Starting a band is a dream and ambition for almost everyone. For some people this is just an enjoyable fantasy but some small groups and hardworking musicians get further than most people just by the power of their dedication and the innovative strategies they use to save on cost. Until you have had some level of success almost all music and promotion has to be a largely DIY process unless you are miraculously lucky enough to receive a large investment from a generous benefactor.
One of the biggest difficulties to overcome is the production of the first album, single or LP. Studio time and hiring the sound equipment and an engineer is an extremely expensive project and out of the range of most start-up bands. This means that a lot of the independently produced albums are recorded in various homes and garages. Whilst this greatly reduces cost, there is still the obstacle of producing the physical CD to distribute. A way to reduce cost for CD production is to produce one CD using the recording software available on most laptops or computers and then utilise a CD duplication company to make potentially thousands of copies relatively cheaply and then a band can start distributing their music.
Duplication is a way to cheaply make lots of CDs at once, which you can then start both selling to fans and sending to various labels and companies to get the word out. Big labels like Sony Music or the Warner Music Group will take a band that can send them a CD much more seriously than they would to a band that only has online content on websites like myspace, soundcloud or youtube.
