HOW TO OPEN A Recording Studio

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PoetSleep00

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I'm looking to open a small studio soon. If anyone can provide me with advice or any leads in the Los Angeles/ Orange County area I'd appreciate it. Are there any websites you would recommend, any books?

Thanks for taking the time to respond.
 
ahh you should talk with Rick Iantosca.. he could offer some information for you... search robinhood on this site..

he is a producer and has his own home studio.
I'm sure he could be helpful in your search for info..
if I'm awake later.. heh.. I'll try to send him this way
peace
and good luck!
 
Before you buy a piece of gear or set-up a rack, if you're opening a studio as a business, you better do your homework and have a business plan including some research on the market you're trying to target in your area.

It's all fine and well to open a studio -- but you can't run a business with "if I build it, they will come" attitude.......... you better have some idea (based on your business research) on what area of the market your targetting, and who your clients will be.

Especially in LA - where it sounds like there's a studio on just about every street corner.
 
PoetSleep00 said:
I'm looking to open a small studio soon. If anyone can provide me with advice or any leads in the Los Angeles/ Orange County area I'd appreciate it. Are there any websites you would recommend, any books?

Thanks for taking the time to respond.
Click to expand...

These are the folks to ask
http://recpit.prosoundweb.com/index.php
 
In light of the fact that you..... 1)Need to ask these questions, and ......2) asked them on what is essentially a home recording oriented forum, leaves me torn between two answers..............



WHY

OR

DON'T

:cool:
 
man...

blue bear's post is the most salient yet... if you're opening a studio, or a coffee shop, or a headshop... you need a business plan... you need to know what your market is, what your competition is, and what you can offer over the competition to get the market to come to you.

What you should read is anything business related, start with www.sba.gov and look at their resources on writing a business plan...

Gear is great, but ultimately useless without the engineer behind it and the musicians in the other room...

There is no reason to discourage anyone from starting a small business, however, LA, Nashville, and NYC are just about the only three places I personally would not want to relocate my studio without several hundred thousand dollars... (or more) because ey are the largest music centers in the country...

That being said, every musician and their beat making brother knows that and flocks to these locales... so, if you can carve out a niche for yourself, you can still start a successful studio.

As for Mr. Ausrock... these are pretty much the best forums around... and while mostly homerecording 'enthusiasts' there are a growing number of full time pro-folks who are running their own studios on this board... so I can understand why this would be the place to ask.

All this being said, don't get too hung up on getting this going in a week... take your time, and do your homework, you will be greatful you did.

Good luck

Rich
Radium Reactor
 
what kind of a studio?

do you plan on starting a studio to work on your own material or have other artists come in to record?

fundamental question that completely shapes the appropriate answer.
 
The best way to open a recording studio is to do it with other peoples money. Start with alot of money. Without a biz plan you won't get a loan.

But if it was me, I would do it as a hobby for at least a year to see if its what you REALLY want to do. It can become your master very quickly and you more than likely can end up working more and more to the point you don't know what vacation means. You have to learn how to deal with othe disgusting habits of other people. The list of items to research is as long as Mr QQ's 3rd band member. Research is better today than it was for me when I first started..

SoMm
 
PoetSleep00 said:
I'm looking to open a small studio soon. If anyone can provide me with advice or any leads in the Los Angeles/ Orange County area I'd appreciate it. Are there any websites you would recommend, any books?

Thanks for taking the time to respond.
Click to expand...

http://www.3daudioinc.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi
http://www.artistpro.com/
http://bayviewproaudio.com/SpecialSalePage.html
http://www.musicgearnetwork.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&group=rec.audio.pro
http://www.ioforums.net/forums/
http://www.quietsolution.com/recording_studios1.html?Google
http://gearslutz.com/board/index.php3
http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/new.html


Forget the business plan ......no bank is going to loan you money to open a studio unless you have tons of collateral. Generally banks view all this equipment at ten cents to the dollar. Do what your doing now buy posting and getting info ….or like we use to call it “ market research” . Just keep it small and grow at a pace that will not put you under . Do not buy crap ……..even if you have to start with less .
 
Another thing that you might want to do is build your professional resume. Banks and other lending institutions are going to be skeptical over loaning someone money to build a studio if you have never worked in the business. If you have credentials from one of the recording institutes, have worked in studios, etc. that is very important.

You might want to start out as an independent contractor working in other people's studios before you build your own.

Listen to Blue Bear's advise, the business plan is everything.
 
Gotta disagree with Pashop on the no business plan thing... first of all, if you can own all of your equipment outright, then you should... any business will have a better chance of sucess if they open their doors with little to no debt liability... that being said, a business plan has a lot ... a lot more to do with your business than convincing a bank to give you money.

It is your marketing plan, your mission, your financial outlook, and yes, your plan. Why would anybody choose to stop what they're doing, quit work for example, and start a studio without knowing where the money is going to come from...

Really, I can't reitterate enough, whether you're opening a studio or a bagel shop, or a freelance web design company... you need a plan. Don't just adopt the... if I build it, there will be enough people to keep the doors open.

You need to be either... cheaper, or better, or different. You need a hook, and a business plan will help you develop one.

And as for banks, they care about one thing, ROI, getting their money back plus interest, if you can show them that, and the fact that you are doing this with substantial equity, and your credit doesn't suck, you can get "bankrolled" :)

hope this helps.

Regards,

Rich
Radium Reactor
 
jazzrich9 said:
Gotta disagree with Pashop on the no business plan thing... first of all, if you can own all of your equipment outright, then you should... any business will have a better chance of sucess if they open their doors with little to no debt liability... that being said, a business plan has a lot ... a lot more to do with your business than convincing a bank to give you money.

It is your marketing plan, your mission, your financial outlook, and yes, your plan. Why would anybody choose to stop what they're doing, quit work for example, and start a studio without knowing where the money is going to come from...

Really, I can't reitterate enough, whether you're opening a studio or a bagel shop, or a freelance web design company... you need a plan. Don't just adopt the... if I build it, there will be enough people to keep the doors open.

You need to be either... cheaper, or better, or different. You need a hook, and a business plan will help you develop one.

And as for banks, they care about one thing, ROI, getting their money back plus interest, if you can show them that, and the fact that you are doing this with substantial equity, and your credit doesn't suck, you can get "bankrolled" :)

hope this helps.

Regards,

Rich
Radium Reactor
Click to expand...


With all due respect
I have written probably twenty business plans for myself and for other people. There is no way you could possibly determine who , what or where your clientele is more or less what kind of income you plan on deriving. Opening a bagel shop is not even in the same ball park. Location ,drive by traffic, type of people living in the neighborhood, overall demographics. Try and do this for a studio .......I own one trust me its not possible. A recording studio has a very specific clientele and generally there is no walk up traffic. The big difference is and what I was trying to explain to the lad is that he could get in rather cheap so as to minimize any losses. A computer ,Pro Tools 002 and a few good mics and he can operate in a basement until he sorts out what he wants to do and where he wants to do it. I know six other guys who either own or have vested interest in studios and have never received a penny from any bank based on a business plan unless they were willing to sign over serious collateral such as a home. Banks view this is a high risk business with fluid assets ,your not going to impress anyone one with a pipe dream on paper
 
pashop,

On some things I agree with you completely, on others we'll have to agree to disagree... I definitely agree that starting small is a good idea, and it in itself serves as its own market research tool. The plan itself, while I agree to the difficulty in market research for such a specific clientele, some of the other areas, if someone is looking to do this commercially, are still very important. If someone wants to open a commercial studio in LA for profit, then they are going to need to know who their competition is, and what they have to offer. Ultimately, that research may lead to a decision not to open a studio in that area, or to open a studio for a different market. Commercially speaking, a marketing plan is important as well, studio clients are a tough market, and to let them know you exist, and why they want to use your services takes some special preparation.

Anyhow, I admire your experience, and with that experience respect your opinions... mine have been a little different, and account for where I'm coming from... In the businesses that I've been lucky enough to have been a part of, the ones with solid plans have been the most succesful. I too have drafted and consulted on business plans for a number of entities...

For what its worth, I absolutely agree that banks are very wary to provide commercial loans to studios, artists, web firms, and pretty much any other "service" based business, they see them as risky because at the end of the day, what you are selling to your clients, and to the bank is yourself, this means no widgets, and without those, banks get very uneasy. That doesn't mean that its impossible, and I've watched service companies get ridiculous loans... The substantial factors being the ones I mentioned, most importantly, a large equity investment on the part of the individuals starting the company, great personal credit, and a solid business plan.

Even with all that, they may still turn you down, and do frequently, but it is helpful to know that its possible

Well, I've gone on long enough on my opinions. You give fantastic advise to a lot of people on this board, so please don't think I'm flaming you or picking a fight, I totally respect your viewpoint, and it is in fact shared with one of my current business partners.

Anyway, to the first poster... good luck with your venture... the ultimate goal, past all this is to make sure that you love doing this... because business plan or not... there will be grueling days ahead.

Cheers.

Rich
 
jazzrich9 said:
pashop,

On some things I agree with you completely, on others we'll have to agree to disagree... I definitely agree that starting small is a good idea, and it in itself serves as its own market research tool. The plan itself, while I agree to the difficulty in market research for such a specific clientele, some of the other areas, if someone is looking to do this commercially, are still very important. If someone wants to open a commercial studio in LA for profit, then they are going to need to know who their competition is, and what they have to offer. Ultimately, that research may lead to a decision not to open a studio in that area, or to open a studio for a different market. Commercially speaking, a marketing plan is important as well, studio clients are a tough market, and to let them know you exist, and why they want to use your services takes some special preparation.

Anyhow, I admire your experience, and with that experience respect your opinions... mine have been a little different, and account for where I'm coming from... In the businesses that I've been lucky enough to have been a part of, the ones with solid plans have been the most succesful. I too have drafted and consulted on business plans for a number of entities...

For what its worth, I absolutely agree that banks are very wary to provide commercial loans to studios, artists, web firms, and pretty much any other "service" based business, they see them as risky because at the end of the day, what you are selling to your clients, and to the bank is yourself, this means no widgets, and without those, banks get very uneasy. That doesn't mean that its impossible, and I've watched service companies get ridiculous loans... The substantial factors being the ones I mentioned, most importantly, a large equity investment on the part of the individuals starting the company, great personal credit, and a solid business plan.

Even with all that, they may still turn you down, and do frequently, but it is helpful to know that its possible

Well, I've gone on long enough on my opinions. You give fantastic advise to a lot of people on this board, so please don't think I'm flaming you or picking a fight, I totally respect your viewpoint, and it is in fact shared with one of my current business partners.

Anyway, to the first poster... good luck with your venture... the ultimate goal, past all this is to make sure that you love doing this... because business plan or not... there will be grueling days ahead.

Cheers.

Rich
Click to expand...


Its all good Rich........a good debate keeps the blood flowing...and hey everyday I learn something new. Its just those costly mistakes years ago that keep me in check.
Cheers
 
I started about a year ago. it is great. Start with recording and mixing your music and see how it turns out and then find a band to practice on. They show up, record, and then you spend the next three weeks learning how to mix. It takes longer than three weeks to learn but in those three weeks you learn what does what and then you start tweeking it. I bought all of my equipment out right. Piece by piece as I became more experienced and as I needed it. I also made sure that I had the basic instruments there. Drums, variety of guitars and bass, and keyboard. I built a home studio, sound proof room in the garage. It works very well. I now have a few bands that come to record. I am of course cheap because of no overhead and the experience is not there. It is a start, and it does take a lot of time. There is nothing more rewarding or more fun than getting to the finished product.
 
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