Tech Lover 9

On top of the harmonies, writing melodies and chords to make a great song and collaborating with your bandmates can sometimes be a source of frustration. This goes beyond having to deal with competing egos. Sometimes, one member of the band is convinced he was playing a syncopated riff on a new song at the last practice, but he can’t get the rhythm quite right. Other times, no one can even remember what key the song was in because the songwriting process started well after midnight after a couple drinks.

The good news is, these problems can be resolved by using cloud storage. Record the new material and upload it to the cloud. Then, everyone can access it before heading off to practice, so they don’t run into these kinds of issues. There are other benefits, too. It’s cheaper than using traditional storage devices, it’s secure and it’s easy to use. Simple recordings you can make on your phone or computer can be uploaded and accessed from anywhere. You won’t have to worry about losing anything you record, your band will have an increased ability to collaborate, and you can share your music with more people.

It’s important to examine security precautions and encryption methods the cloud storage provider you’re considering provides. Also, since no backup is absolutely perfect, having multiple forms of backup is important. If you’re thinking about heading to the cloud, here are four benefits it provides.

Inexpensive

Storing your files in a cloud is inexpensive. You can use a free service, such as soundcloud.com, to record demos and practices. Then you can switch over to the more advanced gobbler.com if you need to store larger files when you’re actually in the process of recording. The online backup comparison of portable versus external hard drive is in data storage and price. CNET reports a portable, external hard drive with 40 GB of storage can run $150, Gobbler’s 50 GB package is $80 a year.

Secure

Once your songs are in the cloud, you don’t have to worry about losing them. All you have to remember is your password to access the site. You never want to have a project in only one location. The story of Jimi Hendrix’s “Axis: Bold as Love” serves as a cautionary tale, as Hendrix left the master tape of the first side of the LP in a London taxi. It was never recovered, Vinay reports. Hendrix later said he wasn’t entirely pleased with the mix they ended up producing from what they could salvage, according to 8notes. Using the cloud to back up your material will prevent this from ever happening to you.

Easy to Use

Uploading your material to the cloud is easy. Say a riff comes to you as you’re sitting on the couch watching TV on mute. Instead of playing it for your bandmates over the phone — which is always a terrible idea — you can use your phone to record it, and then upload the audio file to the cloud. You will not have to wait for the next practice to present your latest idea to the band. Your fellow band members can access it beforehand and begin to insert their own ideas into the songwriting process before you all meet up.

Improves Accessibility

With cloud storage, you can pick and choose who has access to your music. You can make some of your more polished material public. The songs that are still being worked out can be kept private. The band will be able to listen to the material whenever they want, fans will have greater access to your music and you can show off new projects to other musicians or promoters without having to lug around stacks of CDs with you.