Spec Deals

[bknot1]

Since I brought it up in another thread.. here is some info to think about when doin a spec deal..

What Is A Spec Deal?
In most cases the band does not have the type of money that it would cost to do a pro record. The time spent on preproduction alone would break most bands and this doesn't take into account the studio's time. If the producer or engineer really believes in the band with little or no money, a spec deal will be worked out.




A spec deal means that the producer will agree to work with the band for little or no money up front, but with the agreement that a band starts to sell records, they must pay back the producer first. It must be said that an extremely small number of producers actually come out on the winning end of such spec deals. I'm in the middle of one right now. I must say that it has been a great learning experience.

Before you sign on the dotted line, consider this:

Doing full blown songwriting, preproduction, and recording of a band is going to eat up a lot of your time. I agreed to my spec deal in March. Here it is on Thanksgiving and we just picked the songs we want to use. We now have to go through a ton of preproduction before we actually record the record. Note: We've been working on this project about once per week. You definitely need to make sure you believe in the band enough to miss out on this much business.

What is the character of the band? Would you leave them alone in a room with your girlfriend? If you wouldn't, don't do it. There will be issues that rise up and you and the band will need to be able to resolve these issues in a civil manner. Work with bands that you have worked with before. If you don't feel 100% comfortable with them, don't it.

Figure out the business and sign something beforehand. There are a ton of issues that have to be decided on. Going for a spec deal is about like trying to win the lottery. Make sure that if you actually hit the jackpot that everyone is treated fairly. You'll need to decide on who is paying the cost for...everything. Obviously, at least a portion (but maybe all) of the recording expense is waived early on. What about the printing of the cds? What about mastering? What about marketing? Who gets credit for songwriting? How much is the studio time really worth?

Is the band in it for the long haul? I've been recording full time for about 4 years now. I've only recorded 2 bands second album. I get plenty of repeat business, it's just the bands seldom last beyond one record. You should expect this, too. If the band breaks up before the album is finished, you need a plan to make sure the producer doesn't work months and months for nothing. One solution is to ask the band to pay for something large up front such as a pro drum room rental or cd replication. Have them give you the cash for this and you'll be expected to pay for this when the time is right. If the band splits, you keep the money.

What about the singer? In most spec deals, the singer is simply irreplaceable. If the singer is an integral part of the system, you will want to make sure that the singer is sticking around. You need to figure out something if the singer decides to walk off.

What does the band look like? Does the band have the commercial appeal to sell records on a larger level? Are their gigs packed now? A band would have to be mind blowing for me to work with them if they didn't already have a large following.

Is the band driven? This relates to number 6 a lot. How is their online presence? Do they work hard? Are they always trying to market themselves? Have you ever seen a local person wearing their tshirts?

Problems With My Spec Deal

While working in my spec deal has been a great process and a lot of fun, it's been nerve racking at times. There was a scare that one of the members was going to quit the band and join another band. That was very scary. I had no prearranged deal. I would have been screwed.

Sometimes the band seams highly motivated to work on the band when they are not in the studio. Sometimes they do not. How do you ensure that the band you are working with is going to work hard when the record is done? This is something that should be considered.

I sometimes ask myself, ?Is this band going to sell records??. There is obvious talent there, but is the marketing know how there to push the record into really selling? This is something that I just don't know about. I try to stay positive, but it's an issue that I think about from time to time.

Remember Why You Hopped Into The Spec Deal In The First Place

For Me, I wanted to work with a great rock band with some of the best local musicians that I could find. I wanted to write the best possible songs and I wanted to make the most entertaining record for the most people I could in the local area. I wanted to make a record that had never been made in my local area. I wanted a cd that I would be proud of. I wanted the band to be pushed hard enough to sell a few records. I didn't expect to make any big money and I did expect to spend a lot of time. I wanted to learn something about producing and get better at recording. I wanted my studio to be a household name for every local musician.

Conclusion

A spec deal is a tremendous amount of work which could correlate into a tremendous risk for the home studio owner. There will problems you that you can not for see ahead of you and the odds of getting paid what you put into are slim. If you pick the right band, it's work well spent even if the record is a flop. There is always that chance that the record will explode. Even if it doesn't explode, your studio will get more work if the project turns out as great as it should from putting that much time into it. Good luck and fair warning. Let me know how it goes.

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