PRE-PRODUCTION
* Do I have a theme to my music, a concept? Is this a fresh concept or a tired retread?
* Will this fit into my style or the rest of my catalog?
* Is this a good idea that people will like? Would it have a very small audience?
* Do I have a genre in mind or a creative hybid of several? Be familar with the sounds of those genres before production.
* If a remix; do I have permission, a midi file, stems, or an flp to do the work?
* Is this track Pony enough!?
* Do I have the time to pull this track off from start to completion (is there a deadline)?
PRODUCTION
* A reminder to rename your project with a new name or number every time you make a significant change to it so you can revert back from any mistakes.
* Assign a mixer channel for every instrument you have.
* Rename and add colors to differentitiate between patterns and instruments.
* Are my synths or libraries good enough? Have I avoided recognizable defaults presets and made my own?
* Is my track too repetitive? Do I have enough different melodies and sections?
* Is my track to minimal? Is there enough elements going on throughout?
* Is my track to short or long? Is it interesting throughout?
* Do i have mix in /mix out points? Is it dj friendly if it's edm?
* How are my drums? Too simple, strong enough, eq'd right?
* Does each instrument stand out? Loud enough, panned, and eq'd?
* Does it need vocals? Samples? Are they compressed and eq'd right?
* Do I have drops, risers, sidechaining, filters, glitch, or noise sweeps?
* Do I have enough automation and effects on the track?
* Is my track completely in key?
* Any fades outs needed?
* Is my track infringing on any prior piece of music uncredited?
* Have I listened to my track multiple times on different equiptment?
* Have I had several friends listen to my WIP to recommend changes?
* Is my final track eq'd or mixed effectively? Are there no remaining flaws?
* Is there enough reverb on the final track? Is it too clean? Is it organic enough?
* Is there any clipping? Am I relying on a limiter to mask poor mixing?
* Is my track loud and full enough (across all EQ freq)?
* If I am absolutely stuck at this point, take a break and come back in a week or two and repeat going through the checklist.
RELEASE
* Has the original artist heard the remix and given a thumbs up before it's release? (for remixes)
* Have I named it appropriately?
* Is the mp3 tagged correctly before the upload?
* Do I have art to go with the track? Is it credited and approved? Does it look good?
* Is my youtube 720p or above (HD) for better quality music? Is the art/pmv good? Is the thumbnail worth clicking on after the upload?
* Does it look and sound ok? (in stereo, no glitches or bad encoding)
* Have I credited and linked to any original? (for a remix) Have I linked back to the original via a youtube video response?
* Have I explained the concept behind the track in the description?
* Have I linked back to a working mp3 link?
* Have I uploaded this to all the places I upload my music to? (soundcloud, eqbeats, etc)
* Have I submitted this track to EqD, EqR, or any other periodical or website?
* If Eqd features my track have I given a secondary link if my download maxes out? (ie only 100 downloads for a free soundcloud account)
* Have I posted it on my own tumblr? On my own youtube playlist? As a featured video?
POST-RELEASE
* Did my friends/other musicians like it? Did people comment, favorite, or download?
* What was the positive and negative feedback? Justified?
* Did I gain subscriptions from this track?
* What would I have done differently? (add it to the checklist!)
* If feedback is poor should I re-do / VIP a new / better version?
* Listen to your track a month later, do you still like it? Are you proud of it?
Lemme know what you think I may be missing or what ya think...
lol
