The real reason music isn't getting cheaper (Score 1)

Michael, the real reason that music isn't getting cheaper is that Pro Tools is not an all-in-one production tool. It is simply a fancy digital tape deck with a GUI editor. This is the short answer.

The long answer? Very few studio owners buy a Pro Tools production system and then throw out everything else they have because Pro Tools isn't good enough. The sound quality of Pro Tools isn't good enough for them.

As a tape recorder, most pro-studios still record to a super-expensive digital tape deck (as in costs more than a BMW M5) and instead use Pro Tools as a way to edit the audio on the tape recorder (i.e. transfer it to Pro Tools from the tape recorder, edit it, and then transfer it back to the tape recorder). As a mixer, most pro-studios still use a large audio console. All final mixing is still done through Sony, SSL, Neve and other brand audio consoles that cost more than a BMW Z8.

If the sound quality was actually good enough studio owners could throw out everything else and replace it with just a Pro Tools system like DigiDesign (the company that makes Pro Tools) would like them to do. The reality though is that Pro Tools has simply become a $30k digital tape editor. (Most pro-studios drop at least $30k on a system - $15k only gets you in the door. And then there's upgrades to new versions which are worse than Microsoft; the recording industry actually has slang for it - it's called getting "Digi-raped".)

And here's the real truth: Vig's $15k system is capable of doing demos and rough cuts that eventually might make it into the final album but his recording studio, Smart Studios, still uses expensive professional tape decks and expensive professional audio consoles. Just look at the pictures of Studio A and B (can't give direct URL due to website being completely Flash-based). You'll see big expensive audio consoles with huge oven-sized tape recorders in the background along with a 17-inch computer monitor and a keyboard and mouse (presumably to control the Pro Tools system).

So, why does the article claim that $15k gets you a professional recording studio? Probably cause the article was iniated by DigiDesign's marketing department which is one of the best at establishing brand-name recognition. Notice how there's a complete lack of mention of any other name-brand digital recording system? Not necessarily the most non-biased article I've seen - but then again neither is Rolling Stone.

Pro Tools is one of the best tools out there for editing music and I've used it quite a bit in various recording studios. Just remember that this article is from the /. get-what-you-pay-for dept. and in reality, you still can't setup a professional recording studio based around a $15k system and a PowerMac.