Anyone still making a LIVING off recording W/a STUDIO?!

[SkybluestudiosBEN]

Been a couple months since I have checked into the forum. In this last while I have not been so busy recording bands, I had to give up my own studio which was professionally built out and move into a smaller location with a friend. Ive been busy enough the last 4 years that I didnt even have to work a day job. It ruled. Now I find its getting difficult to make bands spend any money.........

I do lots of small hip hop work on the side but have not been busy at all with bands! Ive actually dipped into bartending and Djing to make money. Been over a month since I have recorded a drum set for cash.


So my question is who out there OWNS a studio (not home) and is BUSY? ARE YOU MAKING A LIVING OFF JUST THAT? And if you OWN A HOME STUDIO are you BUSY and making MONEY or just BUSY? I just want to see if its just me or a shitty economy.....or BOTH lol.


Hope all is well with you all.

 

[::XeS::]

I hoped to do it but I'm realizing it's wasted time. Record bands it's very time consuming and 80% of the times, when you work with unprofessional bands, they suck...and this thing make me feel very depressed during the work. Moreover the music is so under extimated actually and also the bands don't care about it so much.
I'm thinking to switch it in a mixing/mastering only job, but in a local scene it's very difficult because the bands want someone that does the whole thing.
Last but not least, every city has its own curve....years with lot of bands and years with very few bands so....it's very very difficult.
The studio rates are lower and lower...and you have to work every day if you want live with that...and sincerely, I can't work so many hours with assholes that can't play a single note...it's very frustrating and it ruins every good thing of this job.

 

[MetalSound]

i´m fine here. germany seems to have a lot of bands.

 

[vespiz]

We're not too busy, just making ends meet, but at least I have time for other things (such as recording keys for our next album etc..)!

Can't do this full-time yet..

 

[tempe]

I was working full time in my own studio, but now I'm just mixing from home and freelancing when a band wants me to track. Its similar to what Ermz is doing I think and I'm enjoying life much more, I absolutely despise tracking and I'm booked mixing for the next couple of months so its great! I'm working a couple of shifts in retail just to have some absolutely consistent income, but depending on how things go I might go back to full time.

 

[PhilTheBeard]

I work a 10-6 job six days a week on top of recording band's 6-7 days a week. pretty exhausting but it is almost to the point where i can live off the studio only.

 

[amarshism]

keep going, you and cj have something going on thats really good

 

[PhilTheBeard]

keep going, you and cj have something going on thats really good

Thanks dude. Yeah we are trying to get our name out there the best we can. None of it would of been possible without mister CJ's gift at violence

 

[LoudNoises]

I'm running a commercial place, it's not the busiest I have ever been but work is steady so I'm in the process of moving into a new bigger studio space.

Over the summer I have subsidised my studio income with a bit of tour work here and there and I have always done a little bit of live sound a couple of evenings a week!

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

Currently I'm supporting myself with my mixing and mastering studio, but due to some cancellations and delayed sessions I might have to pick up another job on the side to ensure I can keep afloat.

In my eyes the biggest problem are the cracked plugin kids and mindless price undercutting which has resulted in bands thinking it's not serious business. Really pisses me off.

 

[::XeS::]

+1

 

[DaveBlack]

I'm not the owner but we just moved into a bigger location. We actually pay less but the problem is it's not as developed as the old place. Trying to get levels with headphones on because you can still hear the drums is annoying.

I think it has something to do with the summer months. Generally people around here take vacations down the shore and less people record and write music so it gets rocky.

I did just have a customer cancel because of the "my friend said he can do it for $40" bullshit. Here I am with the ability to use a great live room, ssl x logic converters and an arsenal of mic's and it means absolutely nothing. Yeah, it's one band but thank god I don't actually own the studio because everyday i find myself gravitating towards going back to school to learn a trade lol. The days of me believing I can do it for a living have been going further and further out the window.

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

I did just have a customer cancel because of the "my friend said he can do it for $40" bullshit. Here I am with the ability to use a great live room, ssl x logic converters and an arsenal of mic's and it means absolutely nothing. Yeah, it's one band but thank god I don't actually own the studio because everyday i find myself gravitating towards going back to school to learn a trade lol. The days of me believing I can do it for a living have been going further and further out the window.

Maybe we should start a CYBER WARRIOR SQUAD, busting everyone who uses cracked software and doesn't pay taxes

 

[CatharsisStudios]

i stay slammed.

 

[Charles J]

Thanks dude. Yeah we are trying to get our name out there the best we can. None of it would of been possible without mister CJ's gift at violence

hehehe, thanks man =D

but yeah, we get a lot of interest from bands but it's the really good ones that pull through and actually MAKE it happen down here in ol' sunny FLORIDA!

 

[Mattayus]

I was almost there once upon a time, now I'm not, and am currently looking for another job to pay the way and go part-time with mixing again. I need funding, really, to push it to the next level and open my own place for tracking/rehearsal space, and get more gear, as all my earnings from mixing go in one hand and out the other so I can never actually "save" for anything, or put money back into the business. So until loans/funding happen I'm just totally stuck in a cycle, may as well do it for free at this rate. Bad times.

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

So until loans/funding happen I'm just totally stuck in a cycle, may as well do it for free at this rate. Bad times.

You're already working for £35 per mixed song... You need to raise your rates quite a bit if anything :zombie:

 

[::XeS::]

I take 100€ for a mixed song... if I have to work for nothing I would earn much more selling all my gear

 

[crillemannen]

To be able to stay alive in sweden i'd say you need to charge about 3-400$ a day and be booked 3-4weeks very month. And that is not impossible by any means but building up a brand/business name takes time. I have a job on the side, to have some stability.

 

[Mattayus]

You're already working for £35 per mixed song... You need to raise your rates quite a bit if anything :zombie:

No don't panic, that's not my normal rate at all! That's like a "super-mega-checkthisout-introductory" rate that I had because I had a name-change and website made etc, so it was to entice new business. It's going back up to the old rate next month!

It was actually ok at that price for the last few weeks because it attracted a lot of business and got me some attention, but now I'm feeling the pinch.