Today’s episode is a mix of the usual podcast format and a new video that you can also find on YouTube. The topic? Backup plan for music production. Now, I understand that backup isn’t the most exciting topic, but trust me, it’s crucial. Losing your creative output, your ideas, and the work you’ve put in years to produce can be devastating. Today, I want to share my detailed and effective backup strategy to help you save your precious music production files.
More about the episode “Essential Backup Plan for Music Production”
Why Regular Backups Are Essential
Human Errors
We’re all human, and mistakes are part of the process. Every so often, what you think you won’t need again can become essential later. A regular backup would safeguard against inadvertent deletions and loss of valuable recordings.
Computer Errors
Computers, whether they’re running Windows or macOS, can fail. Hard drives, SSDs, or even entire systems can crash. Imagine losing your main session drive where all your audio recordings reside! Regular backups protect against such unforeseen technical failures.
Bad Intentions
Today’s interconnected world exposes us to various online threats, from hackers to malware. Even if your music computer is connected to the internet, precautions like frequent backups and securing your network are crucial.
Uncontrollable Events
Natural disasters like fires, floods, or lightning strikes are beyond our control. They can destroy your equipment and data. Regular backups ensure that your creative work is safe and sound.
Soft vs. Worst Cases
A soft case of losing data might just ruin your last recording session. A worst-case scenario like losing an entire album or your lifelong collection of music files can be catastrophic. Hence, having a solid backup strategy is priceless.
What Is a True Backup?
A truly secure backup only exists if it’s available three times. The computer community often says: “A truly secure backup exists only if it is available three times.” That means having your data copied in three different locations.
- Main Data Location: Your primary storage space.
- Local Backup: A local external hard drive.
- Remote Backup: A cloud-based or offsite storage solution.
Key Elements to Backup plan for music production
- Session Files: These are your raw recordings and project files—irreplaceable.
- Sample Files: Stockpiling over time, these become integral to your sound.
- Plugin Settings: Custom settings for your digital audio workstations (DAWs) can be difficult to recreate.
- System Settings: The configuration of your macOS or Windows operating system.
Backup Storage Options
- Internal Drives: An additional drive within the same computer.
- External Drives: Connecting via USB, Thunderbolt, etc.
- Network Attached Storage (NAS): Secured within the same building or a different location.
- Cloud Storage: Encrypted for additional security.
Levels of Backup Strategy
Minimum Level
A one-to-one copy of your files to an external storage device.
Better Level
A one-to-one copy plus incremental backups that retain data for a specified amount of time before deleting old files.
Top Level
Three copies, including cloud storage. For instance, one copy in your local system, one on an external NAS, and another encrypted copy in the cloud.
Creating Your Own Backup Plan
- Define Critical Files: Prioritize what must be backed up.
- Storage Allocation: Determine how much backup space you need.
- Backup Types: Decide where to place your one-to-one and incremental backups.
- Scheduling: Set a specific timeline for regular backups, automated if possible.
Personal Backup Strategy
Below are the critical steps I follow to ensure my backups are bulletproof, shared for you to tweak according to your needs:
1. Critical File Types:
- Session files
- Sample files
- Video files for content creation
- Settings and plugins of the DAWs
2. My Storage Utilization
- Session Files: 2TB SSD
- Sample Files: 1TB SSD
- Video Files: 1TB SSD
- System Drive: 0.5TB
3. Backup Methods
- Incremental Backup: Apple Time Machine (MacOS users)
- One-to-One Copy: Carbon Copy Cloner for local and network drives.
- NAS Storage: Synology NAS with Hyper Backup for external and cloud storage.
Summary and Final Tips
- After Every Session: Backup your files immediately.
- Regular Backups: Schedule backups to another place, away from your music room.
- Cloud Storage: Encrypt your files before uploading.
- Automate: Use software to automate backups but check regularly to ensure everything is working.
Having a detailed and robust backup plan in place provides peace of mind. While it won’t prevent all bad situations, it will safeguard your invaluable creative work. Start small—ensure at least one backup today—and gradually expand to a comprehensive backup strategy. By doing so, you’ll secure your life’s work in music production. Stay creative, stay safe, and never lose your data again.
If you have any questions or need further guidance, drop a comment or reach out on social media. See you in the next episode—stay tuned and keep creating!
Chapters
- Final Tips for Effective Backups (32:37)
- Introduction (00:00)
- Why Regular Backups are Essential (02:22)
- Defining what to back up (06:26)
- Prioritizing Your Files (10:09)
- Backup Storage Options (12:17)
- Creating a Backup Plan (17:56)
- My Backup Strategy (20:54)
