how to start a career in recording industry?

J

jcnoernberg

New member
Hey,
I’ve been messing around with recording for a few years now, and I’ve really grown fond of it. I’d really like to learn the art or recording, and try to make a career out of it. There seems to be a lot of smart and educated people in the industry here, so maybe you can help. I am currently computer engineering major, just finishing up my second year. Here are some questions I have…

Should I consider changing majors, maybe to a broadcasting degree? Will I learn more in schooling than I will on my own? Do studios require you to have a degree to work there?

Anyone attend any of those 3-month or so seminars various institutions offer? They seem to be attractive offers, but some are incredibly expensive, upwards of 5-grand. Money is not really an issue (that’s what student loans are for, yuck) but I can’t afford to waste it. I am spending a lot on my current education, and will spend what I need to.

Is it possible to volunteer/internship at a studio? Anyone here ever done that? Anyone own a studio in northern Ohio that would do that? I am getting a little ahead of myself, but I just need to find a way to get more involved.

How did some of you begin your careers in the industry? And the final important question, what is an average salary? I don't expect to make a ton of cash, I'm not even really interested in that (for now!) I just want to be able to support my family, I don't want to be broke for ten years until I get a break.

Anything you guys can offer me will help me in my pursuit! Thanks for reading this!!!
 
My advice is to finish your computer engineering degree. Save up some cash and get some recording gear. Spend your summers recording anything and everything that makes music. Bands, singers, church choirs, marching bands, whatever. Offer to do it for free or next to nothing. Read some books.

I studied recording technology in school. Nothing I learned couldn't have been got with a library card and a little experience.

What's more, if you're like 90% of the people who try to get into a recording industry career and fail, you'll have a nice computer engineering degree to fall back on.

A little advice from one of the 90%.
 
yeah I agree. Get that engineering degree if you want a fair chance at making money in life.

Recording equipment aint cheap.
 
There isn't much in the way of recording careers. Most guys make money doing something else then start their own studios and get a few guys to intern or work for next to nothing. After interning at a studio you might make $10/hour.

Outside of the major recording towns (LA, NYC and Nashville) I'd be surprised if you could find more then 20 decently payed recording engineers in any one city. And by decent I mean making more than $25k a year which still sucks. Here in Phoenix, a city of around 2 million people, there are only a couple of semi big studios and none have salaried staff.

Doing live engineering and video work is a bit more practical. There are lots of clubs and companies that need labor and engineers. You can only make around $25 an hour at the top of the pay scale so it's still not very lucrative.

The odds of having a bigtime career are about the same as making it as a rock star because the only way you get a great reputation is by recording some unknown bands that turn into big stars.
 
There is an inexpensive way to get your foot in the door at a major. I live in Southern California which is a benefit for me, but unfortunately I didn't want to benefit from the advice a teacher gave me...well at least not yet. Here in So Cal we have a lot of city colleges and if you are in a college music work experience program, you can apply for an internship at any of the majors/indys around here. Arista, Interscope, Death Row, Flavor Unit, Capitol...a couple buddies of mine are recording engineers, and promotion guys, and they got their "foot in the door" this way. You can even look on showbizjobs.com for some info.
 
Not all internships are paid. Most aren't, but if you do get a paid one, great! any job is good. Some are only 2 - 3 days a week, for a couple of hours at a time, some are full positions. Either way, even if you have the opportunity to even be working a menial task at a label, your benefitting. You're in the middle of whats going on. Some people will do whatever it takes. Meet people, introduce yourself, do your job. A friend of mine down at Interscope used to 2nd Engineer at Interscope and they'd give him free studio time when no one was in there. It was a benefit he received from having the connections he had at the job.

A teacher of mine was a musician, but he was also an excellent people person. He was successful at both. Making bridges and connecting with people is a key in this industry.


California, Tennessee or New York
 
A lot of the recording studio gigs aren't music either. Or they're jingles...

Lots or commercials and spoken word work.

If you want to do it, I'd say go for it.

And the best way to break in is to get an internship.
 
I'm a little late to this thread.... but heres my answer.

First, these other guys are likely right. Music recording schools can tend to paint a rosy picture of the field and make you believe that you be making wads of cash when you get out.... of course any college program leads you to believe this. Most college professors tend to overvalue their field of specialty, be they a painter, a poet, a scientist, or an engineer... and will promise students 'the world will be their oyster' as soon as they get that magical degree.

Unfortunately, there are more people on earth than there are good jobs.

Stick with your computer engineering degree... you could go to a recording school like ARTI, or the Conservatory in Tempe Arizona, both of which are supposed to be really good programs... and with the AZ school... they start you on an internship as a prerequisite for graduation...which gets your foot in the door.

However as a computer engineer.... you'll be bored out of your skull at such a school... maybe... maybe not. Recording "engineering" (using the phrase engineering very loosely) is not computer or electrical engineering. Not by a long shots. You'll find alot of the other students in recording schools to be so unknowledgeable of technical stuff that you'll want to quit the first week and not deal with these amateurs.

If its money that you really want.... you might be better off designing your own line of audio signal processing products. All it takes is for you to design a few good preamp models... then maybe add some EQ's and compressors.

Even if your stuff never becomes a big name brand... it gives you name recognition nonetheless... You can use that to start your own recording studio and maybe draw in some business...

--------------------

If starting your own recording studio is not your thing... well finding a job might be difficult... so finish your CE degree... and try to maybe find a job such as a studio maintenance engineer as opposed to a 1st or 2nd recording engineer... A maintenance engineer, which many bigger studios have on staff, is basically in charge of maintaining the studios gear.... a good job for someone with a CE or EE degree... and a good maintenance engineer can make as much as a 1st engineer... or almost as much anyway.

You may find it more difficult to get your foot in the door as a recording engineer doing mixing or mastering with your computer engineering degree because you have no real "inside experience" with professional mixing. The kids at recording schools have the heads up because they often have done at least one internship.

Even if you are an accomplished home studio'ist... I think alot of studios would rather give the job to somebody who has been to recording school. You'll really need to pick and choose your job carefully.. and try to find an employer who undertands the value of an educated person who knows about electronics (try to emphasize your college degree in your resume).. as opposed to a studio owner who just cares about hiring a good mixing guy.
 
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