How many of you actually record for a living?

[ZEKE SAYER]

Do you record for a living? if you do, then please tell me how you got there.


zeke

[NoFO]

i only do it part time, does that count?

[t_chance]

It would be nice to at least make enough to pay for the gear. Maybe it's time for a tax write off.

[littledog]

50% recording
50% performing (keyboards/piano)

[Chris Shaeffer]

I do soundtracks for multimedia productions, and record demos for local people. Small time, but its what I do for a living.

Take care,
Chris

[DKMurphPr]

I live to record.


Fortunately, I don't record to live.

[ZEKE SAYER]

You see, i'm wanting to engineer full-time and i was just wanting some tips.

zeke

[strmkr]

Right now I am making about 60% of my income from the studio/cd duplication biz, 20% from gigging on the weekends and 20% from working 2 days a week pushing buttons at a local t.v. station.

How I got here? I worked my ass off burning steel at a heat exchanger plant until I paid off the house and property. Once you have a paid-for place to live and work,the rest isn't so hard.

[Son of Mixerman]

Originally posted by ZEKE SAYER
You see, i'm wanting to engineer full-time and i was just wanting some tips.

zeke

Oh...

I couldn't see your studio pics, so I can't comment too much. To engineer full time, you sorta need to engineer part time to build a customer base through working for less than minimum wage. Start young, network with musicians and other people into recording including mastering engineers. Practice and absorb everything around you. Intern if possible(it didn't help me) with good people. Make sure your trust worthy with some level of integrity. Be ready at all times. Learn what an engineer has to do. Mixing is only a small portion of the total package. Persistance. Learn how to manage money and time.
Its not just a job, its an adventure.

SoMm

[NoFO]

Go freelance. Or work for a major studio that will promise you enough money to live comfortably. (you gotta have mad skillz for that) Owning a studio can be a money pit if you do not have an established client base (read- 20-30 regular clients) and working as a house engineer for a smaller studio can leave you without work for weeks on end.

Get A DAT, CDR or Masterlink, a pair of small diaphram condensors, a decent 2 channel mic pre and a great big boom stand for doing location recording for schools, churches, etc. that always pays well.

get in good with some local studio owners and they will hook you up with some gigs under their name, just make sure you get in good with the clients to make sure they ask for you, but don't piss off the owner so he thinks you are stealing clientel.

as you get clients, you will have studios that you are familiar with, and they will charge you a studio fee, you charge your fee, if you are good, both technically and as a businessman, you can make $30k your first full year, but you will have to bust your hump and do some favors along the way.

after that, keep in constant touch with all your clients, as they move into new bands, they will remember you and your client base can grow exponentially. and then you can start to name your price.

a whole hella lotta work. that's why i work retail to pay the bills and work with clients i've had since my full time days as i feel like it.

just the ramblings of a man too lazy (and too comitted to his wife) to go for it himself!

[Michael Jones]

Originally posted by ZEKE SAYER
You see, i'm wanting to engineer full-time and i was just wanting some tips.

zeke

Stay in school.
Go to college.
Study mathematics and physics.
Then follow NOFO's advice.

[sweetnubs]

"Maybe it's time for a tax write off." do it. You can write off all of your purchases. Even if you just record at home get a business liscence. write it all off. The governemnt fucks us enough already.

[ZEKE SAYER]

Damnright!

[strmkr]

Stay in school. Go to college.Study mathematics and physics.Then follow NOFO's advice

And good advice it is!

You don't want to wind up like I did spending too much of my life burning steel,driving a truck,running a sandblast rig or any of the other crappy jobs I've worked over the years just to pay the bills so I could steal some time for music.


My advice would be if you want to do it full time for the rest of your life,set your goals toward owning and operating your own recording business.You can work yur whole life for someone else,making them a lot of money while you do all the hard work and believe me,they will happily let you do it.

Work on developing "people skills". It goes a long way with a lot of clients. I was having a conversation with a long time friend/client the other day and asked him why,with the kind of money he has to spend,he was recording at my shabby little place when he could record at "bigtime studio xyz" across town with the ssl,big 2" machines and all the cool toys? His answer was "I've been over there and the guy knows his stuff but is a real sourpuss to work with,I would rather come here and cut up and tell a few jokes and have a little fun. It's you that makes the studio great to work in,not the gear"

Don't overlook media duplication as an additional revenue stream for your business.For the first few years I had this place,at the end of a lot of projects,I would get the question "where can I get 10, 25,50,100 of these made up?" and I would reccomend various sources around town. After a while,I got to thinking "they're walking out with money in their pockets I could be making." so I bought a 7 bay cd duplicator and the answer to that question now is "I can do those for you right here" not only that,but I have 3 other studios in the area who are using me exclusively for their short-run duplication projects. I have effectively doubled my revenue stream over the last 2 years with this aspect of the business.


Good luck and Godspeed to you. I wish I was your age at this time. A lot of changes are coming in the industry at a fast pace. Work hard and roll with them.

[NoFO]

[i]
Don't overlook media duplication as an additional revenue stream for your business.[/B]

oh yeah, great point!

[ZEKE SAYER]

thanks man,

[Harvey Gerst]

Originally posted by ZEKE SAYER
Do you record for a living? if you do, then please tell me how you got there.


zeke

Zeke,

Define "living".

[ZEKE SAYER]

Well, i guess it's what you do for money to buy food and things to wair.

[Harvey Gerst]

Originally posted by ZEKE SAYER
Well, i guess it's what you do for money to buy food and things to wear.

In that case, I guess I make all my money from recording. I thought you meant making a "good living".

[smellyfuzz]

JUST SO EVERY ONE IS ON THE SAME PAGE…

I do not make a dime in Music. It has always cost me a ton of bread.

I do however own a very small Carpet Cleaning business and over the last eight year the most SURPRISING thing I have learned is…

Just because YOU OWN a business, any business, doesn’t mean you make a ton of cash.

I’ve cleaned & met every kind of person anyone could imagine,
I have found that only the rare occasions is when someone makes the big bucks in thier own business.
I could absolutely make more money working for some one.

So, why do I stay in business…

Self destiny, a lower stress life, not have to explain to my boss why I’m not coming in today and for the CHANCE that I might make my small business into a bigger one some day.


Sean

[mixsit]

I'm just a part-timer.
Spent 20 some years in the live end, that was enough. The business stinks (generally). Thankfully, I don't need it. Im having fun building a nice quiet rep and pulling in some income.
My respect goes out to those that are out there putting their asses on the line every day in this strange and finicky industry.

[johnnyfever]

I work full time as a radio personality and production director. When I'm not on the air, I produce radio commercials for the station.
At home, I have my own digital recording studio where I freelance radio and television commercials, video narrations and music on-hold. I also have high-speed Internet access to send my projects all over the country.
I guess you could say I record for a living. I'm in a very unique position because not too many people get to do what I do for a living.

[Light]

Used to, and I sometimes make money at it still, but I got so sick of some of the people I had to work with. I still do a lot of live audio stuff, mostly for corporate meetings and the like, but I make most of my money as a lighting designer, tech, and programmer (also for corporate meetings).

Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

[strmkr]

Hey johnny,

I noticed you are from Buffalo. Just wondering how long you have been there? The reason being is I have a cousin from Buffalo I have never met who was in a band called "The Restless" from there back in the 80's. Ever heard of them?

[gorbyrun]

60% Recording
30% Live Sound
10% Prostitution

You gotta be a whore.