Starting a recording business???

  • Thread starter Thread starter jerberson12
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jerberson12

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I am starting my recording business for the first time.
I dont know how this one works and whats the usual way to charge people.

So do I charge people per hour during tracking? That will be more or less time depending on there performance.

and then I am going to mix and master the project. Will that be a separete charge like per song? or is it supposed to be included on my hourly rate?
 
There are quite a few charging schemes you could consider, though the favourite option (from YOUR point of view) would be an hourly rate for everything.

However, may I suggest that your first move should perhaps be a bit of market research, particularly looking at what competition you have. If you're the only facility for miles around you have a fair bit of freedom in determining your pricing; if there are lots of other options for clients, you'll have to fit in with what and how they charge.
 
The relative ease and cheap cost of recording and recording equipment these days makes it seem like an attractive idea as a business. There are a billion little garage bands and they all want to make singles and demos to put all over social networking sites. The problem is that the low cost and ease of recording is also the reason why literally anyone can do it now all on their own without needing to go to budget home-made studios. If you're the only game in your locale, then try it out. If you have competition, forget it, unless you're okay with having two jobs.

Some say it's cool to make a living doing something you love. I say that when something you love becomes a job, you won't love it for long.

Do some research, check rates around you and online, and see if it's even worth the trouble.
 
Greg_L said:
The relative ease and cheap cost of recording and recording equipment these days makes it seem like an attractive idea as a business. There are a billion little garage bands and they all want to make singles and demos to put all over social networking sites. The problem is that the low cost and ease of recording is also the reason why literally anyone can do it now all on their own without needing to go to budget home-made studios. If you're the only game in your locale, then try it out. If you have competition, forget it, unless you're okay with having two jobs.

Some say it's cool to make a living doing something you love. I say that when something you love becomes a job, you won't love it for long.

Do some research, check rates around you and online, and see if it's even worth the trouble.
Click to expand...

+1...

it`s easy to start thinking about getting a recording studio going..but as mentioned above, ya need to remember, that as affordable as alot of the various needed equiptment is these days, there`s a whole mess of people out there doing it..
and my thinking is..chances are, that most bands that have any kind of decent equiptment, and knowledge of music etc, likely has a member, or someone close who has equiptment capable of recording them...

That said..IMO, just starting out, it seams as though you`d pretty much have to focas on recording absolute young`in/beginner bands, who have`nt been in the game long enough to put together their own setup, or who does`nt already know someone who has..(which means they likely can`t aford much??)

I`m new to the whole recording thing, but been around the bock a time or two when it comes to bands etc..
and it seams to me, that "recording at home", be it a friends band, your self, family etc. is one thing, but going comercial for lack of a better term, you`d have to go big or stay home, if ya catch my drift..
I`m not at all saying it can`t be done..but unless you live way out in the sticks, chances are, someone else (more then likely ALOT of someone else`es) are already knee deep..

Just for the heck of it, I just did a search on CL, and emediatly ran across this add..
now a picture does`nt mean a whole lot, but it`s enough to let me know, there`s defiantly competition near by..and...their price is only $35 an hour...
so figure in the overhead on that (electric bill, payed helper/worker?, upkeep on the equiptment etc) and that`s not alot of money really..
Signwave Recording Studio Record Mix Master

anyway, by all means explore it, and see what ya find...I`m defiantly not saying it`s not posible, but rather, that it may not be as easy, and profitable as one can easily think..
 
Greg speaks the truth. To add to it, the only way you will set yourself apart in the marketplace is to be darned good at it- and see to it that people in your area know it. Unless you stumble across someone who is Grammy-bound, regardless of WHO they record with, getting to that point is gonna take years. And years.

My son owns and runs studio101nola (website Studio 101 NOLA - Rehearsal Studios, Practice Rooms and Jam Spaces in New Orleans - Get as loud as you want!) and he's got some experience and contacts under his belt- and the recording jobs are pretty scarce- he views them as gravy. He relies on renting rehearsal space, back-line rentals and live-sound gigs to keep the doors open. If I do say so myself, he's got some chops for recording, too, but he's not gonna get rich any time soon.
 
Charge $50 bucks an hour for everything. Clock starts when the clients starts unloading their guitars into your studio.
 
Hmmm, I'm not sure about charging by the hour, though it depends if your goal is just to record and mix bands for fun, or if you want to build a CV. Even in the "rehearsal room" studios I've recorded in, they've charged by the day, the same as the ones higher up the ladder. Charging by the hour might get undisciplined bands to up their game and give you better results to work with, but there's so much setup time involved that you're better off charging by the day. You could charge by the hour in the evenings though, such as if bands want to record vocals and other odds and ends.
 
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