9.2 Burning your music to CD, or creating an MP3
If you�ve read this far you should be well on your way to writing and producing songs in Tracktion. The only remaining question then is how to make your music available for others to hear and/or purchase. The two most popular means of distribution at this time (other than a record deal) are the venerable audio CD or Internet download. Both approaches have the advantage of being cheap and easy, so since this manual can�t tell you how to land a record deal, let�s have a look at what is involved in burning audio CDs and uploading music to the Internet.
To write CDs
At the most basic level you simply need a CD or DVD drive capable of burning audio CDs. Most modern PC and Mac computers come as standard with such drives. Typically, software for burning CDs will also be present. If your drive came without software however, or if you are just looking for an easy interface that is the common to both Mac and PC, then read the �iTunes� section below.
To distribute over the Internet
A good way of reaching a wide audience is to distribute music over the Internet. To get started you will need either some Web space, or alternatively an account with an on-line music hosting company. Whilst having your own Web-site will give you the maximum flexibility over how your music is presented, not to mention a place to post news about live performances or merchandise, using a dedicated music hosting company presents a far simpler approach. A Web search for �web hosting� or �music hosting� will provide you with some places to start seeking suitable providers. Once you have found a place to host your music on-line, you will need to look into audio compression software. Audio files tend to be large, and ill-suited to Internet distribution. A typical audio file will take few hours to download over a dial-up Internet connection, and even with DSL or cable Internet, the download time is not insignificant. The solution is to compress your audio with one of the many MP3 encoders. These encoders will reduce the file size to something in the region of a tenth of its original size, without too great a compromise on quality.
