We all do this because we love it (well, most of us, anyway), but every now and then it's good to vent a bit. There are downsides to every profession and hobby, and I believe most of us have days when you consider selling your gear and begin a career as a plumber. I know I do.
Without further ado, my top 3 things that sometimes make me feel like stabbing myself in the eye with a rusty tablespoon:
1) Unreliable musicians.
Not being able to show up to the studio on time, forgetting to pay the invoice before it's due, dropping the ball on a session that's two millimeters away from being booked etc. The amount of "Hey, can you mix our songs? Oh and by the way, we have no intention to ever get back to you once you respond to this :-----D" emails I get is stupid. Asking for quotes and schedules and not liking the response is completely alright, but bailing out at the last minute before sealing the deal and not even telling why is just lame.
2) The whole DIY aspect.
Now don't get me wrong, all in all I consider it as a positive thing, and I've gotten lots of work because of the easiness of recording by yourself. The downside is, some people fail to realize they don't have to do everything themselves. That's what we are here for. We put time, dedication and passion into the craft so we can help you with your music. If you don't want to really dive into the whole audio engineering thing, please, just concentrate on what you're really good at, which is writing and performing music. Also, every musician knows someone with a cracked copy of Nuendo and Waves Mercury bundle, and that guy is really cheap, too. Yeah, wonder why.
Again, the DIY aspect is mostly a good thing in my books, and I've worked on some great projects where the band has either tracked themselves (like the latest album I mixed - awesome project, fun to work on and it turned out great!), or where I've done only the drum tracking and so on. It just has it's downsides, too.
3) "The state of the music business."
I don't think the music business is dying at all, it's just changing. Sure, big SSL rooms are constantly becoming less and less profitable, but that's because technology and knowledge are advancing constantly. I do understand that in the 70's and 80's you had to book an expensive studio if you wanted to make a record, but nowadays it isn't necessarily the case, which means the audio professionals have to adjust their business models accordingly. Smaller overheads, more affordable prices, equal money in the pocket. That's not exactly what the media tells people, though. I guess that's why I often get that "Oh, really, poor you" look when people ask me what I do. To be honest, if a dude would show up formally asking me for my hypothetical daughter's hand, and telling me he's planning to support the family by twisting funny-looking knobs to make guitars sound huge, I'd probably chase him away shooting warning shots in the air with a 19th century musket rifle and laughing manically.
Anyway, those are mine. What are yours?
Without further ado, my top 3 things that sometimes make me feel like stabbing myself in the eye with a rusty tablespoon:
1) Unreliable musicians.
Not being able to show up to the studio on time, forgetting to pay the invoice before it's due, dropping the ball on a session that's two millimeters away from being booked etc. The amount of "Hey, can you mix our songs? Oh and by the way, we have no intention to ever get back to you once you respond to this :-----D" emails I get is stupid. Asking for quotes and schedules and not liking the response is completely alright, but bailing out at the last minute before sealing the deal and not even telling why is just lame.
2) The whole DIY aspect.
Now don't get me wrong, all in all I consider it as a positive thing, and I've gotten lots of work because of the easiness of recording by yourself. The downside is, some people fail to realize they don't have to do everything themselves. That's what we are here for. We put time, dedication and passion into the craft so we can help you with your music. If you don't want to really dive into the whole audio engineering thing, please, just concentrate on what you're really good at, which is writing and performing music. Also, every musician knows someone with a cracked copy of Nuendo and Waves Mercury bundle, and that guy is really cheap, too. Yeah, wonder why.
Again, the DIY aspect is mostly a good thing in my books, and I've worked on some great projects where the band has either tracked themselves (like the latest album I mixed - awesome project, fun to work on and it turned out great!), or where I've done only the drum tracking and so on. It just has it's downsides, too.
3) "The state of the music business."
I don't think the music business is dying at all, it's just changing. Sure, big SSL rooms are constantly becoming less and less profitable, but that's because technology and knowledge are advancing constantly. I do understand that in the 70's and 80's you had to book an expensive studio if you wanted to make a record, but nowadays it isn't necessarily the case, which means the audio professionals have to adjust their business models accordingly. Smaller overheads, more affordable prices, equal money in the pocket. That's not exactly what the media tells people, though. I guess that's why I often get that "Oh, really, poor you" look when people ask me what I do. To be honest, if a dude would show up formally asking me for my hypothetical daughter's hand, and telling me he's planning to support the family by twisting funny-looking knobs to make guitars sound huge, I'd probably chase him away shooting warning shots in the air with a 19th century musket rifle and laughing manically.
Anyway, those are mine. What are yours?
. And/or just don't practice at all before coming in.
