In 2020, social distancing suddenly meant musicians, composers, engineers, and other audio industry veterans had to adapt to stay professionally relevant and financially secure. Being required to virtually interact with our partners, clients, and managers 100% of the time posed all sorts of new challenges. Thankfully, specialized technologies eased our transition into this new fully remote work environment.
Here are 7 of our favorite remote work tools:
Communication Tools
1. Zoom
Admittedly, Zoom had a bit of a rough start during the COVID-19 pandemic. But despite early criticism of their security features (which have been addressed), Zoom has proven itself to be a solid choice for those in the audio industry.
Zoom provides customizable tools like the ability to broadcast audio in stereo, which makes it superior to other conferencing apps. Zoom is used all over the world for music lessons, industry happy hours, and rehearsals. In fact, we use Zoom for our ReelCrafter Live events!
Zoom offers a freemium plan or a Zoom Pro plan, which allows for longer meeting times and video conferences that can hold between 100-1000 participants. Other benefits of their paid plan include live streaming and transcription capabilities.
Find out more about Zoom here »
2. Stageit
Live performance artists continue to lose income due to cancellations and postponements, even after the world opened back up. The cancellation of SXSW in 2020 alone meant $4MM+ in lost revenue and missed opportunities for industry exposure, press opportunities, and fanbase growth. And that was just the beginning of drastic changes for live performances. If you’re not ready (or able) to book live gigs, Stageit allows you to connect with your fans.
Fans can purchase a virtual ticket to a live stream of any artist with a camera and microphone. Stageit has showcased acts ranging from your neighborhood metal band to superstars like Tom Morello and Jon Bon Jovi.
The service also includes a blanket license with the PROs so artists can legally play any cover song they want. Stageit is the closest thing to a live experience you can have in your living room.
Collaboration
3. Every Time Zone
Working with artists, clients, and agencies across multiple time zones means time zone math (the worst kind!).
ETZ features color-coding to provide instant visual feedback on what time slots work best for everyone on your project. This can be especially helpful when coordinating remote recording sessions around the globe.
4. Source-Connect
With remote sessions becoming the new normal, Source-Connect allows audio professionals and their clients to record together from virtually anywhere in the world.
The benefit of Source-Connect is that it allows real-time artistic direction. This eliminates the need for retakes and back-and-forth communications after the fact because clients can communicate their vision to the talent as they are recording, just like an in-person recording session.
Learn more about Source-Connect »
5. VST Connect Pro
Cubase fans losing business because of remote work restrictions can rejoice. Steinberg’s application, VST Connect Pro, is a complete remote recording solution that allows collaboration with any musician that has an internet connection and a computer. Data encryption, multi-track recording, live video chat, audio stream protection, and MIDI support make geographical distance irrelevant to studio production workflows.
Check out VST Connect Pro »
6. Skytracks.io
For musicians and engineers with deadlines to meet, SkyTracks might be the perfect remote recording solution. SkyTracks launched in 2016 as a cloud-based DAW, allowing users to create and collaborate on their projects. Now, the company has updated the software to enable producers and artists to fire up projects on any DAW and load VST/AU synths right into their SkyTracks browser. The software continuously syncs with the user’s DAW to allow for an efficient workflow.
Music Sharing
7. ReelCrafter
Even though networking has become more remote, musical artists must continue to pitch. At ReelCrafter, we understand the nuances of pitching and sharing music with other musicians, agents, labels, and music supervisors.
Our detailed tracking provides the insights necessary to improve your pitch and nail the follow-up even when there’s no face-to-face meeting on the books. ReelCrafter is the perfect application for submitting your music and keeping an eye on your projects as a musician, voice actor, sound designer, or studio engineer.
Learn more about our plans here »
