Beginner Home Recording Studio Shazam!

In my opinion, Mixcraft is the best software on the market for the budget home recording studio. Hands down.

There are several reasons for this, and surprisingly, the cheap price tag is NOT the biggest one.

Reason #1: It is much easier to use than the more expensive stuff. Trust me. I have tried Cakewalk Sonar and ProTools, and honestly the learning curve was ridiculous! I'm not kidding! The Mixcraft user interface is so intuitive (and PRETTY - yes, I'm a girl), you can be up and recording immediately just by following your instincts. It took me days just to figure out how to get a project STARTED in Sonar, and the manual was of little help. It would literally take me weeks to do in Sonar what I could do in Mixcraft in a matter of hours. Sound ridiculous? It IS...but it's true.

Reason #2: Okay, yeah. The price is fabulous. No denying that. I've also used free tools, such as Audacity, but they did not even come close feature-wise. The small investment is so worth it.

Reason #3: It does everything I could possibly need it to do and then some. I have not reached a ceiling yet where I needed more features, and I've done some extensive projects. I actually got a free copy of Sonar that I have installed on my computer (and I spent months learning to use it), but I NEVER use it. I do much better with Mixcraft and actually prefer its functionality to the expensive ones.

Reason #4: They give you a FREE trial. 'Nuff said.

Bottom line: If you're looking for the best recording software for your beginner home recording studio, this is it. DO NOT spend more money on a more expensive program. This is one case where you don't get what you pay for. You get much more.

If you're embarking on a music or voice over career, you're going to need a website and a Facebook page at the very least. Nothing says "not serious" like having to tell someone you don't have a website. If you expect people to listen to your music, or buy your original loops, or consider you for a music or voice over job, then you absolutely MUST have an impressive online presence.

I am going to teach you how to get one for next to nothing.

Step # 1: Get a cheap (but reliable) hosting account. Hostgator is my recommendation, and it is the most popular hosting company on the planet, so you can't go wrong with them. You can also get an account for a penny for your first month, then it will cost you less than a cup of coffee each month thereafter. Grab a coupon codes at Hostgator Coupon 2012. At the time of this writing, the 1 cent code is PENNY4AMONTH

Step # 2: Install Wordpress on your hosting account.

Step # 3: Get a free (or paid) Wordpress Theme. You can install free ones from within the admin interface of your Wordpress site. I would not recommend just browsing for free themes on the internet, as some sleazebags will sneak questionable links and malware in them. Just stick to paid themes or the ones in Wordpress. The best one I know of for bands is Woo Themes "Unsigned," combined with their free WooCommerce plugin and PayPal. You can sell your music right off of your site out of the box with no other software, accounts or fees.

Step # 4: Create a custom banner for the top of your site using Photoshop or the free GIMP. Or you can always hire someone on Fiverr.

Step # 5: Market your site. But that's another lesson I'll save for another time. Actually, there is a website ( LocalMarketingChallenge.com ) that will teach you all this stuff for free with high quality video tutorials. It's geared toward businesses, but that's okay. You can use the same principles to create and market your music website.