How do you handle revisions?

[slo77y]

hey guys!

how do you handle revisions? i think its normal that a band want a couple of changes here and there. but you all know the one asshole per band, that constantly wants to change things, mostly focussed totally on his own instrument (only comment he will make about other instruments is that they are too loud, 'burying' his instrument)

currently, i charge xy per song. the situation is that usually this works out because ppl want some changes, and most of the time its not that big of a deal. so i dont charge extra for revisions.


one band i currently work with has a member, that constantly is unhappy with his sound. he wants it EXACTLY like reference xy, not bothering that its a different kind of music and band, and that everything else has to bend around him. i wrote them a really long email, where i explained things like fletcher munson curve (he is ONLY judging in his car at a very loud level), masking, compression, headroom etc. really explaining all that stuff that makes it impossible to have a "drumsound like xy coupled with a guitar sond from yz" etc. you know what i mean.


i dont wanna loose em, because im havin fun with their music, but i think i can´t handle the constant (senseless) revisions, that make the mix only worse. it drives me crazy. i took a couple days off to A/B the versions, and the initial mix still sounds the absolute best.


im getting the impression that sometimes, a band cannot believe what u delivered is already as good as it will get, they just HAVE to get involved in the mix and changing things around, to (often) come to the conclusion that it was good the way it was in the first place. its such a waste of (unpayed) time in my opinion.


im charging really low with these guys, but i think i will charge them hourly from now on, lets see if i loose them.



how do you handle crap like this?

 

[Heabow]

Once I worked with a band and when the mix was done, the guitarist wanted to change the guitar tone! So I had to reamp the track and redo the mix! It was a pain in the ass! So now, I lock these kind of stuff from the start (it is written in the contract of course):

First, I make it perfectly clear that the mix includes 2 revisions. After that, I charge every change.
Second, I explain how I work. I let them know that once a step is valided by them, we cannot go back.
During the mix, I send them one rough mix with basic sound of drums, bass and main guitars to show the direction I'd like to take. At that moment, they can say if they like the overall sound or if they want another type of guitar tone for example.
Once this step is agreed. I start mixing the songs and send them a second version with vocals and arrangements (in general there is no automation yet). Again, I invite them to let me know what they think.
Finally, I send a third version that is definitive to me. That's exactly how I think the song has to sound. From that moment, the band has 2 revisions possible. But it is clear that the guitar tone is done, the drum sound is done, etc. So the revisions are about levels, pans, effects, automations...

Usually, eveybody is happy after the first revision with that way. And when a guy wants shitty change to make his shitty ego happy - even if I show him why it's not good for the song in my opinion, I make what he wants and I take his money ahah!

 

[slo77y]

thats kind of the way i work, too; without making it clear. it just works out like that most of the time, so i do get away with not chargin hourly. but this one really is a kind of its own... he will say things like "the bassdrum on song XY is better", despite i have changed NOTHING to the bassdrum or any chain that comes afterward. its just that the song around the bassdrum has changed, and that leads to him thinkin, it itself has changed. im talking about a person that really has NO room for compromise. with your buisness model, he would tell you "you have changed the bassdrum sound, i wont pay you fixing it" in the end, despite you didn´t.

otherwise, thanks for your post. i think i´ll have to make things like that clear from the beginning from now on.