The problem with backing up is that it is boring and time-consuming, and as equipment has become more reliable over the years, we have become complacent about taking the time and trouble to do it. Then, when it all goes wrong, usually at the worst possible moment, you are left stranded. So instead of waiting for the big bang, why not put a backup strategy into place now? That way, when something goes wrong, which it inevitably will, it will only be a minor inconvenience rather than a catastrophic failure.
Backups Are Insurance
Backups are literally insurance, and like insurance, it's not interesting until you need it.
The democratisation of creativity means that the amount of data being created – recording sessions, demo sessions, video footage, sound design, interviews etc. – is growing exponentially, and with it, the task of managing that data. Nowadays, as a content creator, you’re required to act as a production company, publisher, PR company, and much more without all the tech support and back-office support that comes with larger organisations. If you’re serious about your creativity and especially if you are trying to make a career out of it, eventually, the question of keeping your data safe will arise, and by extension, your backup strategy.
You would not believe how many times we have heard someone say they have their entire upcoming project on a single hard drive without any form of backup. Needless to say, we find this crazy, especially given how volatile digital data is. Even amongst those who do have a backup, for the most part, it is usually only one copy of their projects sitting on their desk or an external hard drive that they carry around as they go about their life. This, however, would most likely not protect their data from a fire, flood, or similar disaster. In addition, it is doubtful if this so-called backup is even up to date.
What Is A Backup Strategy?
What is needed is a backup strategy, and next up, we are going to explore what that means and offer a broader perspective on the general topic of your backups. But as we show later on in this article, there is one key part of a backup strategy that people don’t bother with, which is an absolutely critical part of any backup strategy.
Is It Worth Backing Up?
Before we look at backup basics, there is one topic we rarely consider that is worthy of highlighting, and that is how much you care about your data.
This is an essential question to ask yourself before developing a backup strategy. To answer it, consider these two factors…
The emotional value of your data - How would you feel if you were to lose some or all of your projects?
The monetary value of your data - How much did it cost you to gather those projects? (time is also a factor)
When you break it down usually, the value of your data (projects) is a combination of both emotional and monetary.
Backup Basics
In the tech world, things are always changing. Technology and the rules we apply to that technology are in constant flux as new technology arrives.
However, there are some rules that are timeless because they still make A LOT of sense, irrespective of how technology changes! One of the most important timeless rules for surviving in today’s technical jungle is the 3-2-1 backup rule, which says…
3. Have at least three copies of your data
2. Keep these backups on two different media
1. Store one backup offsite
There is no doubt that backing up is easier than ever. However, despite the 3-2-1 backup rule’s simplicity, many people continue to ignore it and lose their data because they were unprepared. Following the 3-2-1 backup rule is easy. Here’s how it works:
3. Have At Least Three Copies Of Your Data
Two isn't enough if it's important. You should have at least three copies, meaning your original data and at least two backups. It’s obvious that the more copies of your data you make, the less risk you have of losing everything. If you have only one additional copy of your data, AT LEAST make sure it’s located in a different physical location from the original (more on this later).
2. Keep These Backups On Two Different Media
Having several backups of your data and keeping them on the same type of storage doesn’t make sense. Why? Because if you buy two hard drives at the same time and the same model, chances are they will fail around the same time. For example, disks from the same RAID are statistically dependent, and often, after one disk failure, you might experience the failure of another disk from the same storage in a short period. That’s why the 3-2-1 rule suggests that you keep copies of your data on at least two different storage types. Mix and match to have the best statistical chance of keeping your data safe, one internal hard disk copy, one on a removable storage device, which is a different make and model to your internal drive and one in the cloud.
1. Store One Backup Offsite
Picture this, your home or studio gets broken into. The first thing the thief grabs is your computer and the external hard drive sitting right next to it. That backup isn't going to do you any good now, as you have now lost the original and the on-site backup. That's why you should always have one offsite backup, and offsite means as FAR AWAY as possible. This is much easier now than ever, with so many options for cloud storage. Your data is safe then, whether there is a break-in, fire or national disaster.
Automate It
However, with the 3-2-1 strategy, there is one element that is often overlooked, and that is…
The whole process needs to be automated.
This is especially important because, as human beings, we tend to make mistakes, so a good backup strategy is heavily dependent on the automation of the process. If you aren’t backing up your projects regularly (at least daily), you are still at risk of partially losing them. Avoiding any gap in continuity is paramount! But this isn’t the part that so many fail to include in their backup strategy.
It’s Not Going To Happen To Me
If you think this it’s too much work to get your own backup strategy going or that you think that you will not lose projects, here are a few reasons to consider before you make a decision.
Hard drive failure:
ALL HARD DRIVES WILL EVENTUALLY FAIL! Including SSDs
Here are some of the most common reasons…
Hardware failure (mechanical parts)
Dropped or destroyed (less of a problem with SSDs)
Data corruption
Electrical surge
Heat
Deleting files by mistake
Theft or loss
Catastrophic events
Ransomware
It's Not Always Just Your Data
One last thing to consider is thinking whether or not you are responsible for projects that are not yours or entirely yours (think of collaboration, you are rarely working on your own on a creative project).
SSDs And Storage Drives For Your Studio - Everything You Need To Know
These days we tend to back up to hard drives as the cost per GB makes them the best cost-to-performance option. In our updated Production Expert Buying Guide, SSDs And Storage Drives For Your Studio - Everything You Need To Know, we unpick the jargon, take you through the different options available and help you choose the best solution for your situation.
Backup Tips And Advice
Here are some observations that are all based on the real world…
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. For example, when I am on location recording projects before I finish for the night, I copy all the day’s recordings onto a second drive and then take that drive away with me at night and leave the work drive at the venue. That way, if something happens to me, the work drive will be OK, and if something happens at the venue, I have a copy with me. Also, I try to send one of the drives back from a remote job with someone else, just in case, something happens to me while travelling. It may sound paranoid, but it usually isn’t that difficult to arrange, and with the value of the project getting greater and greater with each extra layer, it can be a very sensible move.
Be extra vigilant if you are manually backing up files so that you don’t accidentally overwrite a newer file with an older version. It is surprisingly easy to do even with the computer warning you — you misread the warning message because you are in a hurry, and click, it’s gone!
Some people get their clients to buy drives to put their project onto, just as we would have expected clients to pay for tape in the past. You could consider getting clients to buy two drives so that you keep one and they keep one, thus giving you instant off-site storage for them and you. Check out our article Should You Be Using One Drive Per Client? to learn more about this tip.
Be wise with the way you name your files. Even in your Session, use sensible file-naming protocols so that when you come back to this Session in five years, you can make sense of the file names you used. Whatever you do, don’t leave your DAW to use generic file names such as Audio 1-03 and so on.
Cloud-Based File Transfer Services We Take A Look At Some Of The Best
The rise of cloud-based file transfer services has tracked the increasing speed of the internet. Add to this the way cottage-isation has changed this industry with more and more people working from home and needing to send and receive large media files, sessions etc., that need easy-to-use, secure and cost-effective solutions.
In our article, Cloud Based File Transfer Services We Take A Look At Some Of The Best, we take a look at the cloud-based file transfer services that we have come across as a team as well as others that have been recommended to us. For each provider, we have included some information about the services they provide, a summary of the pricing options and where we have comments and recommendations from users, these have been included.
A Survey Proves We Don’t Care
In June 2021, IMES and the Recording Academy’s Producers & Engineers Wing (P&E Wing) co-hosted a summit on International Archives Day entitled, “Protecting Legacies: The Art, Science and Value of Music Archives.” The purpose of the summit was to start an industry-wide conversation about the importance of educating artists and their teams about thoughtful music archiving. Safeguarding these precious collections will ensure they are able to realize the full value of future monetization opportunities. The virtual event featured stakeholders from all corners of the recorded music industry, including artists, producers, engineers, lawyers, publishers, and archivists.
Based on key topics raised at the summit, IMES created a survey, with input from the Recording Academy’s Producers & Engineers Wing (P&E Wing), with the intent to discover current trends and best (or worst) practices in audio archiving within the recorded music professional community. The survey was sent to 3,000 members of the P&E Wing and 11,000 subscribers of the Audio Engineering Society (AES), and they received responses from 10% of those surveyed, which in itself showed a lack of interest in backing up your data.
You can download an infographic showing the headline findings in this survey or a pdf which goes into more detail, but one finding stood out to us…
The most shocking finding in this survey is the response to the question, “How often do you check your backups to ensure they are still functional?” As you can see from the image above, 22% never check their backup strategy is working, which begs the question, “why bother?”
If you set up a backup strategy but never check it, how do you know whether it is working? If you don’t check it, you might as well not bother to have a backup strategy.
In Conclusion
It would seem that this survey and the comments we have heard ourselves back up the statement we started with…
“Backups are literally insurance, and like insurance, it's not interesting until you need it”
As equipment has become more reliable over the years, we have become complacent about taking the time and trouble to do it. Then it all goes wrong at the worst possible moment, and you are left stranded.
So instead of waiting for the big bang, why not put a backup strategy into place now? That way, when something goes wrong, which it inevitably will, it will only be a minor inconvenience rather than a catastrophic failure.
Finally, remember that the essential part of that backup strategy is to regularly check that the backups are still functional or it is completely pointless.