I think five would be good . Three is kind of enough to get going , but ten is quite a few . <| sep |> Recording costs are but a fraction When we ' re talking about a major label with a big name producer you ' d be surprised how much it can actually cost . Albums costing a half million or more to recordproducemaster are pretty common for big label artists . That ' s a pretty significant barrier to entry for any band looking to play in the major market by itself , even without addressing the cost of promoting and the benefits of networking . Even a band with a good local or regional following isn ' t going to be able to come up with a half million to record an album produced to the same quality . <| sep |> That becomes a different case entirely , yet there are people that think life is immediately at conception as an egg and sperm .