer. Of course, these amounts are estimates. For example, if the record company estimates that the singer can earn US$1 million within this year, then they will give 30% of the US$100 as an advance payment.

Sure enough, when the conditions proposed by Alex were changed, Rudy shook his head and refused to agree.

"If I had that much advance money, the company wouldn't be in this state," Rudy explained.

Alex didn't agree with him: "Then as long as the contract is calculated based on copyright taxes, that's fine! It doesn't need to be as much as 40%, just 20% is enough."

When Rudy heard what Alex said, his expression immediately changed. He quickly refused: "If you don't agree to sign, forget it."

Bart and the others were a little surprised by this result! They didn't expect that Rudy would be unwilling to sign because of this small change. This is really hard to figure out!

Only Alex anticipated Rudy's reaction. He believed that Rudy was actually trying to get away with nothing, signing them with his own company first, and then turning to other big companies to sell their records. This is a method used by many small companies. They have excellent singer resources but do not have the ability to distribute records nationwide. They can only rely on large companies in this way.

However, it is not easy for Alex to fall out with Rudy right away. They still need Rudy's help in many places. So I had to think about it again as an excuse to continue procrastinating.