It’s becoming more and more popular for composers and producers to use session singers for hire online. Here are some points to consider before using a service like this.
What is a session singer?
A session singer is a singer who can be hired to perform on your song, usually for a one off fee and as a one off project. this can be for release, as a demo or for an advert or jingle.
What are the pros and cons to recording this way?
Pros To Working With a Singer Online
Price
Using a session singer that is available for hire online can often be a lot more cost effective than hiring a studio and paying for the recording time. Prices usually start at £60 per track and can go up to £200+ depending on who you hire. My prices start at £80 for a lead vocal with as many alterations as you need. Also, providing you have the tools, you can mix it yourself, without the cost of hiring an engineer.
More singers to choose from
When picking an online singer, you have the choice of singers from around the whole world rather than just those in your local area.
Try out for free
Like myself, most session singers for hire online will have a service where a sample of your song is recorded for free. You can then hear whether they have the right voice for your track. This makes it far more likely to find the right singer for your song, all before you’ve paid out any money.
Work to your own time scale
I have a large array of different clients that use my session singer service and everyone’s time scale is different. Sometimes I’ll need to do a quick turnaround, less than 24 hours. Other times people will want to take their time and give the vocal a few days of listening before they decide if they need any more alterations. The benefit of using a session singer for hire online is that you can work to your own timescale and not be limited to one day in a studio. Another benefit to this is that the vocalist could be having an ‘off day’ (tired, cold etc) on the one day you book the studio. Working with an online session singer means you’ll have takes from different days, increasing the chance of having a vocal you’ll love.
Cons To Working With A Singer Online
No Professional studio
Using online session singers will mean that you won’t get the benefits of using a professional recording studio and all the equipment and engineers that come with this. If you are technically minded and can mix a track yourself then half of this battle is sorted. Make sure you only book online session singers who are using professional equipment. I use a top of the range Neumann U87 and an Apogee pre amp and record to a minimum 24 bit wav files at a sample rate of 44.1khz although I can record higher quality if needed. Always ask what equipment they are using and request a sample so that you can hear if it has been recorded to the quality that you need.
Interaction
Working with online session singers is never going to be quite the same as working one to one with a vocalist in a recording studio environment. I tailor my service to make it as much like the real thing as possible, allowing for feedback after each take and working closely via Skype, email or phone to make sure I’m taking on board the clients feedback accurately. When finding a singer to work with online, make sure they can offer you this service, allowing for feedback and alterations during the process.
You’ll have to mix and master yourself
This might not be a draw back for you if you are tech savvy but for people who don’t know the first thing about recording engineering you’ll need to think about the cost of getting your song professionally mixed and / or mastered. It’s not usually something that the vocalist will offer (although sometimes they might for an extra fee) You can also do this online, with prices starting at around £50.
I might be biased but overall using an online session singer can be a quicker and more cost effective way of recording your vocals.
To find out more about my service, head to my online session singer page.
