My Sydney morning was bright blue with sunshine and cool early spring air. How wonderful.

Thoughts go to to all the folks in the middle of Storms out there.

Meanwhile in the stormcellar

I have PDF templates for Album Art to wrap my head around. The SC11 art is still in concept state.

It took a while for Safe Harbour, it's taking a shorter but understandable period for good final art for Rogue State.

Almost done.

As Self Propelled Artists, we are responsible for making our own beds and leaving a mint on our own pillows.

To complete the album(s) to a CD pressing (OMG How Retro, right, right?) we need to;

1. Conclude the mix

2. Issue the mix to the masterer

3. Give the masterer an accurate list of names and order.

4. To ensure that the list of names is right, we need to conform it to the Published Song list at APRA, or register the song. Sometimes you forget what the official title was. Gotta get that right.

5. Give the masterer the ISRC codes, unique ID's for digital reference. Cos these days, so much is digital and so much meta data goes with digital release. You have to do some data checking to make sure you get it right.

6. Once the masterererererer is done, we get a Disc Description Protocol formatted file, or, a DDP file. This is today's equivalent of a 'master' tape. The DDP contains all the songs and the Meta Data. Why? Cos you lot like it when your blutetooth player gives you all the info about the song, like who done it.

Ok? Great!

Done!

Nope.

It's ARTYWORK!!! YAAAY!

I am grateful that M. and his art squad kindly forgive my lack of leaving Bleed space at the edge of the art. I'm better at that now.

So what's the scoop here?

1. Get the art done. Umm...Yeah...that.

2. Get all that Meta Data, names, who, thanks, an entire online shared document worth of who did what when.

3. Squeeze it all into teeeeny leeetle font inside a 12cm square page or two.

4. Decide you can't fit it all in.

5. Realise that Mr Wizard cannot physically see any front below 12 point.

6. Argue with yourself that Comic Sans is really a fun font and whats the beef, amiright?

7. Get a barcode

8. Issue catalogue numbers

9. Fit that in somewhere.

10. Add the lyrics.

11. Remove the lyrics because it only fits in 3 point font.

12. Reboot your machine 3 times because Microsoft Loves You

13. Show it to the guys.

14. Get it proofed. Oops. Oh. Oops #2.

15. Export it to a PDF, upload and hey presto.

16. Get an email explaining you forgot the bleed area, so fix that and re export and upload everything again. Once or twice.

Hmm..

In the gilded age, there were people for that. you could sit around the fireplace on your jet plane and chill.

Welcome to the Unvarnished Age :-)

#selfpropelledartists. Start flapping your arms cos you're powering the plane.