To work for free or to not work for free....

[angryoldsoundguy]

What do you guys think about people in your area working for free?

If people work for free in your area, how has it affected the local market place?

Lastly, do you find that the value of recording work is directly tied to having some sort of prestige or a "name"? (ie: producer X, who played in band Y and has recorded band Z, regardless of how any of the projects that producer has done sounds)

I talked to a guy in a band the other day. He said he paid a producer $1000 per song for him to work in the band's studio for a couple months on their full length record. The irony is that a friend of theirs ended up recording and mixing the entire project for free.

I was thinking about this today and was wondering what your perspectives are.

 

[paladin shredder]

i don't work for free. most people that work for free are usually new to recording and just need the experience. in this case, you get what you pay for. but if there is some guy that thinks he's a big shot producer and can't deliver a good mix, then he won't keep a client base for long.

 

[[UEAK]Clowd]

i've offered free songs to some of the huge(r) bands in my area because it's worth it for the exposure. otherwise, fuck no.

 

[arv_foh]

never, I did two free songs when I was first starting out, that's it

 

[DanLights]

I've done some free work for friends. But I mean very close friends, as in BEST friends. Some people say "yeah I worked with these guys for free cause they're my friends" but they're just some dudes he sees maybe in a gig every month or so, you don't really know that people as well

So no, I don't work for free, only a couple times with very close friends, when half the gear was actually not mine but one of my friend's.

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

I've done some free work when starting out. You know, the usual reasons: to get my name out there, make contacts and get experience. Well, I still get inquiries about free work, and when I tell them "Unfortunately it was a one-time favor, but I would gladly book the studio for the project at 300€ per day including my fee and I can probably cut you a package deal for a bit cheaper, too" I usually get either "Oh, uh, we don't need anything that professional, you know, we'll just get someone else, thanks" or a straight up "Fuck off."

The guys doing it free don't really affect the business of those that already make a decent living out of engineering, but they are sabotaging their own future as professionals or even semi-pros, and making it harder for those that are starting out but who are still serious about it.

 

[The Unavoidable]

I don't really do anything for free, even if a friend wants to come over and record a song or two I still tell them to bring a a sixpack or something. It just shows that they have respect for my gear and my time.

 

[Ermz]

I've backflipped on this point a few times. I think what I've arrived at is that doing it when starting out is ok. After all it's just about the only way one can gain experience. It would make no sense charging for a service you can't guarantee the quality of.

After you've found your feet though it's important to start charging, even in modest amounts. Building yourself, your image and your self-respect up so you don't get trampled.

As Jarkko said, the ones doing free work for years only end up hurting themselves and other newcomers in the end. Nobody doing a sufficient quality of work would be inclined to give it away for free. It's a skillset, usually earned through many years of blood and sweat.

 

[nialldoran]

It would make no sense charging for a service you can't guarantee the quality of.

i have been working for free since, around july as ive only recently got my act together and started taking mixing alot more seriously, on the bussiness side of things i dont think people like me starting take any bussiness away from other producers who charge (i hope) cause anything ive done so far wouldve been badly mixed by the musicians who recorded it anyway, but im definatly starting to lose my mind doing this,

im torn between not spoiling a possible reputation in future for being a cheap guy, but i need all the experiance i can get, i dont feel my mixes are good enough to charge for yet, but this could be because the last two or three things ive mixed have been tracked by the musicans in their bedroom etc, and didnt really know how to get good recordings or didnt have great equipment, so as this forum has said many many times, you cant polish a turd :S , but because of the bad tracking and working for free ive always been kind of intimidated to post my mixes on this board because alot of you guys are fucking fantastic at what you do. and people only hear the final mix, not the comparison between what it originally sounded like and what i managed to squeeze from it, so its lose - lose at the moment for me,

EDIT: i just realised i was talking about mixing and alot of guys were talking about recording, i dont get much tracking experiance due to not having a space that i wouldnt feel embarressed bringing others into

 

[Lionwing]

Aww, bin all the spunky tissues then! Naw but have you looked into maybe renting a small space to work out of when you build up your gear and skills a bit more? Then you'd have a reason to start charging - to pay your rent! There are also a few well tracked songs that are floating around on this forum that you could use for mixing practice. There have been some cracking mixes made from them so you'd really be able to get your teeth into them. PM me if you want and I can send you what I've got.

 

[nialldoran]

yeah i have thought about renting a place cause right now im working from my bedroom in my mothers house (im 19 and still at college) but ill be moving to england (manchester funnily enough) next year to finish up my degree etc, so i dont know if moving space right now would be worth it,

thanks man ive got a few practice mixes from the forum but ill definatly send you a PM,

 

[Ermz]

Chances are it won't be.

I've seen rent overhead totally crush guys and send them into shutting down their business. Keep your overheads minimal for as long as you possibly can. Outfit your bedroom for mixing, and just freelance when it comes to tracking. Find cheap studios around, get to know the owners, get deals done and record bands out of their places.

 

[Seth Munson]

I actually budget myself one free day of work for every 3-6 months.

and I usually only do really big touring bands that are coming through and have an off day and the one free day that I do usually makes me thousands later because the band comes back or other bands hear the song I did and want to come record because of it.

thats just me tho and some might call me crazy but it keeps my business flowing

 

[ahjteam]

I never work for free, even for friends. I work cheap tho, but not free.