Going into the deep..pro's and con's

Downside Studio

Downside Studio

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This is a discussion i frequently have in the studio. People (both musicians and engineers) seem to be affraid to go pro in the business. I understand from their point of view but sometimes I see people who would actually do pretty good in the business not daring to make the jump.

If you have a family, steady income etc...it is a big jump into the unknown. I personally had the change to get to know the engineeringworld before being settled on something else.

So from my point of view ( making a living as an engineer) here are the most important pro's and cons for this job:

pro's:
independant
doing what you actually wanna do
the paycheck
well...just lots of fun everyday

cons:
very hard to combine with a normal social life
always unsure regarding the future
the paycheck


If you had the change to give up your job and just had the guarantee that the first year you would be able to pay your bills...would you take the leap into the deep?


reason i'm asking is because i believe a lot of talent is wasted because people are afraid of the unknown. Understandable but still a shame.
 
As always - there's a balance... there are also a lot of morons with pirated s/w and a set of Behringers in their bedrooms calling themselves "mastering houses"!!! :eek:
 
True, but there are always lots of real talents with a cracked nuendo version on an old pc and a 500$ setup who make productions that make me feel like a geek.

I now of one person who could actually blow a lot of the most rewarded musicians away without blinking....but somehow it just not picked up. I've worked a lot with him and funny thing is that this guy is actually pretty cool...he is a real musician as we call it in the studio. I guess he doesn't realize that there is a world outside music.

Anyway...got me thinking...if he's such a talent who didn't get his 'breakthru' yet, and i got the facilities...1+1=2....hmmm...but that would be investing lots of time...which i don't have cause would cost me money not doing other engineering jobs....hmm..guess that's the same as my original question only with me on the opposite site... :confused:
 
Remember that it's not just a matter of confidence or talent; some people do well working for themselves indepently and other people just need to have a boss tell them what to do and lead them through life, knowing they have a place to go and a paycheck at the end of every week....
 
well if i had a gaurantee that i would be able to pay my bills the first year, i would be out of this hellhole of a job i got in the literal blink of a literal eye !!!!!


as much money as it costs -- even to do a mediocre job -- in music -- its a shame butits a cold reality that one's job is not the easiest thing to sacrafice -- even if i had the bill situation strait for a year -- the money involved with doing an outstanding job in the recording, packaging, promoting of a project is reamarkably high!!!!
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
As always - there's a balance... there are also a lot of morons with pirated s/w and a set of Behringers in their bedrooms calling themselves "mastering houses"!!! :eek:
Click to expand...


Man, you've been hanging around Soundclick too much. :D
 
I'd rather stay where I am closer to the ground. I'd never last cause I loathe that world, it's stiffer, not as fun, your ability to be creative with it is severely diminished, egos, contracts, people besides the band having a say, the list goes on. Due to the fact that there are indeed so many stipulations in that world, the music suffers greatly I think. Turn on top 40 radio if you don't believe me. I just know that I would hate it. I'd rather make a smaller amount of money helping people who genuinely love doing what they do than make a whole bunch of money helping create shit that I wish never existed. It's like the exact difference between making something strictly to sound like everything else, and making something strictly to do something different. My decisions are creatively based. My normal job is closely related to the field anyway, so it's really pretty alright. The moment I'm forced to do something I love, I generally wind up hating it.
 
That is very very true, although most recording jobs in studio's these days are payed by bands itself. (but they like to sound like those on the radio haha.)

Your last sentence was something that i consider very important. Looking back at my childsdream, running a commercial studio, i must say that i am very keen on not losing my interest in the job now i have one. Normally i will not spend more than 2 days a week in the studio, just to keep everything fresh and interesting for myself. Nowadays i am a couple of days of the week working on location for national broadcast, a couple of days in the studio and one or two days a week in the theatre....that does it for me!
 
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