Resources for Music Duplication

At some point in life, every professional musician will be in charge of music duplication. Almost every musician requires a demo CD, and you'll need many copies of that disk to send out to prospective clients. Or perhaps you'll start your own record label; in that case, you'll want professional, long run audio duplication services or equipment.

Music CD duplication companies are abundant, and there are also plenty of sources for machines and supplies for duplicating music. But before you choose someone to do your audio CD duplication, carefully consider the following:

1. Do you need short run duplication services?

2. Do you need long run "replication" music duplication services?

3. Do you need to invest in your own audio CD duplication machines?

Choose music disk duplication services for shorter runs

Most of us are familiar with CD music duplication; this is the process we use with a modern CD burner. In brief, duplication is when your music is digitally gathered from your primary source (usually a file on a computer or a CD) and transferred to a blank, recordable disk. There are a vast number of music CD duplication companies; look for one that best suits your needs with regards to large or small runs, and extra services like artwork and packaging.

Find a replication service for duplicating music in larger runs

Replication (also called "pressing" or "molding") is how the large label music CDs you buy in the store are created. Your primary source is entered into a machine and physically stamped onto a CD. You can't add or change data on replicated disks. When looking at music CD duplication prices, you'll find that replication is affordable as long as your run is over 1,000.

Try do-it-yourself audio duplication

Unless you're wanting to duplicate very small quantities, the do-it-yourselfer is going to need more than the usual CD burner that comes with a PC. You can attach CD copiers to your computer and, together with copying software, they're great for duplicating small runs of music CDs. Some automated versions are also available for larger runs. There are also stand-alone machines that are good for larger runs.

• If you know what to look for, it's easy to tell the difference between a music CD duplication or replication. Duplicated disks have a colored bottom.