How much work do you get?

[digitaldeath]

Hey guys, just a couple of interesting questions.

1. How much work are you getting (specify if you have your own studio or if you're a bedroom mixer).

2. Do you own your own studio premises or are you renting?
2a. If renting, how to you get by when you've had a quiet month?

3. What do you do to generate business?

4. Tax! Do you try to avoid the taxman or are you 100% legit?
4a. Do you try to avoid paying tax when it comes to small jobs?

5. Any other tips?

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

1. bedroom, but there is no bed in here.
2. Rent
2a. I have a day job, this is also where I live.
3. Nothing, seriously nothing. Bands just come to me.
4. 100% legit, this includes software and all that fine shit.
4a. Not sure what you mean.
5. Don't suck or cost to much and bands will come to you.

Oh and to the question in your header: I pull anywhere from 1-3 bands a month, some returning some first timers. I'm currently booked through may and partly into june.

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

1 & 2. "Bedroom" mixer (our rented flat has a spare bedroom which I use as my mixing room, no beds here either) and a freelance engineer.
3. Do my job well. When a band leaves happy, they will tell their friends and more often than not it means more business.
4. 100% legit. Taxes, software, everything. I don't want to try and save a couple of pennies to a) get hit by massive consequences b) get a shady reputation.
5. Value your own work. Even if you think your work isn't up to par with what you should earn for your trouble, you should always get compensated for your time and effort. There aren't any crap car mechanic shops that give away free car repairs just because they're a new company.

How much work do I get? That varies greatly. The first two months of this year were really quiet, last month I had some work and now I'm booked solid (damn near being overbooked :/) at least until the beginning of July.

 

[Matula]

1. Right now I have a lot of work. I'm mixing and mastering 3 full albums and 1 EP (Bedroom). Also, every weekend I get to mix a live show. By the way, this may 6 I will be mixing the opening act for Megadeth in Caracas. Will post pics soon.

2. For tracking I rent. For mixing/mastering I do it in my bedroom, which is actually pretty big.
2a. I also work part time at a radio station and have a small PA for rent.

3. Bands just come to me after checking out other bands I've worked with.

4. I'm in the process of making it legit.
4a. Hope not.

5. No matter how good (or bad) your work is, there will always be some people saying you suck. Never listen to them and do the best you can do.

 

[Ermz]

1. Used to vary greatly. This year it's pretty much solid through, towards the end of the year. Several full lengths are in progress and on the horizon. I set my own schedules though so I'm usually able to squeeze in more projects, unless it's physically impossible to make it happen.

2. Rent.
2a. Always keep money in reserve.

3. I just work and try to make every new project my best. It's a word of mouth industry, anything else you do is just secondary.

4. Every project is invoiced and noted in the cash book, with offset expenses written off. All of it is accounted for in the end of year income report.

5. About what?

 

[if6was9]

1 -I track in a dining room in my house- I'm the only person that uses the room and its entirely for music and mix in my bedroom. Really looking to find a better solution though- I could really do with a bigger mix room and the room I track in while not being the worst room acoustically it isn't ideal. I've got very understanding housemates but I won't get away with this forever. As with the other guys it varies- Right now its 1-3 projects a month. Getting mostly albums at the moment which is good since they usually end up taking all my free time for a few weeks.

2 I work where I live so while I'm renting I'm not paying any extra, on the look out for a place at the moment and they are expensive. Best solution in Ireland is to live outside a city in a normal bungalow and adapt it to your needs. It's the cheapest and most viable option, it's the conclusion I've come to and a souple of industry heads here have told me the same.

3 At first I myspaced bands I wanted to work with, got a few bands demo's done and since then people have come to me. I could do with more self promotion- hell I haven't even updated my studio myspace/soundclick in about 6 months. I've got a great situation though in that I work as a live engineer in a venue in town so I'm constantly meeting bands and I do get work like that. Bands already have a face to put to the name and when they're convident in you as a live engineer they know you know what you're on about with sound.

4 I don't use any Illegal software but I don't pay tax. I'm not legit in that way but I can't afford to register as self emplyed and pay tax. You loose an awful lot of entitlements in ireland by being self employed with the government and it's very hard to get a loan. I'd love to pay tax but to be honest it would cripple me financially. I make a living as a sound engineer( between live and recording) though and I don't draw the dole.

5 Make everything as easy and relaxed for the bands as possible, while still being thorough and keeping things to your standards. Almost every band that comes to me has told me horror stories of other studios and commented on how easy it was recording with me and I get alot of return business, almost every band I've recorded has either some back to record with me, or tried to but I didn't have the time to do their projects.

 

[monolithsound]

1. About a project a month. My studio is in a commercial property.

2. I lease the property.
2a. My rent is cheap enough that I don't have to worry about not covering costs.

3. Word of mouth.

4. In the process of becoming a legit business.
4a. Not anymore.

5. Require deposits to book time. Don't give out rough mixes.

 

[PhilTheBeard]

not enough work....... yet

 

[::XeS::]

In a legit way, here in Italy, if you do a 500€ work, the state takes 250€ of taxes...at the end of the year you earn less than 50% of what you initially earn.
So, if you wanna do something 100% legit you have to work continuosly if you wanna live only doing that job because you have to earn more doing more bands or you have to raise the rates to compensate.
So, if for example you take 250€/song and this month you do only a 5 songs ep, you earn 1250€, minus taxes it becomes 600/650€ and you can live with these. And this is if you do at least one band/month because if you have some unbooked period, you're last.
If you've also a day job it's quite different...but you've to see the pro and cons to have a day job and have another job where you have to work a lot and pay lot of taxes.

 

[John_C]

In a legit way, here in Italy, if you do a 500€ work, the state takes 250€ of taxes...at the end of the year you earn less than 50% of what you initially earn.
So, if you wanna do something 100% legit you have to work continuosly if you wanna live only doing that job because you have to earn more doing more bands or you have to raise the rates to compensate.
So, if for example you take 250€/song and this month you do only a 5 songs ep, you earn 1250€, minus taxes it becomes 600/650€ and you can live with these. And this is if you do at least one band/month because if you have some unbooked period, you're last.
If you've also a day job it's quite different...but you've to see the pro and cons to have a day job and have another job where you have to work a lot and pay lot of taxes.

You have 50% tax on any earnings????

 

[::XeS::]

Not really...but at the end of the years you give away the 52% or 53% of all your "incomes". So...for example my 1250€ work, I earn 1250€ - 20% (vat) = 1000€. and at the end of the year you have to pay the 50% of what you earn in the year. Moreover we have a stupid system and we have to pay annual taxes based on the past year. So if the last year you worked much more than this year, you pay taxes based on the past year because "if the last year you worked so much, this year you have to work AT LEAST like the past year!"...and if you declare less than the past year, you're "under ubservation". The 90% of the times they do nothing...but it's a stupid law, because often you do the invoices but clients don't pay immediatelly so you pay lot of taxes on works you've not cash yet.
It's a sick system because it push everyone to do part of illegit work. And you pay lot of taxes (like scandinavian states) but we have 0 services, 0 welfare, etc...
So, this is the reason why before doing something legit here, you have to have lot of clients (expecially doing these jobs).

 

[jval]

1. full time, 7 day weeks
2. rent. 2a. studio bank account is a revolving line of credit so even if there's no money I could still pay for it.
3. 100% word of mouth... I just make sure I don't put anything out that sucks.
4/5. legit.

 

[Mikaël-ange]

In a legit way, here in Italy, if you do a 500€ work, the state takes 250€ of taxes...at the end of the year you earn less than 50% of what you initially earn.
So, if you wanna do something 100% legit you have to work continuosly if you wanna live only doing that job because you have to earn more doing more bands or you have to raise the rates to compensate.
So, if for example you take 250€/song and this month you do only a 5 songs ep, you earn 1250€, minus taxes it becomes 600/650€ and you can live with these. And this is if you do at least one band/month because if you have some unbooked period, you're last.
If you've also a day job it's quite different...but you've to see the pro and cons to have a day job and have another job where you have to work a lot and pay lot of taxes.

Because it's a bussness and you are your own boss. If you have an other day job and for exemple you are paid 10euros/hours, your boss pay 20euros/hour for you in fact
It's the same on France, Germany...etc. Everywhere in Europe.

 

[::XeS::]

Yes of course, but every State has his own taxes. For example, some State has a big tax pressure, but there are free university, totally free Sanitary system,etc... if you have 53% of your income that goes away, you've also to pay everything and you don't uncharge nothing from you daily costs.....it's hard. It's hard expecially if you have to create your own business and clients.

 

[ahjteam]

If talking about livemixing, I would have work for 350 days a year if I would be willing to relocate and be a slave.

 

[kev]

You have 50% tax on any earnings????

Same in the UK tho really dude, about a 33% of wahetever you earn in (NI & Tax) then you have the wonders of VAT on anything you want to buy anyway at 17.5% lol

 

[Mikaël-ange]

Yes of course, but every State has his own taxes. For example, some State has a big tax pressure, but there are free university, totally free Sanitary system,etc... if you have 53% of your income that goes away, you've also to pay everything and you don't uncharge nothing from you daily costs.....it's hard. It's hard expecially if you have to create your own business and clients.

I understand and disaprove. It's same system on Franceuke:
Sometimes I feel it would be better to simply didn't be your own boss

 

[professorlamp]

1. 2 bands a month average/bedroom mixer
2. Own my own setup
3.I ask around my mates if they know about any bands, then I usually check them out on their site and message them if they're not awful
4. I'm mostly legit, and what isn't legit I dont use on their projects
5. Make sure they're aware of your prices!

 

[::XeS::]

I understand and disaprove. It's same system on Franceuke:
Sometimes I feel it would be better to simply didn't be your own boss

It depends....I mean if you regularly work and you can apply good rates, it's ok. If you wanna start and you don't have enough clients it's very hard. This is the reason why here (and maybe also in France) it's very hard to start in a legit way. It's like a dog that try to eat his tail.... if you don't start, no one knows you, if you start in a legit way you istantly fail so you have to start in a non-legit way to let the bands know you and your rates. Very sad expecially if you don't like to be non-legit.

 

[AllanD]

1. Bedroon, about a band per month.

2. Neither, I do either at their house or they rent a space, usually a church room or a neighborhood rec center.

3. Myspace messages work, a couple are word of mouth.

4. I don't make shit, therefore I don't pay it.

5. Don't undercharge