Demo producers - I need advice

[Agent47]

I've been doing the home studio thing for many years, and over the last couple of years I've produced a few demos for people, and I'm starting to think that I may be able to almost make a living on it if I work it right...

Any people out there who produce demos for paying clients who can give me some advice?

I'm looking at the solo singer/songwriter market - the young'uns who watch X Factor and want to get their demo out. So my style is kind of electronic, synthesised pop, maybe some guitar thrown in. Definitely not for bands - I don't have to room or resources to record kits.

As with previous demo jobs I've done, I'm planning on having a fixed price for finished songs - not charging by the hour as many studios do. That way potential clients know what they're paying for the whole job. Good idea or not? I think what puts a lot of new singers off is knowing how much it'll all cost in the end. The fixed price will include recording and total production, and CD. The singer will retain all rights to their song.

Also, marketing. Where is the best place to advertise for clients? Any online places that are ideal (I've tried Gumtree/Craiglist)?

How frequently do you get demo work - enough to live off?

Any additional advice would be appreciated!



Cheers,

Agent.

 

[mikeh]

I've never been a fan of charging a flat fee per song, for one primary reason. If the artist does not come in prepared or if the artist is indecisive about what they want - the recording/mixing time can quickly get out of control.

Artists (in particular people with limited or no studio experiance) rarely appreciate how much time it takes to record and mix a song. While you are not planning on doing bands (which can multiply variables, the headaches and the studio time) - recording a single artist (singer/songwriter) can still take a lot of time.

Just abut the only "for hire" work I do are singer demos (I don't have the right room or equipment to record a band well - nor do I have the mental fortitude). Often they have no idea on a song arrangement (they tend to hear the song only as say voice and guitar) and when we start to put together an arrangement, they often do know what they want or want a lot more than thier "budget" would realistically allow.

Even a basic arrangement (drums, bass, guitar & lead vocal) can take a fair amount of time. Naturally if you use pre-canned loops for drums & bass you can cut time down a lot, but then your demos are nothing special, they can all strat to sound the same and often the artist wants something "different". If the artist is playing their own guitar, often their technique and/or sound is lacking (requiring multiple takes). Vocals can take a long time as well.

Now, if you sell a block of time - a block that you think is realistic to complete a one song project (let's say 6 hours) for x-amount and inform the client that most people can complete the project in that time and that any time overruns (caused by the artist) would be charged at X per hour - then maybe it could work. At least the artist knows they have to accept some responsibilty. Trust me when I say, if the artist thinks a song will cost X (say $200) no matter how long it takes - they will have no incentive to come in prepared and in fact may be inclind to take more time to "get their money's worth).

Where to advertise? Obviously, word of month brings in more business than anything, but things I've tried: 1) Co-sponser an "open mic night" (with local bars) with first prize including X free studio hours 2) Advertise in the local entertainment newspapers (if your area has them) 3) Post flyers at local music stores (if allowed) 4) Hand out flyers at local Karaoke contests. Note: This last option could be an act of pure desperation

The ideal situation is to find a couple very serious singer/songwriters who will consistantly be looking to produce demos and who frequently perform and/or attend open mic nights (so they can promote you). However, my experiance has been eventually (because every one can now have a home studio for less than the price of a cheap used car) - singer/songwriters will buy enough gear to do their own demos - in particular if they find themselve paying you $200 every couple of weeks.

Can you make a living? It depends on your market (how many singers/songwriters are in the area, how many other studios in the area, etc) and on your talent (can you produce quality demos). It also depend on what you call "a living". I would venture a guess that it would be highly unikely you could make a living only doing singer/songwriter demos.

 

[Agent47]

Thanks Mikeh - that's a very complete answer!

My plan was to charge per song, as I would mostly be working remotely, sending the client mp3s as the backing progresses, and finally getting together with them for the vocal recording. So the song wouldn't be produced in a day, more like a few hours a day over the course of a few days. I have that method with my two semi-regular demo clients and it seems to work in that case. Although I know them well enough that they aren't going to suddenly have outrageous demands that extends the project - which or course wouldn't be the case with new clients. Hmmm, I might rethink the charging method.

As for making a living, I thought probably not. Although I currently have a decently-paid dayjob, also rental income from property so maybe I could just about survive if I gave up the dayjob. All in the future right now though...

But I'll persist on getting demo work. The only question is how much to charge...

Thanks,

Agent.