Home recording is the practice ofrecording sound in a private home instead of a professionalrecording studio. A studio set up for home recording is called ahome studio orproject studio. Home recording is widely practiced by voice actors, narrators, singers, musicians, podcast hosts, and documentary makers at all levels of success. The cost ofprofessional audio equipment has dropped steadily as technology advances during the 21st century, while information about recording techniques has become easily available online. These trends have resulted in an increase in the popularity of home recording and a shift in the recording industry toward recording in the home studio.[1] TheCOVID-19 pandemic andCOVID-19 lockdowns resulted in a dramatic global increase in the number ofremote workers in 2020,[2][3] which is anticipated by experts to remain a permanent shift in the field of sound recording when the pandemic ends.[4][5][6][7]
Until the late 1970s, music could be recorded either on low-quality tape recorders or on large, expensivereel-to-reel tape machines. Due to their high price and specialized nature, reel-to-reel machines were only practical for professional studios and wealthy artists. In 1979,Tascam invented thePortastudio, a small four-track machine aimed at the consumer market.
With this new product, smallmultitrack tape recorders became widely available, and grew in popularity throughout the 1980s.
In the 1990s, analog tape machines were supplanted bydigital recorders and computer-baseddigital audio workstations (DAWs). These new devices were designed to convert audio tracks into digital files, and record the files ontomagnetic tape (such asADAT),hard disk,compact disc, orflash ROM.[8]
The way the room sounds or reverberates can change dramatically the way music is mixed, written, and recorded. Untreated rooms have an uneven frequency response, which means that any mixing decisions being made are being based on a sound that is ‘coloured,’ because sound mixers can not accurately hear, what is being played. Acoustic panels andbass traps can improve the sound in the room.[9]
Professionalrecording studios have been heavily impacted by the growth of home studio technology over the last two decades. The advancements in such technology along with the moderate to low budgets of up-and-coming and even established artists have put many commercial studios out of business. Many professional engineers have moved from these commercial studios into their own homes to be able to work with their clients at a more accessible cost. Artists have also set up their home studios to self-record and produce their own material and not have to deal with high budgets and expensive studio time. Lack of album sales in recent years and major record labels cutting their budgets to fund their artists and producers to record in these high-end studios have done a significant amount of damage as well. Some of music's iconic studios have been forced to shut their doors for good due to these circumstances. The list of these studios includeThe Hit Factory, which was located inNew York City and home to albums such asBorn in the U.S.A. byBruce Springsteen andGraceland byPaul Simon,Sony Music Studios, which was also located in New York City and whereNirvana recordedMTV Unplugged in New York, andOlympic Studios inLondon, where works byEric Clapton,Jimi Hendrix andThe Rolling Stones were recorded.[10]
Even though these commercial studios are able to produce a quality recording for the artists that record in them, many of the recording software used in home studios can emulate what the consoles and tape recorders are able to do. As mentioned in theLos Angeles Times, according to theNational Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), the trade group for music retailers and manufacturers: "The total computer music market went from just under $140 million in sales in 1999 to almost a half-billion dollars in 2008".[11] So while album sales have significantly dropped in the past decade, which has forced recording studios to cut costs, the sales of computer software and technology related to music have significantly increased as well. Maureen Droney, senior director of the Recording Academy's Producers & Engineers Wing, spoke to theLos Angeles Times and reflected on what the recording studios have come to be in today's music industry with the following statement: "In some ways we've come full circle ... We've gone back to being small and entrepreneurial. People still look to commercial studios when they have something to offer that they can't do at home. But, as it is, the recording studio business started with people starting small, funky studios, oftentimes in bedrooms and garages."[11]