The times, they are a changin’!

When I was a teenager, I dreamt of being in a big recording studio surrounded by walls of gear, working on cool music.
I worked really hard to achieve that dream. I went to recording school. Took tough jobs to challenge myself to grow. Found mentors to learn from and continue growing.
Around the time the I was in recording school, a new thing was just starting to make it’s way into the studios. The DAW. A Digital Audio Workstation back then was a two track editor that allowed you to edit digital audio quickly and non-destructively. Way easier than cutting tape with a razor blade, which, by the way, I can do.
So along comes this tool, everyone…. well, most everyone falls in love with it because it makes work faster and easier. But as anything goes- the DAW is developed, improved and enhanced. Now instead of two tracks they can do hundreds of tracks. Full on mixing automation, vocal tuning and cd mastering are all at your mouse click. And as the features went up, the price came down.  Making it more affordable to buy one of these systems than to rent out a studio to do a record.
Artists were soon buying these systems and recording and mixing their projects in their homes. Booking less and less time in a real recording studio with real rooms. This trend continues to grow as more and more studios are closing their doors due to lake of clients.
Now, I’m all for progress, but one must stop and ask, can this be a good thing?  Are the days of the big recording studio sounds gone? There was a certain magic, a vibe to the process that can’t be recreated with a computer in a bed room.
You don’t do your own dental work at home. You don’t do your own medical procedures, at least I hope not. Some should not be doing their own hair at home! Why try to make your record at home? This is something that is going to follow you around much longer than a bad haircut.
The audio recording industry is the only entertainment industry that has not moved forward in over twenty years. In fact, we are regressing.
 Not only has the quality of our recordings gone down, but the quality of our delivery media has too.
Video has moved from VHS, to DVD to BlueRay all the while, audio moves from the cd to…. well, the MP3. And there we’ve camped for years. Happy to have our ears tortured. There have been a few attempts for advancement, DVD-A, SACD and now BlueRay Audio Disc. But none have been widely embraced, not as much as the MP3. I have to ask why?
Do we as consumers, just not care? Has convenience won over quality? Are we willing to put up with amateur recordings delivered on a substandard format for the sake of a few dollars?
 Remember that record you used to love to listen to over and over again? Remember the cover art? Remember how the music would transform you, energize you and become a soundtrack for what was happening in your life? What has happened to that magic? Sure, today anyone can record, but are we getting the magic, squeezing every bit of tone out of that source that only someone who has studied and practiced their craft can do, or are we putting up a mic and saying, “yep, that’s good enough.”?
It is partly the recording industry’s fault. We didn’t push hard enough for improving our end product. Instead we embraced the faster, cheaper, methods and now look where it has got us. Our industry is proliferated with wanna be’s while studios like Abbey Road are struggling to keep their doors open.
Where do we go from here? How do we turn the ship around before it hits the iceberg? Is it even worth it? Should I just open a “Subway” shop?
Please don't get the wrong idea. I'm not ranting against the recording / mix engineer that sets up shop in their home. They still have the skill and experience that only they have by paying dues. My rant is against the guy who doesn't know the difference between phase and polarity, goes to a music store, buys a $50 computer program and then puts an add on Craigs list to record for $20. Not only does that undermine the true professional, but your total experience is going to reflect negatively on your project. And that will follow you.
 If we enough demand for quality and are willing to pay the price, then maybe....just maybe the future will be bright.