What goes into a 250K+ album

[RemoWilliams]

This is something that I have been curious about for sometime. I sometimes read that major label bands, either they be rock, or pop or what have you, spend 200k or more on an album. Hell, I'm sure a lot probably got past 500k maybe? Didn't it cost a pretty penny to record Metallica's "Black" album? I could be wrong. Either way, I've always been curious as to how it costs this much.

Is it that the band is recording in three different studios for the record sometimes?
The cost of studio musicians time?
Are there like three or four producers doing six thing at once?
Do the artists spend too much time just goofing around in the studio that logs in more studio time?
Are the producer(s) just really expensive by the hour (yet also very good at what they do).

I'm sure I'm missing a lot more details, but its all just out of curiosity.

 

[joeymusicguy]

recording the black album took a year

paying an engineer, a producer, and a studio gets pretty expensive @ 365 days ish

 

[RemoWilliams]

recording the black album took a year

paying an engineer, a producer, and a studio gets pretty expensive @ 365 days ish

Yeah, right after I typed it, I remember that their VHS thingy was called, "A Year and Half with Metallica" or something like that. Very expensive indeed.

 

[egan.]

The $1000/day studio (not including an engineer) would do it pretty quickly.
Producers, Engineers, assistants, runners, caterers, etc.
Writing all of the songs in the studio with all of those people on the clock.
Re-re-re-recording

 

[James Murphy]

not to mention cartage, techs, per diems, rentals, etc.

 

[RemoWilliams]

Man, that does add up. Not to mention if the artist records in more than one studio or hands off different duties to different studios.

 

[black.death]

timbaland is what goes into a present day $250k+ album. also as far as rentals go, Chinese Democracy budget had spent over $350k to rent a real 59' Les Paul for months which was actually used only on a single track. they could have bought the guitar for that much.

 

[kev]

not to mention cartage, techs, per diems, rentals, etc.

& Strippers. I remember Mike Shipley saying he was quite down onetime when he was an understudy, and the producer was sending him in naked women every morning

 

[Ermz]

& Blow

 

[GeertSamuel]

Forgetting one of the most important things. Beer..

 

[Kazrog]

People being slow, IMO, for whatever reason (drugs, obsessiveness, etc). It was also more difficult/expensive to get things started in pre production before hard disk recording.

 

[Jind]

Of course Metallica also once employed Phil Towle, a $40,000-a-month psychologist and "life coach." I'm sure that would eat up a projects budget pretty quickly.

Jind

 

[Moonlight_Seeker]

& Strippers. I remember Mike Shipley saying he was quite down onetime when he was an understudy, and the producer was sending him in naked women every morning

Wow.

 

[iamandy]

recording the black album took a year

paying an engineer, a producer, and a studio gets pretty expensive @ 365 days ish

yeah, on wikipedia it says it costs them over million dollars.. it got remixed 3 times.

Bob Rock, who had worked with the bands The Cult, Bon Jovi, and Mötley Crüe, was hired as producer. Metallica (also known as "The Black Album") was remixed three times, cost $1 million, and ended three marriages

 

[Ermz]

'ended 3 marriages'

Man that's the shit that scares me about this industry. There's no time for a girlfriend, much less a spouse.

 

[egan.]

'ended 3 marriages'

Man that's the shit that scares me about this industry. There's no time for a girlfriend, much less a spouse.

See above Mike Shipley quote.

 

[aramism]

black album and use your illusions I&II were recorded practically down the block from each other almost at the same time and every night was a party. that could also contribute to the marriage part haha

 

[Suicide_As_Alibi]

Ignoring the beer/hookers/drugs, the big cost is always time.

Not a band mentioned often on here, but My Bloody Valentine's 'Loveless' virtually bankrupted their label - apart from taking the best part of three years to finish (during which they recorded two EPs), they also worked in 19 studios. At the end of it, they reckon they only spent 4 months working on the music, but effectively had studios rented out for almost three years solid.

Steve

 

[RemoWilliams]

Man, all of the expenses make it sound like a movie production.

I can imagine scoring a movie costing about as much if not more depending on time.

 

[Andy Sneap]

time without a doubt. Its usually a label pushing a band into a studio before they are ready, writing in the studio. Crazy, yes I know but it happens over and over again.