Welcome to the new Remote Collaboration Forum...

[Matt Houghton]

Back in SOS March 2014, we ran a cover feature exploring the current state of play in remote collaboration tools and techniques for audio production. Andrea Pejrolo, the article's author, kindly agreed to moderate a new forum on the subject, so here it is!

And for reference, here's the article: Remote Collaboration

I recommend that any newbies to the subject read that before posting... but note that due to the nature of the subject the software tools and internet speed information is likely to change rapidly over the coming months and years!

[C.LYDE]

Great idea... lets get the ball rolling... I'm available via Steinberg's Connect or the Propellerhead site..

[Folderol]

Anyone like to say how successful they've been finding collaborators?

[progger]

I was excited to see this pop up in the "Latest Posts" only to find that the original post is ten years old and the link to the original article seems to be deceased! But, also, the landscape of remote recording work has dramatically changed over the years, and I think it's an excellent topic to revisit frequently.

I work frequently as a session musician and arranger in a remote capacity. A lot of it is through a specific web marketplace/platform – in my case, Soundbetter.com, and here's my page for that.

But a lot of it also comes through friends and colleagues I've known over the years who need something I can do. Writing arrangements for various ensembles, recording saxophones/flutes or keyboards, things like that. Occasionally, writing and producing an entire track from start to finish, when the budget is there.

Even with the online marketplaces and whatnot, I've found that old-school rules of business apply, maybe counterintuitively, to remote music work. It's still all about who you know, who knows you, who trusts you, and who likes to work with you. They recommend you to others, you build a reputation, etc. The mediums of communication evolve but the foundational human principles seem quite resistant to change.

[Drew Stephenson]

I found a fair few collaborators for my last album, both on here and via other connections.

[Eddy Deegan]

Remote collaboration can sometimes be a bit tricky. Providing a forum is easy enough of course but as with all other forums it's only going to be what people make of it.

As Drew said, there have been successful projects but to get a successful result it takes work on both sides even after an introduction has been made and most of those communications would normally be outside of a public discussion.

I've done a few collabs myself but none as a direct result of the Remote Collaboration forum, rather as the natural consequence of getting to know people and interacting with them in places like the Musicians Lounge and (in my case) the Keyboards & Synthesizers forum.

It's always been a positive experience for me but I can be quite pernickity and as such I tend to restrict my collaborations to those with people I know already and feel I can get along with when I have my musician hat on.

For anyone reading this who I've done a collab with, I extend apologies and thanks in equal measure

I'm not the easiest person to work with on occasion but I'm very happy with everything that resulted from such collaborations.

[IAA]

As Drew said, there have been successful projects but to get a successful result it takes work on both sides even after an introduction has been made and most of those communications would normally be outside of a public discussion.

Quite agree. I’ve done a couple,both with classical players. The intros were completely outside most music forums I frequent, more connections we had in our wider friends. It was tricky. We worked on my projects where a synthesiser line was replaced with their instrument. I’d not written the piece with this intention so the ranges were all wrong, but that was where the collaboration hit gold. I gave 100% freedom to the others to add as they saw fit. I would never have considered the lines they did. Like Eddy I find it a tricky process given I normally work musically on my own. I quite like the idea, but practically I guess it’s still the case,

It's still all about who you know, who knows you, who trusts you, and who likes to work with you. They recommend you to others, you build a reputation, etc. The mediums of communication evolve but the foundational human principles seem quite resistant to change.

Ian

[auvix]

Great idea...

[lingyai]

I've usually had good experiences with people on Fiverr. I choose carefully listening to showreels of course to determine suitability, and also looking at reviews. I also take pains to explain what's needed as clearly as possible, which varies between "here, follow the guide recording exactly" to "here, make up something which sounds good, surprise me". I've been happy with the results... here are two
https://soundcloud.com/st-josephs-socia ... al_sharing

https://soundcloud.com/st-josephs-socia ... al_sharing

The projects which ended up best (in terms of results) were when it was clear from the outset that I was "in the driver's seat" and asking them for help in defined areas, and could express what I wanted.

I worked with one singer on that basis -- I was the client, she was the talent -- and she made it an amazing track.

Then she asked me to write and produce something for her to lay a top line ... she did do not do a great job explaining, in part I think because she was unsure what she wanted, and we iterated for months, each time arriving at something which to me sounded 85% ready to go, at which point she'd refuse to commit and seek new directions, always new butterflies just over the crest of yonder hill... Moral of the story: unless you have an usually good working rapport with someone - which includes trusting them artistically - every project needs a a boss who knows what they want and how to explain it, and who knows when to be open-minded and when to get on and finish. My 2 cents anyway.