MrSmithers
1K Club - QQ Shooting Star
Hi there,
Thanks for all the useful info I have read on QQ.
I was just wondering what the actual costs are involved to mix an album for a surround release?!
Have read that high costs might sometimes be an inhibitor for surround releases as record companies won’t make any money out of it. Or there’s not enough demand to justify the costs.
But what are those costs?
I guess to produce a new surround mix from existing master tapes would be the most expensive? You need to find a producer/mixer/engineer/studio to do the actual work. I’m going to take a complete stab in the dark and say maybe $150,000?! This is based on no knowledge - hence the post! Obviously there are many variables - just take a look at this list on the most expensive albums produced…
1. Invincible – Michael Jackson: £31.6 million
2. Chinese Democracy – Guns N’ Roses: £10 million
3. Hysteria – Def Leppard: £8 million
4. …In the Life of Chris Gaines – Garth Brooks: £5.6 million
5. Untouchables – Korn: £3 million
6. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy – Kanye West: £2.5 million
7. The Black Album – Metallica: £1.4 million
8. One Way Ticket To Hell… and Back – The Darkness: £1.3 million
9. Tusk – Fleetwood Mac: £1.08 million
10. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club – The Beatles: £416,000
I guess you also have to factor in the costs to distribute (Blu Ray, SACD, DVDA, DTS, DD).
One of the factors given for the recent Fleetwood Mac S/T album only being released on DD DVD is being cheaper licensing costs. But I don’t think they can be that high? Maybe $1 per disc? Or do you have to pay a hefty fee up front to use a format?
Back in the day I remember SACD/DVDA discs being only a couple of £/$ more expensive then the RBCD equivalent. So they can’t be that high! Plus I presume Flac downloads are essentially free? On Acoustic Sounds you can get stereo DSD downloads for $25, the same as 192khz flac.
I read this recent article about ‘The Greatest Hits’ release no longer being necessary in the streaming age.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42701623
It makes total sense but what I found interesting was that record companies are licensing their stuff out. Hence we are getting the expensive box set. But we have Dutton Vocalion doing recent (excellent) quad stuff. What are the (cost) barriers to them or anyone else surveying the polls here and releasing other stuff? If it’s a transfer from an existing mix maybe that cost goes down to $50,000? Or maybe it’s a lot higher?!
Any knowledge/opinions on this would be great!
Thanks for all the useful info I have read on QQ.
I was just wondering what the actual costs are involved to mix an album for a surround release?!
Have read that high costs might sometimes be an inhibitor for surround releases as record companies won’t make any money out of it. Or there’s not enough demand to justify the costs.
But what are those costs?
I guess to produce a new surround mix from existing master tapes would be the most expensive? You need to find a producer/mixer/engineer/studio to do the actual work. I’m going to take a complete stab in the dark and say maybe $150,000?! This is based on no knowledge - hence the post! Obviously there are many variables - just take a look at this list on the most expensive albums produced…
1. Invincible – Michael Jackson: £31.6 million
2. Chinese Democracy – Guns N’ Roses: £10 million
3. Hysteria – Def Leppard: £8 million
4. …In the Life of Chris Gaines – Garth Brooks: £5.6 million
5. Untouchables – Korn: £3 million
6. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy – Kanye West: £2.5 million
7. The Black Album – Metallica: £1.4 million
8. One Way Ticket To Hell… and Back – The Darkness: £1.3 million
9. Tusk – Fleetwood Mac: £1.08 million
10. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club – The Beatles: £416,000
I guess you also have to factor in the costs to distribute (Blu Ray, SACD, DVDA, DTS, DD).
One of the factors given for the recent Fleetwood Mac S/T album only being released on DD DVD is being cheaper licensing costs. But I don’t think they can be that high? Maybe $1 per disc? Or do you have to pay a hefty fee up front to use a format?
Back in the day I remember SACD/DVDA discs being only a couple of £/$ more expensive then the RBCD equivalent. So they can’t be that high! Plus I presume Flac downloads are essentially free? On Acoustic Sounds you can get stereo DSD downloads for $25, the same as 192khz flac.
I read this recent article about ‘The Greatest Hits’ release no longer being necessary in the streaming age.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42701623
It makes total sense but what I found interesting was that record companies are licensing their stuff out. Hence we are getting the expensive box set. But we have Dutton Vocalion doing recent (excellent) quad stuff. What are the (cost) barriers to them or anyone else surveying the polls here and releasing other stuff? If it’s a transfer from an existing mix maybe that cost goes down to $50,000? Or maybe it’s a lot higher?!
Any knowledge/opinions on this would be great!