Do you give out free studio time?

[Crying Wolf]

O.k. I work with artist on invitation basis only. I dont sell studio time and for now I am not interested in doing so. I am wrapping up a few projects and will have availability to take on new artists. Im not looking for paying customers, I would rather just work with clients one on one for no charge. I dont have a problem with charging clients to record but at this point in time I get much much more satisfaction working with local artists in my area. These are the people that could never afford a studio and few opportunities to express their gifts. With that said, I am thinking of running and ad offering 3 slots available for aspiring artists.
My question is, have any of you ever done anything like this? The only headache Is going through and weeding out mediocre or worse artists. Being that there is no charge I can be as selective as I want. Any thoughts?

 

[RFR]

In the the past. I've recorded quite a few bands for no charge. I only did it for bands I truly liked. Both as people and for their music.
However I only did it when it did NOT hurt me financially, when t could afford to give my time.

I don't know, maybe its crazy but its a good feeling to listen to music you enjoy and helped bring into the world. Some I still listen to today, and there is never any regret over not getting paid.

The money is always long gone and forgotten, but the music lasts forever.

 

[Crying Wolf]

Thanks RFR, I feel that way also....I figured there were others out there that did the same.

 

[Farview]

I've done it as well. The thing to remember is to make sure that you have an end point specified at the beginning of the arrangement. It's amazing how nit-picky people get when they aren't paying for the time, or the number of songs that can get stuffed into an 'album'...

 

[Btyre2013]

I don't see plumbers, electricians and joiners not being paid, what you are doing is far more specialist.

 

[bLUiVORY]

..... I am thinking of running and ad offering 3 slots available for aspiring artists.
... The only headache Is going through and weeding out mediocre or worse artists. Being that there is no charge I can be as selective as I want. Any thoughts?

How do you plan on "weeding out the mediocre"; by listening to their non-professional recordings? It might be more efficient, and certainly more pleasurable to go see artists/groups playing locally who have some positive word-of-mouth already. That way, you could approach them, rather than being inundated with a pile of not-so-good schtuff to go through. Just a thought...

Either way, it's a nice thing you're doing. You're a good guy (don't worry, your secret's safe with me).

 

[Pinky]

Last year I produced two albums for a band whose members were prior online collaborators. We had set an aggressive end date and number of songs, and we actually beat the date by a week or two. Everyone was pleased with the mixes, and I gained yet more experience tackling some challenging material (mostly hard and progressive rock). Most of all - I enjoyed the songs and working with them. Afterwards, two of them threw me some cash for my time (unexpected but welcomed).

I've done other smaller things for artists off/on over the years. Nowadays I'm kinda detached from the local scene, and I don't invest much time online getting to know more/new musicians. I think having a pool of people to work with and who would refer work to you is critical, I just don't have the time to build those relationships right now. At least I have a couple collaborators, and occasionally get my own music done.

IMO don't run a craigslist ad. Seek out the musicians yourself, maybe use local search filters on bandcamp and reverbnation to find bands near you, check out what they have online, and if it sounds poorly produced maybe offer your services. There's no shortage of poorly produced music on those websites. If they've gone through the trouble of at least trying to get their music recorded and uploaded, then they're at least semi-serious. Opening up production service for free to the public would be like a Pandora's box of potential issues. Band dynamics can be really weird. If they can at least get something recorded on their own, then the dynamics are probably good enough you could work with them. I'm suggesting this as a kind of 'test' or bar/standard, if you will.

 

[bLUiVORY]

Last year I produced two albums for a band whose members were prior online collaborators. We had set an aggressive end date and number of songs, and we actually beat the date by a week or two. Everyone was pleased with the mixes, and I gained yet more experience tackling some challenging material (mostly hard and progressive rock). Most of all - I enjoyed the songs and working with them. Afterwards, two of them threw me some cash for my time (unexpected but welcomed).

I've done other smaller things for artists off/on over the years. Nowadays I'm kinda detached from the local scene, and I don't invest much time online getting to know more/new musicians. I think having a pool of people to work with and who would refer work to you is critical, I just don't have the time to build those relationships right now. At least I have a couple collaborators, and occasionally get my own music done.

IMO don't run a craigslist ad. Seek out the musicians yourself, maybe use local search filters on bandcamp and reverbnation to find bands near you, check out what they have online, and if it sounds poorly produced maybe offer your services. There's no shortage of poorly produced music on those websites. If they've gone through the trouble of at least trying to get their music recorded and uploaded, then they're at least semi-serious. Opening up production service for free to the public would be like a Pandora's box of potential issues. Band dynamics can be really weird. If they can at least get something recorded on their own, then the dynamics are probably good enough you could work with them. I'm suggesting this as a kind of 'test' or bar/standard, if you will.

Excellent idea, Pinky.

 

[Crying Wolf]

I agree, all excellent points. Thank you guys. Although craigslist is not an option I choose to use, it would be funny to see what you get. I agree just opening it up to anybody that likes the idea of making a record is not wise either, I like the idea of seeking them out at a local show. Much better way to go.

 

[RFR]

With my situation, I had it made.
I was in LA, with a thriving music scene and I happened to own a rehearsal studio. So I was in a position to cherry pick from 50 bands at any given time.
But that was then. Nowadays I wouldnt go to the trouble to find people worthy of free recording.

 

[Bradleyboy]

I would suggest using Facebook to find bands in your area and check out their FB pages to see if they might fit what you are looking for. Usually you can get a pretty good idea whether an artist is mediocre or not by checking them out online.

If the way the present themselves raises some flags then you know not to even attempt to work with them.