Establishing a Studio in the Local Scene

[MurderMachine]

As the title implies, what's a good way to go about attracting your first clients in the local scene with a new studio?

The ability to mix / master / record / edit / etc, etc, professionally at a reasonable price is an obvious one, but let's say that's taken care of and now it's time to bring in the musicians. I understand that for a lot of studios (as with most businesses I would guess) the establishment of their customers is most strongly dependent on word of mouth - and that's completely understandable. I would rather pick a studio that has worked with some of my friends / favourite bands than that random guy posting on my band's FaceBook wall regardless of the professionalism or cost, but my current problem is getting a studio to that stage.

Picture this: You have a great product at an acceptable price, but you have no clients yet. What do you do? Where do you begin?

It's obvious that even though one might deck their studio out with the most expensive shit in town, no one will care if they cannot demonstrate their use for it. But let's say you have enough material to show potential clients what your work is capable of. How do you attract your first customers to give your studio that snowballing "word-of-mouth" / "I love this band and the production they got at this studio" momentum?

Thanks!

 

[Andover]

Having your own band/project and doing shows, doing some favours for friends (maybe free for a while), and recording for free seemed to be best for me.

 

[Sloan]

Go to shows and talk to bands you like. Talk to your musician friends and just get your head in the scene. Problem I have is that there are not really any bands I WANT to record around here, so for now it's a hobby that makes me some cash here and there. Best thing to know is how to say NO. Don't waste your time.

 

[Audio X]

Initially It's best to network at shows, events , music stores,. music schools. whatever.,
Fliers and business cards can help but essentially you have to win them over with "the sound".
Maybe pass out cd's with your best stuff and once you get someone in the door .. make it count.
GL

 

[ArthurD]

Make a HYPE with facebook, youtube... network with shows, venues, bars, high schools, churches, whatever...
Do some events on you studio, If it is big enough.
Invite some GREAT local musicians and give them a FREE recording song, tape it, put on youtube.

 

[StefTD]

you could press mini cds or something like that with all your info on top as
listenable business cards, not cheap, but pretty special

A good Facebook page (ask your friends to like it, they may know bands
you don't know) is able to help alot in branches like this. And try to make
it professional, instagram photos for example are ok if you just use it while
tracking and want to show the progress or something like that, but good
photos are important.
Your business has to look professional so people know that you are professional.

 

[luismars]

As Fenixdoido said, the best thing you can do is record some dudes for free, some friend's band, making a demo contest or something and give the winner 3 songs free.

 

[Linerndunch110]

As Fenixdoido said, the best thing you can do is record some dudes for free, some friend's band, making a demo contest or something and give the winner 3 songs free.

^ This. Everyone loves to win free stuff. Just make it in a way where it works a profit in your you. Thats business.

Personally, Id track down 1 or 2 local "up and coming" bands that have some serious potential and that you really dig. A band you feel you can really bring something to the table. Tell them you would like to record a song or two for them, and help them out as they have a sound you think people will like etc.

This one or two groups will be your forerunners in getting the word out. youve helped them more then probably anyone so far in this stage of their band. Produce the SHITE out of the songs, and Work with the band to get a real good finished product. Now you have a band that will spread the good word of your professionalism, generosity, and GOOD NATURED moral business ethics. Personally that I think goes farther in the short run, where as your quality will help sustain the studio for the longterm.

 

[Charles J]

^ This. Everyone loves to win free stuff. Just make it in a way where it works a profit in your you. Thats business.

Personally, Id track down 1 or 2 local "up and coming" bands that have some serious potential and that you really dig. A band you feel you can really bring something to the table. Tell them you would like to record a song or two for them, and help them out as they have a sound you think people will like etc.

This one or two groups will be your forerunners in getting the word out. youve helped them more then probably anyone so far in this stage of their band. Produce the SHITE out of the songs, and Work with the band to get a real good finished product. Now you have a band that will spread the good word of your professionalism, generosity, and GOOD NATURED moral business ethics. Personally that I think goes farther in the short run, where as your quality will help sustain the studio for the longterm.

+1 to the majority of this. It really IS tough but this is the best way to go about it... similar to how I started but in my case my SOLO Side-Project, "G.O.R." which many may remember from back in the day really helped get my NAME out there. Not only was I writing back then but also an infant as far as my engineering abilities go but THAT stuff got around, even to some local bands...

and it's odd, my BEST FRIEND in the WORLD and Co-Owner/Engineer "The Beard"...well, HE had known me for years, heard my G.O.R. stuff and because at THAT point in time ALL I wanted to do was be strictly a MIX ENGINEER, his band had recorded a song with ANOTHER friend of mine and word got back around to me for the mix + master.

this was my FIRST PAID gig and, as a lot of you may know, look at what we've accomplished in 3 years.

It's part luck; being at the right place/right time.
But IMO, a MASSIVE web presence, if possible. Hop on all the forums you love, put a link to your studio in your signature, post frequent clips of your work in said forums/FB/etc..
and MOST IMPORTATNTLY..
..you must be EXTREMELY pro-active with the community. whether it be online or not.
Sometimes *I* can't believe some of the GOOD things have happened to me just because I thought to myself 'eh, screw, i'll message "xyz" person for "z" reason and hope for the best!

You'd be EXTREMELY surprised how you can really start making an impact. BUT. It takes time.

I'm talking 1-3 years at LEAST.......it's ALL about time.

May I ask, how long have you been doing this and would you mind posting some examples of your work? Maybe one of us could help or even be interested in working with you!

IMO, the local scene gets OLD and SHITTY REALLLLLLLLLL QUICK so I wouldn't count on it for any type of 'hype' unless you don't give a fuck WHAT or WHO you record... no matter how shitty, haha...

 

[ZanetheVocalist]

You guys have some really good points. One thing I'd like to add is its better to record for free than for peanuts. Don't offer to record for a ridiculously low price and end up shooting you and your local studios in the foot. DON'T compete with them on price too much. I made the mistake when I started up of offering to record a band for a deeply discounted rate. It was a "friend's" band and I really wanted them to succeed. Dude begged me to help him so I gave in. $20 an hour when I normally charge 30 now. What did they do? They decided to go down the street and record with a guy with no experience recording metal bands just bc he charges $45 an hour. People value what they have to pay for. When you're churning out pretty good shit like me and CJ, you can't afford to have your work undervalued.

 

[baalzebubba]

One of the biggest issues I've been dealing with is that most of the local musicians do not have appropriate funds for a real recording session at a fine studio or my project studio. It's similar to what we experienced in the video production business. Money is tight with the client. Expectation is based on what they've seen and heard, which came from very high dollar facilities. What they don't realize is that since many portions, almost all, of the video/audio process is real time. They look at the 5 minutes of play time without the understanding of the time multiplier that is necessary to polish their turds to acceptable quality. Sadly the video business went to entirely corporate client$ with checkbooks and budgets and our artsy time investment was relegated to our projects.

Here the local high quality, appropriate engineered rooms - mics - expertise, studios are attempting to stay booked by competitive pricing which places them at 2-3x the cost of the smaller project studios. The smaller project studios, most of them here, are mostly mid level prosumer gear like my own. In the past when I booked studio time for my own band, I'd go with the quality setup as the result was the quality level I expected. In the end, my perception was that the costs were relatively within range of each other considering the extra time and effort needed to fix issues/artifacts that were not evident at the higher end studio. Cost of production drove me into the building of my own project workshop.

That being said, I use my PM background to scope incoming projects and leave no wiggle room at my expense. (thank Kutulu I have a day job). Time & Materials or fixed price based on specific deliverable that someone approves at several milestones within the process. Otherwise dip-shit broke musician who expects the world for $9.99 will eat up my minimal margin, never be satisfied, and likely badtalk the experience.

The other alternative is I will offer to produce a cut for them with no upfront cost, but I retain full non-expiring authority to use, reproduce, or wipe my arse with the product. I keep the materials and masters, I will give them copies of source material if they provide media or pay T&M for the transfer. In the end they get something worthwhile to showcase that they can sound good and get bookings etc. I felt this was a good way to increase exposure while I increase my experience and catalog with a potential -if- the material is good, perhaps it will buy me a beer later. As the gent before mentioned about working for free instead of setting the cost scale low, couldn't agree more. Considering the amount of mileage a band can get from a well produced release, coming to a studio expecting a LP on a single budget could result in a poor end product which will shut doors for the band instead of opening opportunities. Lesson... if it's your release, be cheap with time or funds at your own peril.

So long winded as it were... As a business you want to make money. You want client$ not clients and musicians are notoriously broke and unrealistic with expectation and self worth. Now go forth and make them broke before they try to make you broke++

 

[MurderMachine]

There are some seriously good tips in here. Thank you all for your responses, they are much valued - definitely keep 'em coming!

May I ask, how long have you been doing this

I'd say almost a year now. But I haven't really started considering it as a professional hobby / potential career path until recently. The first few projects I worked on were just friends coming over that I'd record a demo for just because I had Cubase and an interface when nobody else did. It basically didn't entail much mixing, only recording stuff and stacking it on top of each other.

I'd say only until about a few weeks ago did I finally gain enough determination to run an official studio. Finally I made a production that I was addicted to.

and would you mind posting some examples of your work?

Here's my latest production (a clip from one of my own songs) that finally showcased my mixing at a level of personal satisfaction (this would be what I would now show potential clients): https://dl.dropbox.com/u/15029918/108 Off-Time Triplet Chorus Riff.mp3

And here is the first (and only) full-length I have worked on thus far:

As you can probably tell, my latest mix has come a long way. But hey, the customer was absolutely thrilled with the result, and that could not have made me any happier. Besides, this video now has over 8000 views with 119 likes and 10 dislikes, so I'm sure the client is not the only one who digs the production!

There are those few demos I mentioned earlier that I did for my friends as well, but they didn't exactly entail any actual mixing so I'll keep em out of here.

Again, thanks for the feedback!

 

[AntonioPetrole]

There are some seriously good tips in here. Thank you all for your responses, they are much valued - definitely keep 'em coming!


I'd say almost a year now. But I haven't really started considering it as a professional hobby / potential career path until recently. The first few projects I worked on were just friends coming over that I'd record a demo for just because I had Cubase and an interface when nobody else did. It basically didn't entail much mixing, only recording stuff and stacking it on top of each other.

I'd say only until about a few weeks ago did I finally gain enough determination to run an official studio. Finally I made a production that I was addicted to.


Here's my latest production (a clip from one of my own songs) that finally showcased my mixing at a level of personal satisfaction (this would be what I would now show potential clients): https://dl.dropbox.com/u/15029918/108 Off-Time Triplet Chorus Riff.mp3

And here is the first (and only) full-length I have worked on thus far: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1xUbVXmYTA

As you can probably tell, my latest mix has come a long way. But hey, the customer was absolutely thrilled with the result, and that could not have made me any happier. Besides, this video now has over 8000 views with 119 likes and 10 dislikes, so I'm sure the client is not the only one who digs the production!

There are those few demos I mentioned earlier that I did for my friends as well, but they didn't exactly entail any actual mixing so I'll keep em out of here.

Again, thanks for the feedback!

For only a year that mix sounds awesome dude, you should be very proud of yourself.

 

[MurderMachine]

For only a year that mix sounds awesome dude, you should be very proud of yourself.

Thank you!

 

[thefalloftheheretic]

I'm slowly building up a fan/client base in the small Southern town I live in. I did some free work for a friend of mine, then did some more work for the same guy and his brother, and my first big paid mix was recently completed.

 

[ShipwreckSoundWorks]

I recorded for free in the beginning, just a few bands here and there until I had a decent portfolio to keep attracting clients. I got in with the more popular bands in the game here, and word of mouth spreads like a wildfire, and then before you know it. Bam.
To get your first client actually in the studio:
Record some of your own stuff, if you can. Put all that up and start advertising it, and then make a facebook page with your portfolio on it. Advertise that, and maybe someone will pick up on it.

 

[Linerndunch110]

One piece of advice that should not be overlooked as well, is to stay open minded. DO NOT limit yourself to the "undergound" scene. That can absolutely be a focus or favorite of yours, but you would be missing out on a lot of profit on the radio pop zone.

Businessly speaking, if you can make beats, rappers and singer songwriters are where a lot of your revenue can come it. Ive always seen studios do staged costs, where say 50 an hour for straight studio time, 75 an hour for minor production, and 90 for full fledged production(where minor production would be you digging a bit deeper with the artist and tweaking the song a bit for a more "big label" track, and the major prod you act as a producer/manager). Obviously these are options discussed before studio time as to not step your clients toes if they dont want you to.

^
Ive been doing this a while now and it truly enables the clients to see why YOU bring something truly unique to the table, further establishing your name as a producer/artist, and not just some guy that hits record. note, it is much more beneficial with pop music.


Point is, pop music is where the money is. Do what need to get up and running and go from there. And dont forget, YOU are the reason people should record with you, not your gear, what YOU bring to the table that no one else can.

 

[MurderMachine]

And dont forget, YOU are the reason people should record with you, not your gear, what YOU bring to the table that no one else can.

Words to live by.

 

[Ice Man]

Tons of good advice in this thread. Another addition I'd like to include is make sure your demeanor is inviting and try to have as much fun as you can with each project. I've been arguably pretty successful in my local scene with my rink-a-dink home studio, but aside from whatever quality of work may or may not be speaking for itself, I think a large part of it is the ease of work for your client. Always be cool, always be open-minded, and always work to find a solution to make your client happy. Can't tell you how many people I know or people I have heard speak tell woes of being strung-out, or snapping on a client, or clients themselves relaying the information that their previous engineer was a douche. Now, we all know you're faced with some doosies in terms of ill-preparedness, ignorant comments, or unruly musicians, but it's the job and you'll save yourself a lot of headaches and probably encourage more return business if you're always pleasant and can shrug off the tomfoolery that will be present in nearly EVERY session. That doesn't mean get walked on, but I've heard, seen, and read about too many jerks who think they are entitled to snub their clients because they are the "hired professional." It's a job. It's nothing personal. Be nice. Learn from Roadhouse.

 

[Star Ark]

If you plan on earning a living 100% from recording/mixing I think you need to curb your expectations on the quality of artists you work with. I know a guy with a $200,000 debt to pay off his studio and to make it work he mainly records kids with parents paying for the time and even does things like editing and mastering doctors' and therapists' speeches and lectures, company seminar videos, makes videos and press packs and stuff like that so he can pay the bills. He tried working with all the scene bands and they never have much money, or don't pay the full amount, and they spread slander about him when they don't pay him the full amount and he refuses the masters. I see the same thing being a music teacher with a house to pay off, the great players who are the most enjoyable to teach always end up being the worst choice financially. Dudes in their 20's can be so dirty when it comes to money and responsibility. But if you are the best in the business and have the reputation then none of that should be a problem. If you have a real job do what the other guys said about recording a great up and coming band for free but if you need the money working for free is absurd.