Lets say a band contacts you and asks you for a few of your samples, and they don't write back right away. Do you ever follow up like a week later and ask em what they think of the recordings or if they're interested in recording with you? or do you just wait for them to get back to you and if they don't they don't
Follow ups with Bands
- Thread starter topsoul182
- Start date
If I was calling a shop asking for their prices on that awesome guitar I found on the net. I wouldn't like them to call me back a week later wondering if I have bought it from them yet.
If they're interested they will get in touch with you again.
If they're interested they will get in touch with you again.
Jarkko Mattheiszen
The FU guy.
I get this all the time. Not asking for samples, though, as usually anyone who contacts me has already heard my work and wants to work with me. Often after replying them with a quote, a run-down of my schedule and available dates and saying I'll gladly take the job, I never hear from them again. It irritates me to no end, but I don't follow up since I take it the band wasn't happy with the price or they just changed their mind and aren't interested.
I almost sent a follow-up email recently because the material was right up my alley and I actually really wanted to do the album. I was even willing to give a pretty nice discount beacuse the stuff was so good, but never heard back from them after the initial "will you do this" e-mail. I decided against it in the end, figuring they would've gotten back to me if they wanted to.
Then again, it's always possible the e-mail was never even received, so I really, really hate it when people don't bother replying even with a simple "Sorry, we're not interested after all." Instead, I wonder if I'm doing this gig or not for a week or so.
I almost sent a follow-up email recently because the material was right up my alley and I actually really wanted to do the album. I was even willing to give a pretty nice discount beacuse the stuff was so good, but never heard back from them after the initial "will you do this" e-mail. I decided against it in the end, figuring they would've gotten back to me if they wanted to.
Then again, it's always possible the e-mail was never even received, so I really, really hate it when people don't bother replying even with a simple "Sorry, we're not interested after all." Instead, I wonder if I'm doing this gig or not for a week or so.
egan.
daylightdies.com
...But lots of shops do just that (and car dealerships will call you once a month for the rest of your life). I don't see any harm in sending a polite follow up email a week or so later.
jipchen
ForesterStudio
+1
It's especially annoying because I don't reply with my pricelist only, but detailled information on how long I think it might take, a possible order of events when tracking, etc. and it takes some time. No answer..I'd like to know why they changed their mind, though.. was it because I was too expensive? I don't think so
I never get asked for samples, so that can't be it. I guess they just go with the friend who recently got a POD and records their whole album for $10 uke:Yeah I hate it. I don't get a whole lot of work so when the opportunity comes up I get all excited to do it but then a week goes by, then a month and I hear nothing from the band. I just want that "were not going to work with you" so I know I can move on. My most recent one was "your prices are awesome and we are definitely considering recording with you" and I reply a few hours after their email and nothing back
Jarkko Mattheiszen
The FU guy.
+1
Exactly. It might sound stupid, but I actually put quite a bit of time in answering the emails. I want to give a profesionnal impression and make sure the artist understands I'm actually interested in the project and willing to work together.
If things won't change, I'm gonna have to change to the "$2000, let me know when you want to start, thx" e-mail template like so many have already done
dontletmedrown
Producer/Composer
- Jul 8, 2006
- 259
- 0
- 16
That's happend a few times here where six or more months have gone by and I've pretty much assumed that I didn't get the job, then out of nowhere they call and schedule it. I have one potential project right now that is the exact same situation. I think it's because some people call before they've started saving up the cash. No biggie though- people have busy lives and lots of people are having financial issues right now.
Ermz
¯\(°_o)/¯
Yeah, +1 to Jarkko and jipchen. I get this all the time. One of the biggest things on my mind lately has been how to minimize loss with time-wasters like that. It's just way too common, and eats into a significant chunk of time that could be used doing more productive things.
One thing I find so bizarre is the lack of any rationalization. 90% of the time they simply just don't respond. Something as easy as 'sorry, you are out of our pricerange.... sorry our recording schedule changed.... sorry, your lead time is too long for us etc.' would do great. It would set things in order, and let me at least know the band acknowledged receiving my detailed projection, whether or not they decided to act on it.
One thing I find so bizarre is the lack of any rationalization. 90% of the time they simply just don't respond. Something as easy as 'sorry, you are out of our pricerange.... sorry our recording schedule changed.... sorry, your lead time is too long for us etc.' would do great. It would set things in order, and let me at least know the band acknowledged receiving my detailed projection, whether or not they decided to act on it.
JeffTD
Senhor Testiculo
Is it Graveslut?
Those guys have tried to book with me three times now, and have every single time, without fail, missed the deadline for the booking downpayment and then not contacted me for 6 months.i always write bands after not hearing from them for 1 week after first contact.
i try to treat every band as individuals and describe how i work so they understand what they get when workign with me.
i always end up writing an email for liek 20 minutes, reread, try to be as clear as possible.
if i receive no answer (thats mostly after talking about money...)
ill get back to them after one week, asking if they got my mail.
after that 9 out of 10 times they are either like : we thought youd work for 20 $ per song,
or : we found someone else who does it 4 less...
messages get lost, especially when dealing with bands. your talking to 4 or 5 individuals, one might read the message,
but not forward it, then be gone for holidays for 3 weeks... whatever. id always ask after first contact,
what they think. it can only help you improve your business.
i try to treat every band as individuals and describe how i work so they understand what they get when workign with me.
i always end up writing an email for liek 20 minutes, reread, try to be as clear as possible.
if i receive no answer (thats mostly after talking about money...)
ill get back to them after one week, asking if they got my mail.
after that 9 out of 10 times they are either like : we thought youd work for 20 $ per song,
or : we found someone else who does it 4 less...
messages get lost, especially when dealing with bands. your talking to 4 or 5 individuals, one might read the message,
but not forward it, then be gone for holidays for 3 weeks... whatever. id always ask after first contact,
what they think. it can only help you improve your business.
dontletmedrown
Producer/Composer
- Jul 8, 2006
- 259
- 0
- 16
Is it Graveslut?
Haha. I was referring to a different band, but yeah them too.
jipchen
ForesterStudio
Yeah, I guess the only way to minimize timeloss is by writing a PDF for everything. I have a studio-checklist like yours, a mixing/reamping checklist, a pricelist with detailled descriptions and even a 5-page PDF about a possible order of events in the studio. Thing is, I don't want to flood bands with all those PDFs because they won't read them then and it's rather unfriendly. A FAQ would be great but most of them will ignore it anyway and it's pretty unpersonal
So I end up telling the same shit again and again.. (I do send the checklist + pricelist, though). I think they expect a detailled and personal answer, but at the same time don't feel the need for a short "not interested, thanks".
By the way, I wrote the last band I got no answer from after 16 days. Now they replied and want to record a full album this summer. Haha, we'll see where this gets.
Jarkko Mattheiszen
The FU guy.
By the way, am I the only one who's getting a lot of "we love your work, but unfortunately we can't afford that much" replies lately? I consider myself extremely affordable, my rates are publicly posted on my website, I'm happy to give a bit of a discount for independent bands, and I still get that that surprised "oh, that much..." reply pretty often. Is the usual rate for mixing a full-length $400 or something now?
jipchen
ForesterStudio
Nah I only get "dude your mixes suck and you still want this much???"By the way, am I the only one who's getting a lot of "we love your work, but unfortunately we can't afford that much" replies lately? I consider myself extremely affordable, my rates are publicly posted on my website, I'm happy to give a bit of a discount for independent bands, and I still get that that surprised "oh, that much..." reply pretty often. Is the usual rate for mixing a full-length $400 or something now?
Now seriously, what I get is "we wanna record 12 tracks" *send pricelist* "oh well 5 tracks"
And I'm a fucking slut regarding my current prices
Will have to raise them significantly when I finish audio school and want to live from the income.. I can only imagine what it's like if the prices are actually fair.
Yeah I get this a bit, enough that when someone contacts me about booking until they actually arrive at my door its still not 100% on for me.
The pricing thing gets me too- sometimes I almost feel guilty charging bands as much as I do but I'm VERY cheap as it is. I often end up cutting bands deals because they always seemed shocked at how much these things cost. Of course when you break down how much you've spent on the gear to record their E.P it all gets a bit more realistic, not to mention your experience and time.
The follow up mail is a great idea for me, I recently had a CD duplication place do a follow up call after a quote and it really impressed me that they care that much about their business. If anything it shows the band you care, are driven and want their business.
The pricing thing gets me too- sometimes I almost feel guilty charging bands as much as I do but I'm VERY cheap as it is. I often end up cutting bands deals because they always seemed shocked at how much these things cost. Of course when you break down how much you've spent on the gear to record their E.P it all gets a bit more realistic, not to mention your experience and time.
The follow up mail is a great idea for me, I recently had a CD duplication place do a follow up call after a quote and it really impressed me that they care that much about their business. If anything it shows the band you care, are driven and want their business.
AudioGeekZine
arsehole know-it-all
definitely do a follow up a week later. If they don't respond and it's something you'd like to work on, then again a month later.
Keep a spreadsheet of contacts and the last time you followed up.
Keep in touch with the artists you worked with too. Make sure they know you want to work with them again.
Keep a spreadsheet of contacts and the last time you followed up.
Keep in touch with the artists you worked with too. Make sure they know you want to work with them again.
tempe
Captain Midnight
I usually follow up. On the pricing thing, 90% of the time the band that thinks your rates are to expensive (when you know they are not) are just not worth your time. They clearly have no idea about how much time and effort goes into making a record. Or just how long it can take to track. The amount of bands that say to me, "man there is now way we'll need 2 days to track guitars, our guitarist can do a whole song in like 30 minutes!" Comes to recording... and it takes 4 days.
Edit: My favourite one is when, they say you are to expensive then proceed to call other studios. Who are charging $5 - $10 an hour more than myself, and realize that yes I am cheap >.<
Edit: My favourite one is when, they say you are to expensive then proceed to call other studios. Who are charging $5 - $10 an hour more than myself, and realize that yes I am cheap >.<
AudioGeekZine
arsehole know-it-all
not band related but this just happened.
I sent a short "how are you, do you need any help?" followup email to one of the guys I did a Cubase lesson for in Feb. He was looking for monitors so I sent some links with recommendation to the store I admin. He spent $500 on monitors and when they arrive he wants me to do a proper studio install. Not bad for 1min of being nice.
I sent a short "how are you, do you need any help?" followup email to one of the guys I did a Cubase lesson for in Feb. He was looking for monitors so I sent some links with recommendation to the store I admin. He spent $500 on monitors and when they arrive he wants me to do a proper studio install. Not bad for 1min of being nice.
Ermz
¯\(°_o)/¯
I find a significant amount of my core business comes from people who opted for the cheap/backyard approach the first time, got burned, disliked the end product, and then wanted to do it properly the 2nd or 3rd time around. These are usually great situations, because the reality check mellows the artists out, and makes them amenable to different ways of doing things.
So if you miss out on one of those low-balling bands the first time around, don't fret too much, they might just come back to you in a few years a lot more willing to negotiate reasonably!
Of course there are artists out there who are realistic and reasonable from day one. Since those words don't generally characterize musicians as a whole, you can imagine they are quite rare, and generally turn into partnerships worth nurturing over time.
So if you miss out on one of those low-balling bands the first time around, don't fret too much, they might just come back to you in a few years a lot more willing to negotiate reasonably!
Of course there are artists out there who are realistic and reasonable from day one. Since those words don't generally characterize musicians as a whole, you can imagine they are quite rare, and generally turn into partnerships worth nurturing over time.
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