I also love sharing it with others.

Since I started performing, firstly as the solo project, LOW BOW, and then with various others in Beijing, I have released about 10 different CDR’s. For me, the feeling of having a physical thing to hand someone has always been the great pay off after writing, rehearsing and finally recording music. Also it’s a great way to say, ‘Right, that’s done. Now let’s do some more!’

There are so many great bands in Beijing and elsewhere in China yet only a very small percentage of these have any music available for purchase either on-line or at a show. Why is this?

Maybe it’s down to simple logistics? Finding a decent studio to record in and an engineer that’s professional enough to get you the sound you want in a reasonable amount of time and for an affordable price may be just not possible for some bands or artists but then I got thinking about an alternative to all of this: keeping it cheap, aiming low, keep it simple and just get it out there!

Now, I want to make one thing clear: I don’t want to sound like this is some kind of ‘musical manifesto’ compelling you to ‘get off your arse and make it happen!’ ‘Be the protagonist of your own life son, no one’s going to come knocking on the door begging you to record an album for the sake of Art’ etc. It’s just that the very fact we’re together in China is an amazing thing for grass roots D.I.Y.: we have all got access to everything you’re going to need to not only record but also mass produce (to various scales) a CD, get covers made (or even for that unique look and feel, make your own ‘ultra limited edition’ version) and get it into the hands of people who want to buy it.

I’ve recorded some right shite in my time but I’m also proud of the stuff that made it to a CD. Okay, so I didn’t make any money (well, about 120 RMB all told) but, for me at least, it’s all about the final stage of the entire music making process when I can hand someone a self-produced CDR.

Okay, so enough of the babble, how can we get your band’s next bunch of tunes out there as quickly, cheaply and pain-free as possible?

Here are some resources that I have personally used which I can honestly recommend to others for the purposes of getting a CD out in the shortest time possible. I hope you’re going to find it useful and easy enough to manage. If you’ve got any more questions by the end of this article, you can contact me by emailing dongmohan@gmail.com

Okay, so here we go!

1. Beijing Heavenly Trust Creative Technology Company
what they have: Basically this husband & wife team can mass produce cheap CD’s with covers, inserts, cases or clear simple envelopes. They can also print posters and make stickers which you can then put directly onto a CD.
contact: Wang Qi
photo: 15801395074
email: guangpanwang@163.com

2. Wild Printing
what they have: Show posters, stickers, printing, badges, rubber stamps (I got two made for Cloud Choir and LOW BOW for about 24 RMB each) and much more.
contact: Liu Dong
phone: 13718667273
address: 24-5 Gulou Dong dajie, Dongcheng
email: bjwtld@163.com

3. Idle Beats
what they have: Art prints & silk screen gig posters (very nice), t-shirts and more!
website: idlebeats.com (Based in Shanghai but they can ship to anywhere)
email: info@idlebeats.com

4. Indie Music
what they have: Sells DIY CDR’s and a nice collection of local and national independent music. Worth checking out. Also it’s where you can get this very magazine.
address: 17 Gulou Xidajie, Xicheng (100m west of the Drum Tower)
phone: 6402 2682

5. Old What?
what they have: One of the funkiest, low-rent, most awesome venues in the city of Beijing. Arrange a show, bring friends, sell CDR’s and have a beer. (Buy a keg, it’s less than 200 RMB and you can include a beer with the ticket price when you hold your release party!)
contact: Bao Xin (she can arrange a show)
phone: 13810822871

6. Jin Wu Xing 金五星
what they have: One of the city’s finest indoor markets where you can find everything from CD cases, disc burners, PAs and mixing boards, blank t-shirts, badge makers, and string sold in assorted sizes and colors. Seriously, you’ll find everything and anything in this place. If they don’t have it you probably don’t need it.
address: 18 Xueqing Lu, Haidian
phone: 8281 8057

And that’s about it. Just get out there, record in a rehearsal studio using the best digital recorder you can afford (I use the Zoom H4n which I got new about 3 years ago for about 2,000 RMB but I am sure if you scour Douban.com in the second hand gear section or go on taobao.com and go into the search bar, you’re sure to find one for a lower price or one to suit your needs), burn some discs, get creative with packaging and use the magical powers of weibo.com to get the word out!

If you’ve got CDR’s ready to sell at a show, let folks know ahead of time either on weibo.com, douban.com, Jingweir or by making posters and handing them to those ladies who shout at passengers at bus stops during peak hours and I promise you, people will want to buy ’em.

I know I do.

There is really nothing like being able to take home a CD of a band that blew the roof off just moments ago.

Making these self-produced CDR’s has been a great learning experience for me and generally speaking, the feedback has been mostly positive. Peopl ewho take the time to see you play live are more likely to buy your CD so make it happen!

Again, if you need any further info you can email me at dongmohan@gmail.com or follow me on Weibo: weibo.com/jfub

Good luck!