4 Ways to Backup & Archive Recording Sessions
The modern recording and mixing session has changed drastically in the last 10 years. With the growth of the music and streaming industries, more music than ever is being released. With this, musicians, engineers, and producers are often busier than ever. They manage multiple projects at once and many times work on them at the same time. When selecting a remote session musician, mix engineer, mastering house, etc. it is important to make sure they have a system in place for session management and archiving. When files are trading hands and going from studio to studio, the last thing you need is a file getting lost…or worse, corrupted and unrecoverable!
Working both as a session drummer and mix engineer has made me appreciate a good file management and backup system. I have had clients come back years after their session to do a re-mix, ask for certain files, or even re-record the song entirely (this is usually a case of adding a featured singer, anniversary release etc.). Without a solid system in place, these requests would be near impossible. Luckily, the files are easily accessible and I can provide clients with another level of security.
4 Ways to Backup & Archive Recording Sessions
Download Files to Host Computer
When you work on a remote recording session, this is probably the easiest way to backup your files. You won’t believe how many people don’t actually download the wav. files, mixes, masters, etc. This is usually due to an assumption that someone else has already downloaded them…not realizing neither party did this.
So, download your files and put them in a folder that is clearly labeled. I usually like to add a .txt file that has studio location, date, session musicians, and other relevant information.
2. Store On External Hard-Drive
External hard-drives are excellent choices for a non-host computer backup. These days you can get a massive 1TB external hard-drive for under $40. A drive like this would allow you to store raw wavs., masters, mixes, and other session information and documents all in one place. As an added plus, you can bring these drives with you to other studios should you need to access a file or sound. There are a lot of great hard-drive options out there, but my personal favorite for portability and reliability has been the LaCie Rugged line.
3. Cloud Storage
After your files are backed up on a host computer and an external drive, the next step would be some sort of off-site cloud storage. In the tech industry things are not considered “backed up” unless they are off-site and in a different location. While some people see this as overkill, I personally am willing to spend the small amount to add peace of mind and another fail safe to my studio. There are many cloud services available and price and features can vary greatly between companies. For my studio, I do a few things. My studio computer is backed up to Apple’s TimeMachine on an external drive, and then session information is backed up on a service called Backblaze. Other popular cloud backup services include Sync, Elephant Drive, and Carbonite. For most people, plans under $100/year will provide enough storage and features to be effective.
4. Disk Cloning
This next method often goes hand in hand with cloud services. Disk cloning creates an exact copy of your computer’s hard-drive. This would mean it would copy all of your system information, file directories, plug-in authorizations, and any other system files on the drive. This clone is an exact functioning copy of your original drive, so if your hard-drive fails, you could reboot from the clone assuming the clone is fairly recent.
Carbon Copy Cloner is a popular service for this that creates a clone of your drive and also offers features like “snapshots” that allow you to restore your system from a specific moment in time.
The 3-2-1 Rule
The 3-2-1 Rule is a common rule of thumb for backing up any sort of information or data. This method ends up using all of the above methods and ensures your content is legitimately backed-up and archived. It works for tech giants and it will work well for your music!
3: Create one primary backup and two copies of your data. (SSDs, External Drives, Thumb-drives)
2: Save your backups to two different types of media. (wav. files, AIFF files, DAW Session)
1: Keep at least one backup file offsite.
Backing up your studio and music is not the most fun thing to do, but it can save hours of headaches and trouble should the worst happen. By taking a few steps to backup and archive, you can make sure you’re prepared for anything.
Do you have a preferred method for keeping track of your sessions? Let me know in the comments!
