Making money off idle studio space!?

[Stuvi.Space]

heyhey!
My name is Mateo, been making music for just over a decade now... I remember when I first started out, I had a really difficult time finding equipment / spaces to record (without spending way too much money) and without sacrificing quality...
I spent 3 years saving up to build my home studio, its nothing crazy but certainly gets the job done. Since thenI've constantly hosted friends who needed studio time, and I was thinking, man, if I and all my friends needed studios this bad... i'm sure a lot of people felt this way. so I asked around, and surely enough... A LOT of independent artists struggle to find a studio with decent equipment that doesn't cost them hundreds of dollars (and is stacked with a bunch of compressors, mixing boards that they don't know how to use).
I was looking at my studio... which cost me just around $4k to set up, and I was like, well why don't I rent my studio out... for a decent price, and earn some of that money back. Sure enough that worked out really well for me Since then I've been able to make a decent passive income, enough to purchase some of my favorite new equipment for my studio, or upgrade on certain equipment, its been really awesome.
I decided I could help other music studio owners like myself do the same. I have a bit of experience building websites, so i built a website which lets you upload, rent out, and make money off your idle studio space!! There is nowhere on the market for at-home studios to do this, but at-home studios is exactly what local independent musicians need!

Just want to get some thoughts from you guys and if you have any interest in onboarding anywhere in America, please reach out to me!
Currently I'm planning on testing this out in Boston for a short period of time, so if you have a studio in Boston, or know anyone with one... feel free to toss it on our website:

Stuvi

stuvi.space

We have over 100 artists in the Boston area registered on our website, and they are eager for a studio that fits their needs, so there is most definitely a possibility for this community to monetize their space.

I really do hope to be able to offer this website across all America so if you are interested please reach out, I just want to make sure it is perfect before then.

 

[TAE]

Interesting idea.... FYI I went to your site and input Boston as the city and a date in March and no results came up.

I personally am not set up to host guest recording artist. My old guitarist rents out his studio here in Cali on a semi regular basis for $35 an hour but it is mainly used as a place to rehearse and practice. If they want to record that cost more and he's totally analog so no one ever records there...The one caveat that comes with guest, and why I don't host is you have to provide a bathroom. The wife is not going to want to deal with that so that isn't happening.

For the right situation this might work out....good luck!

 

[Stuvi.Space]

Interesting idea.... FYI I went to your site and input Boston as the city and a date in March and no results came up.

I personally am not set up to host guest recording artist. My old guitarist rents out his studio here in Cali on a semi regular basis for $35 an hour but it is mainly used as a place to rehearse and practice. If they want to record that cost more and he's totally analog so no one ever records there...The one caveat that comes with guest, and why I don't host is you have to provide a bathroom. The wife is not going to want to deal with that so that isn't happening.

For the right situation this might work out....good luck!

I appreciate the insight, thats good to know.
yeah we haven't started our beta testing yet so you really won't see any of the studios untill i open that end of the site. I want to make sure there is enough studios on there at once. the one studio you see is mine back home in Miami, just so people get a eel for the website.

again thanks for the insight! and if we ever find ourselves in Cali, would love to meet your friend! What city is his studio in?

 

[TAE]

Covina R town studios...looks like he lowered his price a bit...damn $17 an hour is hardly worth the trouble

 

[Slouching Raymond]

I wouldn't want to record in someone's home.
If you hire a commercial studio, you have the right to demand what you've paid for.
You have the right to demand the full attention of the studio engineer, without them taking calls throughout.
You're paying for the use of kitchen/bathroom and any relaxation spaces.

There is a great difference between the investment of a home studio and a pro studio.
$4K is chicken feed in a pro srtudio.

 

[TAE]

I wouldn't want to record in someone's home.
If you hire a commercial studio, you have the right to demand what you've paid for.
You have the right to demand the full attention of the studio engineer, without them taking calls throughout.
You're paying for the use of kitchen/bathroom and any relaxation spaces.

There is a great difference between the investment of a home studio and a pro studio.
$4K is chicken feed in a pro srtudio.

I understand your position but. These days when we have an album that was recorded in a bedroom in LA WIN 5 of the 6 Grammy categories it was nominated for in 2020 there is something to be said about the ability to get a very professional recording in the comfort of your home. Fineas probably had @ $10K in gear...maybe.

99.9% of us recording our songs are never going to "make it" and the quality results we can get as home recorders is incredible.

Musicians and Home recr's come in all levels of recording ability and it is a long learning curve. I think Mateo is on to something making it viable to those that don't have the knowledge or the $4 or $5K to invest in modest recording tools to at least get some tracks down and start learning the process.

Me personally if I can't get a good enough recording on my own I have no need or want to pay someone else for songs that are never going make me a ton of money anyway. For me they're good enough for the girls I dance with.

Far from stellar I can press record on my iPhone being fed the audio of my mic and piano going into a usb mixer and get a waaaaay better quality audio AND video recordings than what was available to me 45 years ago when I had the opportunity to record a few times in some killer famous recording studios in LA.



Shameless promotion of the iphone recordings...

 

[Stuvi.Space]

I wouldn't want to record in someone's home.
If you hire a commercial studio, you have the right to demand what you've paid for.
You have the right to demand the full attention of the studio engineer, without them taking calls throughout.
You're paying for the use of kitchen/bathroom and any relaxation spaces.

There is a great difference between the investment of a home studio and a pro studio.
$4K is chicken feed in a pro srtudio.

Hey Raymond... biggups for sharing your opinion. Idk where you are in your musical journey / outside career, but i'm willing to bet spending upwards of 100$ a hour on studio spaces isn't much of a bother. Let me paint you a picture. You are 18,19,20,21... in college... music drives your life. music is the one thing that makes you feel at home in your college town hours away from home. Again, I don't know you or your situation, but most people in that position are not comfortable with paying more than 15$ for a meal let alone $100 an hour for a studio. Most people that make music nowadays aren't Drake. actually over 80% of Spotify artists this past year weren't backed by a label. As TAE mentioned, the difference between a professional grade studio, and an at home studio... is practically not noticeable. but now imagine you are that college student again, and for a quarter of the price of a professional studio, you can spend hours in a room with a few synths, a guitar, a bass, some great monitors, and all your ideas.

Btw, most of the times I rented my studio, I wasn't there
Besides mixing and mastering, for the most part a majority of releasing artists can produce. They have more than enough insight on logic, ableton, FL, ProTools, what they need is a space.

I see your point completely though. And we are working on tackling an issue you briefly mentioned. 'getting what you agreed on'.
Stuvi would include terms that both the artist and the studio owner would agree on, that states that all IP belongs to the artist, unless otherwise stated and agreed between the two on paper... and things alike. It is a safety net that ensures both the artist and the studio owner know what they are in for, and if any case were to be brought up, Stuvi can act on the situation.
As well as an insurance plan for studio owners that we are working on

 

[Serendipity Records]

I wouldn't want to record in someone's home.
If you hire a commercial studio, you have the right to demand what you've paid for.
You have the right to demand the full attention of the studio engineer, without them taking calls throughout.
You're paying for the use of kitchen/bathroom and any relaxation spaces.

There is a great difference between the investment of a home studio and a pro studio.
$4K is chicken feed in a pro srtudio.

Well, I have to disagree there. I worked on a project that was paid for by someone else than me, that involved me recording at a guy's home for an afternoon. His piano was in the living room and the studio itself occupied the basement. Really good setup (in the studio), nice gear -- way better than what I own and use for my private projects. The owner engineered for us -- everything else was outsourced by the producer. I believe the quote that got the studio the job was $500 CAD for 4-5 hours?

And if I eventually record an album myself -- which is on my bucketlist even though I'm way too busy (and broke) to take on a big project like that -- I'm going to go with that deal.

 

[Stuvi.Space]

Well, I have to disagree there. I worked on a project that was paid for by someone else than me, that involved me recording at a guy's home for an afternoon. His piano was in the living room and the studio itself occupied the basement. Really good setup (in the studio), nice gear -- way better than what I own and use for my private projects. The owner engineered for us -- everything else was outsourced by the producer. I believe the quote that got the studio the job was $500 CAD for 4-5 hours?

And if I eventually record an album myself -- which is on my bucketlist even though I'm way too busy (and broke) to take on a big project like that -- I'm going to go with that deal.

This is really cool to hear. I think the perfect fit for a majority of artists is a situation like this. It stems from the Cost vs Quality dilema. Too many artists are either forced to sacrifice good quality (because they can't afford the only available studios which are practically all pro-grade) or they empty their bank account on a couple sessions.

I reckon a lot of people are in a similar situation to you where they wish to record an album, but (excluding your schedule) are intimidated by costs.

 

[noah330]

If people are willing to pay $4000 worth of gear, that's wonderful. At that level, most people would just be buying gear.

 

[TAE]

Good article on recording music with the tools available to the general public these days.

Bottom line as Baker says in this article

Donny Baker of ES Audio Services in Glendale, CA

At the end of the day, what you put into your basement studio or commercial space with all the creature comforts only goes so far. You need to have the talent to secure paying clients and keep them coming back. It’s the experience you bring to each session.

“A ‘real’ studio is not just about the gear,” Baker says. “It has a lot to do with the room in which you record and the experience of the engineer. If your artist has the talent, it’s your gig to capture that talent in a way that translates. A pro studio can be put together with just an MBox and a laptop.

“There is nothing wrong with being able to produce great music or work on film and TV shows at home with a simple setup. With that said, if you want to have a facility to bring an artist into and have them be creative and comfortable, having a world-class facility can be very expensive. The point here is that you could do it for $300 or $3 million and still get the same results.”

 

[TAE]

Fineas interview about him producing Billie's first album in his bedroom...such a cool success story.....

This is no humblebrag bedroom studio that turns out to have been professionally outfitted. It’s just a regular bedroom, with a bed against one wall, where Eilish sat to record her vocals, facing a desk and bookshelves and O’Connell’s modest production setup: Apple Logic Pro X, a Universal Audio Apollo 8 interface and a pair of Yamaha HS5 nearfields with an H8S subwoofer.

 

[TAE]

 

[TAE]

OK I'm a Billie Eilish fan....and a Fineas fan...

When we get all hotty totty about what is good , what is bad we place ourselves in a box that is hard to get out of.

A great song is a great song if a lot of people agree it is a great song...If the masses say it sucks ( even if it is a great song) it sucks. That's just the way it goes.
I posted that video of my buddies sons doing metal here in the show off forum...They love it, it is a great song to them. I don't like metal and neither do most the old farts here at HR so it's not our jam. It's not our cup of tea.... I think they are barking up the wrong tree but I'd be happy if I was wrong...just don't think I am.

With regard to the home studio thing vs the big bad ass studio.. As evidenced herein there is no arguing that a multi platinum hit song can be recorded in a bedroom.

Billie and her brother are Unicorns in a world of Donkeys...lucky Unicorns at that.... She was frickin 13 when Ocean eyes was posted on soundcloud on a whim...3 weeks later they are being courted by the major labels.

If you go to the finest most expensive studio in the world and record your song if it is a flop, it's a flop,,,if it's a killer hit it's a killer hit. Garbage in, garbage out...try as one might, no matter how much you spend on polishing equipment you can not polish a turd but you can polish a diamond in the rough.

Love this interview with Billie she's so down to earth real deal

She's 14 or 15 when this live performance was recorded with Fin

 

[Papanate]

Fineas interview about him producing Billie's first album in his bedroom...such a cool success story.....

Yes Fineas recorded the tracks in his modest bedroom studio - but final mixing was handled by engineer Rob Kinelski - and it’s he who took the tracks to the next level
that won them Grammy’s - and BTW Fineas and Eilish did each track 30 or 40 times till they had it perfect - or a comp that they could present - there isn’t a lot of miracle mixing going on in Home Studios - just tons of hard work and sweat.

 

[TAE]

As I understand it..( I read it one the internet ) Yes on the released album, No on the version they posted on soundcloud.... that was just the Fineas mix and that is what went viral and put them on the map..Fineas speaks of how final "Mixing" was done by Rob but effects and such were all Fineas...He just wanted Rob to fine tune the mix

 

[Papanate]

As I understand it..( I read it one the internet ) Yes on the released album, No on the version they posted on soundcloud.... that was just the Fineas mix and that is what went viral and put them on the map..Fineas speaks of how final "Mixing" was done by Rob but effects and such were all Fineas...He just wanted Rob to fine tune the mix

Fineas says what he says - and he is talented - but even the SoundCloud mix wasn’t his mix - no matter what he claims - he had tons of help.

 

[TAE]

Fineas says what he says - and he is talented - but even the SoundCloud mix wasn’t his mix - no matter what he claims - he had tons of help.

Why would you say that? They were nobody's prior to that release. Yes he was a child acting star and had a twitter following but they were just slumming it trying to figure out how to break into the industry...He wrote Ocean eyes for the band he was playing in doing free gigs in La la land..

 

[TAE]

 

[Serendipity Records]

I strongly dislike the whole Eilish image and the "Pop" subgenre of pop music as a whole. Like @Papanate I would be wary of putting too much faith in stories -- "humble beginnings" are known to be exaggerated by artists of all stripes. But still, I (somewhat grudgingly) acknowledge that they are quite successful at what they do.