For the rest of us, the advent of affordable and fast Internet connections, and the proliferation of reasonably priced recording equipment, has changed everything. ISDN (see Hugh Robjohns’ SOS April 1999 feature: ) remains in use, particularly in the broadcast sector, where there’s commonly a need to facilitate real–time collaboration between multiple parties in several locations. In fact, the financial cost of installation and maintenance would often be greater than that of flying the artists and performers in for a session, but the ‘future is here’ cool factor of Transatlantic sessions meant high–end studios could pass the costs on to high–calibre clients, who could command big production budgets. Studios at both ends required ISDN technology and the reliability of these systems wasn’t always great.
The infrastructure was costly to install and maintain, and the setup required specialised technicians and equipment. Little more than a decade ago, remote collaboration (RC) seemed an expensive, if not unattainable dream. Some might prefer to do things the old way, but the benefits of long–distance collaboration are easy to see: the ability to tap into a global network of performers without leaving your studio, which can be anywhere, is a tantalising prospect! In this article, I’ll explore the options and pitfalls of this brave new world of remote collaboration.
This used to mean meeting people face to face but much of this interaction, including the recording sessions, can now take place via the Internet, without anyone having met in person. We producers, musicians and engineers need to interact with a huge number of potential colleagues. Once an expensive and futuristic dream, the technology for Internet–based collaboration is now available and affordable - and more practical than you might think.
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