I'll bet if you asked any busy business owner or manager what they spend the the most time doing, it would be the art of telling people, "No." For years I've found this to be true in regards to runningTape Op Magazine. "No" may seem a negative word, but in order to keep focused on the work at hand, to maintain my vision of the magazine and to keep workflow manageable I end up spending many hours finding ways to (hopefully) gracefully say, "No." What do I usually spend my time saying "no" to? Listening to every CD submitted for review. Responding to PR requests to listen to these CDs. Downloading "albums" that will never physically be released. Anything mentioning the word "demo" unless related to a session I'm producing. Visiting a MySpace page and sending someone a 4000 word critique of their music. Watching most any video on YouTube. Article ideas that obviously don't fit the scope ofTape Op's interests. Article ideas that are presented by 90% of the PR people. Article ideas we have already published. Article ideas about live sound. Article ideas about post production. Article ideas about sound for broadcast. Article ideas about film soundtrack mixing. Suggestions for articles that seem only bent on benefiting the sender. Most requests to personally review products. Requests to personally review products that I would never use in the real world. Personal emails asking my opinion on two pieces of gear, neither of which I have ever used. Requests to be interviewed for students' school papers. Outside requests that involve more ofTape Op's time than we can afford. Requests for new product mentions. (Uh, where in the mag do you see these?) Requests to run press releases. (Uh, where in the mag do you see these?) Press releases that mention XXXX Studio installed XXXX console. (Where?) Press releases trumpeting the launch of a new studio. I'll wait until they have done lots of cool albums instead. Anything that mentions John Mayer. Intern requests. Requests for information on where to intern. Requests asking me who should track, mix or produce an upcoming album. Uh, don't I offer these services as well? Keeping one's self productive is difficult at times. If you find yourself not getting work done and feeling pulled in every which direction, think about the word "no" and how to use it effectively. "No."
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December 1, 2010
I ain't payin' for no studio time! My buddy has a PC with software in his house. . .
BY Garrett Haines
Going through some archives I came across this priceless piece of history: its the rate card from the studio my friends and I used to go to. You can s...

November 28, 2010
Lucas CS-1
BY Larry Crane
Here's a guest spot from our pal Larry Devivo. It didn't quite fit a reply for Tape Op letters, but it's a great story and I wanted to share it. -LCTh...

October 28, 2010
This is what you sound like
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Maybe its a party. Maybe its a dinner party. Maybe you run into people on the street. But you know the situation: You are with your significant other....

October 16, 2010
"A Recording Studio is No Place For Democracy"
BY Larry Crane
I couldn't have said it better myself. In fact, I say this all the time. Drop by Jim Powers'Music Shrink websiteand read his articulate post on the su...

October 15, 2010
See you at the AES show in San Francisco?
BY Larry Crane
The 129th AES Convention takes place Nov 4-7, and the Exhibitor's Hall is open Nov 5-7, where we'll be sitting patiently at a table giving away Tape O...

October 9, 2010
Excellent Stories about the late Don Smith
BY Larry Crane
My pal David Lowery (Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven) has been doing a cool blog called 300 Songs, telling stories of how songs came about and other craz...

October 9, 2010
Robert Plant's use of 'spook' on National TV scares many
BY Garrett Haines
Lord knows why I was up, but at 7 am on September 14, 2010 the Today Show was on my television. They had a special musical guest scheduled, legendary ...

October 3, 2010
A Great Way to experience an angry comment to Tape Op
BY Larry Crane
Enjoy a light-hearted animated romp courtesy of xtranormal.com's wonderful service. This is a real comment posted to our blog here. Sure is nice to fe...

September 26, 2010
John Simon - free live interview in Montreal!
BY Larry Crane
My pal Howard Bilerman of Hotel2Tango studios in Montreal is hosting and interviewing for this excellent event. It's in conjunction with the fantastic...