Yes.  We have a list of some of the finest musicians in the area, all very experienced in the studio.  For those on a budget we can often produce a very full sound with one or two musicians and a few overdubs.

Alternatively, a karaoke track can allow you to record just yourself with production quality.

Your Willowtree engineer can provide you with a copyright form and help you fill it out.  Or, if you prefer, you can download a form from the Library of Congress website using this link:

Maybe.  Vocal extraction software works by removing center-based material from a stereo mix.  The problem is typically that stereo effects applied to the vocal track (most reverbs and delays, for example) will not be removed and, consequently, other center-based material (such as bass) might also be removed.  The result is satisfactory for singing karaoke in a noisy bar, but is generally not suitable for recording.

A better solution for recording is to use a quality background (karaoke) track.  We can usually locate or create tracks at very reasonable cost.

Yes.  We are happy to work with projects from home studios.  The best thing to do is to export each recorded track to a compact disc as a wav or an aiff file.  If you can’t  do that (or don’t know how to) you can bring your portable workstation to the studio and we’ll go from there.

We can even accommodate your old reel-to-reel recordings and upgrade them to digital quality.

There are no right or wrong ways here, but almost every “overnight sensation” has put in years of hard work before inking the record deal.  The record industry is looking for bands and entertainers that are marketable.  That means acts will have to make them money, of course.  If you look back on the history of  successful recording acts you will find that almost everything imaginable has been marketable at one time or another.  So sooner or later it’s your turn, right?  Here are a few ideas.                                                                     [ Back to Top ]

1. Approach independent labels.  There are plenty of them out there.   They’re not the ones that will get your song on MTV, but most will listen to your demo.  Always get the name of a contact person, and if they don’t contact you, follow up.
2. Go to the big city, make contacts, and pay your dues.  There are very few  (if any) record industry execs hanging out in Northwest Indiana clubs.  So you have to go to them.  If you aim for Chicago, be prepared to play for free (or sometimes pay to play) to get into the most important clubs.  If you aim south to Nashville, the best advice I can give you is to be prepared to move.  You can’t break in to the Nashville music scene unless you take up residence.
3. Play the numbers game.  If you have what it takes, sooner or later someone will hear you who can make a difference.  Play whenever you can.  Knock on every door.  Give away hundreds of discs.  Market your music on the net.  Persistence can pay off.