The production of UK Christian R&B is miles ahead of UK Christian Rap.

But nobody wants to talk about that.

a thread...
Over the last 3 years, I’ve gathered a lot of info that will help a lot of people both Christian artists and secular.
We have to remember we are called to be excellent and to go into ALL of the world to make disciples and to baptise others and if your talent and calling is music then it needs to be done with excellence to aid the winning of the souls.
And as sis @HayleyMulenda said the other day: “EXCELLENCE IS NOT CHEAP”. So, don’t be scared at some of the prices.
ARTISTRY

You have to be self-aware of your taste and your specialities. AKA, in what genre does your anointing lead to? Maybe Rap, maybe R&B, maybe even Rock.

Research into the genre(s) of choice (secular as well if you don’t have the conviction) and study and…
understand what goes into it, what is the structure to the songs? How do they sound? Is it for you? Do you even like it?

And then PRACTISE PRACTISE and PRACTISE more. You gotta put in that work, you may have a gift but that doesn’t mean God is going to take your slacking…
self to the top to not glorify His name excellently.

And as Christian artist I’m assuming you want to say something edifying or meaning etc, so be mindful of your lyrics and the energy you’re putting into the world.
Christian artists I study @Melvillous @nobigdyl @HappiMusic @StillShadey @OMGitsWande @iamrscar and Paul the Messenger, to name a few
PRODUCTION

Most times you’re gonna hear the beat before the vocals come in. Therefore to catch the ear of the listener in the first couple seconds of their short attention span, THE BEAT HAS THE BANG!

You can buy beats off YouTube, BeatStarz and other platforms for cheap…
…you can find producers in your area/city, you can even look thru IG hashtags.

To learn by yourself, which I did thru YouTube and studying songs you like is your best bet.

Producers on YouTube like KBeazy, AnotherVGN, Ocean, ProdByJack, iammusicmogul etc etc
Christian producers, I study @HappiMusic, @Komenzmusic1, @_TSBOY, to name a few
P.S. If you are a visual learner like myself, download Serato for free and you can visually see how a beat in various genres are laid out. Red for kick and bass, Green for vocals, snares…
and percs, Blue for high hats and other high-frequency instruments. DJing taught me a lot about BPM, genres, sounds, a little on Keys
HARDWARE

To make beats and record music very well you MAY need the following:

* some sort of decent computer or mac (8GB+ of RAM)
* external hard drive £41.97 https://amz.run/3EeU 
* speakers £110  https://bit.ly/2WWm1V7 
* interface (2 choices)
1. Focusrite Scarlett £90  https://amz.run/3Eeb  3/5 (possibly cheaper on eBay)
2. UAD Apollo Twin DUO £644  https://bit.ly/2zgpq8p  5/5 (be wary to buy off eBay because you may not receive about 15+ plugins like a new one will unless the previous owner transfers it to you,
and the plugins are EXPENSIVE so be careful)
- condenser microphone (many choices)
1. Rode NT1A Package £189 https://bit.ly/3egzxJe  (decent but harsh at times)
2. Neumann TLM 102/103/U87, Shure SM7B, etc etc £339-£2000 (some of these are pro standard)
- a mic stand of some type
* isolation ball for mic (2 choices)
1. Subzero £24.99  https://bit.ly/3gpE7H1 
2. Koatica Eyeball £175+  https://bit.ly/2AS6lJW 
* cables for your equipment (eBay and Amazon)
* headphones £102  https://amz.run/3Eef 
SOFTWARE

You’re spoilt for choice. I use Logic only for producing, mixing and mastering.

Popular digital audio stations (DAWs) are:
* Logic Pro X £200 (90-day trial)
* Fruity Loops (FL) (trial available) £76/£153/£230/738.98
* Ableton (trial available) £69/£319/£539
* Studio One Free/£59.64/£241.08
* Reason £69/£249/£419

Industry Standard is said to be Pro Tools
Can be paid monthly from £25 a month or upfront from £499
PLUGINS

You don’t need top-priced plugins to do incredible things, PluginBoutique has many cheap and free plugins to get you started. DM for more info as plugins can be a thread on its own.

SPLICE for drums, 100 credits £8/m
ARCADE for vocal chops, unlimited for £9/m
MIXING

The mix can either make or break a track, the vocals need to be crisp and clear and non-harsh. It should be as they say “music to my ears”. The Gospel in your track is lovely but when the mix isn't it, its not pleasing to the ears to listen for long or at all
The beat needs to be loud, but not clashing with the vocals, you need to cut the bass, 808s and kick to minimum 40Hz to clear headroom for mastering. For the beat make use of panning, delays, reverb, distortion, bit crushers, EQ, compression (if needs be), saturation etc
For vocals be creative, panning, delay/reverb throws and by themselves used normally, high/low pitch phrases, stutters like drill artists, tape stops, chorus, vocal synths etc.

Parallel compress your vocals and learn on youtube how to EQ and compress properly
Before mastering, aim for -6db-ish on the mix.

Mixes can go so in-depth and detailed so its either best to DM me, go to youtube or find a professional engineer who you like their work. Prices may start from £30ish up to thousands
MASTERING

This is what brings your songs loudness to a competitive level for radio. Spotify and iTunes have a feature (which you can turn off) that puts all songs to -14 to -16 LUFS. I’d say master to about -8 to -9 LUFS with a -0.5 to -1db ceiling.
Mastering may consist of but isn’t limited to MidSide EQ, Multiband/Regular Comp, saturation, Soft clipper, Maximiser, Limiter, Widener/Imager

Also, listen (reference) other songs and compare it to yours, not stylistically but for loudness, clarity, punch etc.
Useful websites and sources:

* http://tunebat.com  - they will tell you the loudness of songs
* StreakyMastering on youtube
* Sean Divine on youtube
ARTWORK

it can be simple or complex and bang. Study the artwork of big artist and see what they have in common, from colours (think colour psychology), to text and logo placement, fonts, effects, meaning etc. You can find artwork for cheap on insta or do it yourself.
MUSIC VIDEO

you can either have a low budget video with sick editing and creative ideas or a high budget video that makes up for the lack of it. Some artist merge the 2 but it's not regular in the UK. Videos can range from FREE to millions if I'm being honest.
Study music videos you like and find tutorials online to describe exactly what you want to the director or video team. Look at the fonts used, where and how they were used, the colour of the scene(s), lighting, props etc.
If you care, sit/talk with/to the director and build a treatment (storyline) to the video, a great video will make your music fly farrrrrrr. and they can be worth the investment if you execute it right.
ADVERTISING

Along with the video, you’ll need clips your videos in formats suitable for IG ads, Snapchat ads (expensive), twitter ads (very expensive), youtube ads and Facebook ads. Maybe sell merch like t-shirts, hoodies, hats etc
free methods inc but aren’t limited to: relatable/shareable/funny posts, triller/tik tok videos, email blogs, email radio DJ's, email regular DJ's, submit your music for reviews, for interviews, for premieres, BBC introducing,
Spotify playlisting (submit at least 3-4 weeks before release date), submit to the smaller playlists, ask friends to share it on their stories. DON’T GROW WEARY IN DOING GOOD! this stage may not be easy nor pretty but keep going!
Also, make a press release; google and youtube for examples, to send when you email people and KEEP IT PROFESSIONAL AND RESPECTFUL, these people don’t owe you anything.
FINALLY…

DISTRIBUTION

I use @dittomusic. It’s £19/yr for unlimited releases, if you like release a song a week. They’ll soon be offering features like lyrics, credits and @blueboxapp. Where you can split the proceeds of any songs, free for Ditto users.
Other distros I know of but haven’t used are:
Distrokid
TuneCore
AWAL (Hard to get apparently)
CD Baby
AVID
Amuse
LANDR

p.s. I can't vouch for them
That’s it. A big event every year is @bbcintroducing at Tobacco Dock, East London. I went in 2018 and its amazing, thousands of unsigned musicians, industry people, signed/famous artists, performances (inc for yourself), A&R opportunities, seminars, workshops etc
REMEMBER

Know yourself
Do your research
Study the game
PRAY

…again

PRAY AND LISTEN TO GOD
then
EXECUTE and do it well and excellently

DM me for more specific help or info

AND ALSO, I don’t know it all, I’m a student of the game so if you have any advice throw it my way
You can follow @dol0___.
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