Music Production
Our CDs – A Brief ‘Making Of’
Before the audio producer can switch on the microphones, many things need to be considered: what is to be recorded; who are the performers; is a disc with this content feasible for the current market; does it fit into the portfolio of Rondeau Production? Manager Frank Hallmann discusses all of these issues with the performers beforehand. He schedules ample time for these pre-recording discussions in order to release the CD at the right place and at the right time. Also involved in this process is Teres Feiertag, whose work on the CD picks up speed especially after the audio producer has given the recording its final touches and prepared the master tape. At this point, the disc exists only virtually, with its data stored safely on Rondeau Production’s server.
The next consideration to be made concerns the CDs release date: is its content independent of the seasons, or is it related to the liturgical calendar? To release the Mozart Requiem at Christmas or the Christmas-Oratorio at Easter would be a fruitless exercise. A CD with chorales for Advent, for example, would need to be ready to distribute by October if Rondeau Production and its partners wish to sell the product during the Christmas season.
Once the master tape is ready, Feiertag deals with its ‘packaging’: the cover and the booklet. Rondeau Production cooperates with experienced graphics designers and agencies who know the label’s requirements. Of course, the distributors need to be informed too: Feiertag prepares a schedule which is followed meticulously.
Who is to write the texts for the booklet? Rondeau Production can draw on a pool of knowledgeable authors, and Feiertag takes into account whether the recorded music is self-explanatory but could do with some background information on its compositional and historical contexts, or whether a more detailed commentary and analysis will be useful for the listener. Hallmann, too, keeps track of the label’s authors and contacts writers who have come to his attention through reviews or essays.
The authors are given four to six weeks to prepare their texts, and they are provided with a preliminary version of the recording to aid their work – the recording is, of course, ‘top secret’ and may be used only for research purposes. In the meantime, Feiertag takes care of the CD’s appearance. Cover designs are discussed, closely involving the artists in the process. If the recording features a particular performer, then a characteristic photograph is needed; if it features a Passion setting, then perhaps a painting might be more suitable. Or one moves away from pictures entirely, and uses graphics instead.
Once the author’s text is ready and all other vital ingredients for the booklet are at hand – track listing, lyrics, the performers’ biographies – Henry Hope begins his translation work at his office in Oxford, moulding the German contributions into suitable English. With the help of InDesign, Feiertag then puts together the booklet at her computer screen. Rondeau Production’s corporate identity guarantees that all booklets always have an identical style: the informative liner notes range from 20 to 32 pages, depending on the extent of their texts.
Two files are now located on Feiertag’s virtual desktop, and taken together, they will produce the finished CD: the master tape and the booklet. Both are sent to Sonopress in Gütersloh, where the majority of Rondeau Production’s titles are given material shape. The two companies are separated by no more than 380 kilometres, and the entirely positive experiences shared in the past have forged a close connection. Usually, Sonopress prepares a first print-run of 2,000 pieces, which takes about 14 days – re-prints are of course possible at any time. About half of the finished CDs make their way two Leipzig while the other half is sent straight to the label’s distribution partner Naxos Deutschland. Once the discs are on their way, the label’s international sales manager, Henry Hope, contacts the company’s international distributors.
Feiertag has registered the disc with the GEMA in the meantime and has refined the marketing plan for the CD. Promotional activities begin four to six weeks before the disc is available: distributors are given all necessary information, online sellers such as Amazon and JPC are updated, the CD is added to the webshop, leaflets are printed, and adverts are placed. Three weeks before the title goes ‘live’, review copies are sent out to the press. Finally, once the CD is available from the shop floor, it can be played in everyone’s CD-player at home.
Feiertag runs through this complex schedule nine or ten times a year, with some of the productions being prepared simultaneously. The busiest weeks of the year are those in which many others enjoy their summer holidays: July and August, because the CDs need to be ready for Christmas. Indeed, the process is reminiscent of the sight in local supermarkets: from September, we are faced on our daily shopping routines with chocolate Santa brigades, mince pie pyramids, and Christmas pudding for tresses. Rondeau Production’s CDs are certainly more long-lived – and they have no calories…
