The Life Cycle of an Album

1. Phase 1: Pre-Production

1.1. Lyricist: Some artists write their own music and lyrics on their own. Other artists collaborate with a lyricist to find a perfect balance between lyrics and music.

1.2. Artist: During this stage the artist will practice combining their music with the lyrics that the lyricist has written. The artist also develops an image in which they want their consumer to view them.

1.3. Producer: The producer's job during this phase is to make sure that the artist's lyrics, music, and vision all mesh together in a way that can be delivered in a way that the consumer will relate to. He/she also helps choose the strongest songs to put together on the album.

2. Phase 2: Production

2.1. All of the following individuals work together to record the artist's track. Each artist and instrument in the group is recorded separately.

2.1.1. Chief Recording Engineer

2.1.2. Recording Engineer

2.1.3. Assistant Recording Engineer

2.1.4. Recording Studio Technician

2.1.5. Studio Setup Worker

3. Phase 3: Post-Production

3.1. After all the different parts are recorded, the engineers edit the songs to get the best pieces of each recording on each track.

3.1.1. Recording Engineer

3.1.2. Assistant Recording Engineer

3.2. Next an expert in mixing albums makes changes to the volume, balance, and adds any sound effects or auto-tuning needed.

3.2.1. Mix Engineer

3.2.2. Assistant Mix Engineer

3.3. Finally, the album is mastered to have the same sound on any device or form that it is duplicated to.

3.3.1. Mastering Engineer

3.3.2. Assistant Mastering Engineer