pro studio vandalized?

R

rgraves

New member
Hey I was wondering what a lot of you peeps out there that have nice set ups have had to deal with robbery? Or more specifically what people do to prevent it?

Out here in Colorado, there are several business studios that have been robbed lately. The latest one, I knew the guy, he had a mixing room and tracking room, with a pro tools set up with a board and everything, about 20 nice mics, plus tons of crappy mics like shure 57s and everyday usage mics, and worst of all a bunch of bands that he was recording on back up hard drives and the primary hard drives. He only had about 2 racks full of gear, he was just starting out as a professional business, but the way he made it sound, he's basically out of business...permanently. They took EVERYTHING.

He said the worst part was, all the bands he was dealing with and working with basically lost everything they had done, due to the hard drives being stolen.

The thing I was wondering is, doesnt it not make sense to keep back ups of the recordings you are working on in the same building? I mean, what if it catches fire or something? But from everyone I had talked to it seemed rather commonplace to keep the back ups in the studio, mostly only in case the computer crashed or caused a problem, rather than worrying whether they got stolen.
Also, what about your mic closet? I always figured that a studio owner would take his most valuable mics and keep them elsewhere or something...i guess that would be impractical.

But there have been 4 major studios here that have had that happen in the past 2 or 3 years, and I've started to become curious what others are doing if anything to prevent such a thing. I am blown away that someone can just come with a couple vans and steal almost a hundred thousand dollars in equipment and then take off.
 
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If losing your data will be catastrophic, it only makes sense to have both on-site and off-site backups. For a commercial enterprise that is dependent on that data, it is mandatory. I could see a commercial studio that failed to take that simple precaution being sued in the event of a catastrophic failure or loss.
 
We have an alarm. Of course we were broken into awhile back. Some of the alarms were shut off in the building because we had been doing construction and we removed them...so only two of the alarms went off. The police arrived...but were too late. The guy came in and stole one of our cameras, which of course hindered our ability to do production work. Luckily that's all he was able to take, and in the long run it was better he did because we got a better camera.
Most of the REALLY expensive stuff is rackmounted so a guy wanting to do a quick sweep through would have to spend time unscrewing/unhooking everything.
Things that we are currently working on is just kept on the computer. I archive things onto DVD while the rest of the guys here just keep stuff on their computer for as long as they can then trash it. All our final masters and elements that are used are kept on tape. Unfortunately it's physically not possible for them to keep their stuff on the computers forever, nor is it affordable to purchase hard drives for each project (unless the client requests it).

It sounds like the guys who broke into your friends studio knew what to take and where stuff was. If they were able to take that much too, it probably took awhile...which makes it sound like the studio didn't have any alarms. Of course the real big studios that are opened 24 hours (or even those that aren't) will have security.
 
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fraserhutch said:
And would any of his puppies be sub-woofers? :D
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Yep!

Put them all together with Buddy, my tweeter, and we might have something. All we need is a crossover?

G.
 

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I don't have a pro (commercial) studio, but it would certainly qualify as an upper tier project studio - in my home.

I have a security system which has both local alarms and which is monitored by a security firm (it costs too much - but I can sure sleep well at night). The system covers all exterior doors and windows as well as the interior door leading to my studio. The system is on battery backup so even if power or phone lines are cut the system is still armed. I make real sure anyone coming into my studio knows that I have serious security in place.

It costs more than a pit bull, but I don't have to walk it at 4 in the morning :D

I also have serious self defense weapons and a willingness to use them (I don't even go to gigs without a knife in my belt and a .22 in my boot) - but that is a totally different discussion

I have an inland marine insurance policy - which covers my gear in the studio or on the road (although that doesn't do much good related to all the lost work if data is stolen).

I try to be very, very selective about who I invite to the studio. I've turned down several projects because I simply could not get a warm, fuzzy feeling about the artist. While this has cost me work (and no doubt additional "word of mouth" business) - I choose the security of my home, my family and my studio over making a few extra bucks.

I do have a fire proof safe that I keep back-up data in (along with certain important papers). While I doubt that many studios store projects off site - low cost fire proof safes should almost be a given in a commercial studio.
 
Seriously, though, the Internet does provide another option for off-site backup. There are a number of sites such as iBackup (www.ibackup.com) that are an inexpensive and convenient way of securely backing up your digital files (both music and administrative) via the Internet. One cool side effect too is that you can access your project files from any other location, such as another studio or a client's location, as long as they have the broadband connection.

G.
 
In the STUDIO CONTRACT that ALL CLIENTS SIGNED before I would do work for them, they agreed to not hold me accountable for their tapes/media. I would hold their tapes/media if they had a balance owed to the studio. Otherwise, they could take them with them after every session, including backups.

I actually had a client that kept copies that were done at the end of each completed session in a different place than where we would track. He always brought his backups with him to the sessions. A few times he didn't, but if the originals were lost somehow, he would have only lost a few tracks.

I found that it was a great way to keep clients paying on time, and I was fully protected too from theft. If the client CHOOSE to keep tapes at the facility, they knew going in that they took the chance of something happening to the media and that they could not come after me later for that. By law of course, they could attempt to sue, and I am sure that in a civil court, if I was found GROSSLY negligent in keeping the tapes, I could be liable. But, in the case described above, I would have had to have left a door wide open for that to happen. :)

Insuring your equipment is pretty important. Even renters insurance would cover you, and is CHEAP!
 
insurance
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gotta have it

i sort of lucked out in the security department...my "control room" is an upstairs bedroom, and i use those cheap little First Response battery-powered alarms that you see sold on tv on my doors and windows...it was like $15 for 8 of them, and they're louder then all hell. this means that anyone breaking in will have to either set off an alarm, break a window, or kick in a deadbolt to get inside.

in either of the 3 cases above, the offender would most likely be met by 32 in. of louisville slugger as soon they got to the top of the stairs...i have an 18-mo. old daughter under the same roof as my gear, so anyone who comes in here without permission is going to catch as much hell as i can give out.
 
Re: Insurance

I would caution about a few things to fully understand (read your policy carefully or get your insurance agent to send you something on insurance company letterhead - to confirm coverage)

Normally, property insurance has a coverage limit - in the case of a fire or some other catastropic event, the limit could be quickly eroded to cover other property (cloths, furniture, etc) and little may remain for gear.

In a case of gear theft (with no other personal property impacted) most policies still have a limit on things like jewelry, computer/electronics, etc) - so make sure you understand your limits of coverage

Lastly, if the gear is used in a business application (ie: you're getting paid) it could be excluded from coverage. Depending on your agent (how he or she reports the loss) and the claims adjuster (whose job it is to controll how much the insurance carrier pays out) there is much potential for a denied claim. This would also apply to liability coverage if someone was injured (say hauling an amp down stairs to your basement studio and falling). Note: Even if you are not paid, but the activity is intended to generate payment (let's say recording a project on spec) an insurance adjuster could try to claim "business application" and deny a claim under a homeowner or renters policy)

Some companies offer various riders (normally called inland marine coverage). You can get about $40,000 of coverage for maybe $100-$150 (obviously rates vary from carrier to carrier). In my case, my gear is covered in my studio, at a gig etc. (I use to do various house gigs where my gear remained in the venuse - sometimes for months at a time - so I needed 24/7 coverage. Now this covers the gear - but the liability issue could still be at risk.

For complete insurance protection, a seperate business insurance policy is the best (although more costly) way to go.

Related to the gear only, clearly the best option is to avoid risking the gear being stolen, by whatever security measures can apply to each person's situation.

Disclaimer: I am not an insurance representative, nor do I play one on television!
 
fraserhutch said:
And would any of his puppies be sub-woofers? :D
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LOL, Birdie is a female, too bad she's spayed, I wouldn't mind some pups from her




SouthSIDE Glen said:
Yep!

Put them all together with Buddy, my tweeter, and we might have something. All we need is a crossover?

G.
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ROFL :D
 
nobody knows about my studio, cause it's in the basement and they wouldnt be smart enough to figure out how to get down there. plus, someone is pretty much always home in my house.

if they came at night it'd be bad news. i'd hear them across the house opening whatever door or window and the cops would be here by the time they reached the stairway. ;) its a long walk, we could say. plus i have a bat within 5 ft of my reach.

unless they got nutty and crawled under my deck to kick in a broken window that is gonna cut them so bad that they have to run away. it's a low deck too, i can't fit under it myself..

still, gotta be the scariest situation, 'specially for me with no added insurance on anything, becuase my dad is too lazy to make a friggin phone call and find out. oh well, for now.


an even worse situation for us home-based people; a flood or fire.. terrible situation there, more probable than a robbery.
 
TragikRemix said:
nobody knows about my studio, cause it's in the basement and they wouldnt be smart enough to figure out how to get down there. plus, someone is pretty much always home in my house.

if they came at night it'd be bad news. i'd hear them across the house opening whatever door or window and the cops would be here by the time they reached the stairway. ;) its a long walk, we could say. plus i have a bat within 5 ft of my reach.
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Well, I would look into insurance...trust me, people who are gonna rob your stuff will know when you are home or not. And if someone is always home, they will come in with the advantage, your baseball bat or even gun, is not going to protect you at all. They will be the one ready to shoot, you will be doing your thing at home, not thinking about defending yourself. And the police are of no help. I think the last time I had to call the police about someone's car getting stolen right in front of my eyes in a parking lot, they came like 25 minutes later....uhh, not very useful.

Anyways, I talked to the guy who had all his stuff stolen, and I guess he does have insurance for the gear, but there is a deductable and they give him a depreciated value price. So overall, out of his $50,000 worth of gear, he gets about $30,000 back...that's a huge loss. But he said worst of all is all of the tapes and hard drives, he said he is going to have to retrack for about 5 or 6 bands for free, and that is going to take months. So, he said it really kind of ruined his business. He said he is now going to invest in remote storage, and bring back up copies home with him as well. But he figures it will take 2 years to make up for the difference in money for the gear and the unpaid time he will have to spend.
 
shitty situation of course, but what can you do.. try to avoid it, maybe a good security system etc etc.
 
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