10 Things You Need For A SUCCESSFUL Recording STUDIO Business

My Gear: imp.i114863.net/dogPy2
Sure, gear helps when running a studio... but what things actually make a successful business have little to nothing to do with the actual gear you choose. Technical Skills, Communication, Problem Soling, Attention to detail, Busines acumen, Time management, collaboration, adaptability, creativity, marketing, and networking. These things till help you business thrive regardless of what is in your gear rack.
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[@inthekeyofdrew1201]

As someone who is 4 short months away from finishing his Bachelor in Music Production, I cannot tell you how great it was to stumble upon you, your channel, and your great insights! You have given a wealth of knowledge that is not taught in school. Some point are addressed, but not all and especially to the extent that you give! Thank you very much for all of your insight and please keep them coming! I really wish I could come and sort of intern under you! The hr drive would be nothing compared to the knowledge and experience 😁

[@based_circuit]

I'm 30 years old and have spent the last 10 years carving my way into a successful software engineer/architect at a big consulting firm while doing music as a hobbyist. I now finally have the disposable income to build out a serious home studio and planning to ease into my own recording studio over the course of the next 10 years in the least risky way possible. As I'm building out my home studio, I've been finding that much of the skills and ways of engineering solutions in my day job translate very closely to operating audio equipment, troubleshooting issues and approaching music with both nuance and quick decision making. This video helped reaffirm some of my assumptions. It's not the traditional path to this role, but I'd be interested to hear from anyone in the comments here that have gone a path similar to the one I plan on.

[@AndrewMasters]

All great points, and a fantastic backdrop of course.

[@RecordingStudioLoser]

Thanks man! We need to figure out a time for you to see it in person sometime.

[@CybreSmee]

100% agree with all of that. The big change for me came when I invested heavily into my gear. I was on a laptop charging $20/hr and getting nowhere for years. We then collectively invested serious money into a large format console and matching live room, and added $100 to our hourly rate and we now turn away work (after about 3 years). Most of our work is corporate stuff, but customers take us seriously an are happy to invest more money in their projects since we have the impressive gear, plus we've had the equipment to learn and become proficient with (we usually bring in engineers for band projects as an upsell). We built a solid portfolio in the first few months bringing headline bands through for very cheap or free, the testimonials were gold.

[@willsantos3781]

As a 31yr old now and running a my own commercial recording studio, I find myself eventually moving away from the hourly rate and just charging per song. We are lucky enough to be in the position where we turn down certain work at time I have noticed when charging per song things move and flow much better and clients feel less pressure to squeeze in the best performance in a time crunch.

[@Dazz1806]

Great advice man. I 100% agree with everything. It’s about being a professional, and a decent human being.

[@matfoster5938]

A note on time management: Definitely super important, but even more important I think is managing your focus. You could be allocating 2-3 hours for a mixing session, but how effective are you at extracting the most out of that time? Awesome video!

[@jonathanheinzman2703]

Love this video man. I was looking for exactly this. All the other videos on this topic have just been about gear, so it's super refreshing to finally get one about the skills you need. That background definitely looks great and you seem like a knowledgable and respectable guy. Thanks!

[@BeejayMorgan]

Man, thanks for these videos... Soft skills are tough to teach. I'm weeks away from completing the build on a new studio, and I plan to lean heavily on the soft skills I've learned as an Engineering Manager to help keep the doors open.

[@timm3376]

I'm always inspired by the way you talk to your audience with the information given. There is a positive and learning aspect to your videos that I enjoy. I like to work on trying to progress and evolve with each instance that I create or build. Thanks for the your time making these videos.

[@RecordingStudioLoser]

I appreciate that, thank you!

[@Justanothermusicproducer]

Thank you for all the info and content you give us! Greetings from a small project studio in Spain!

[@trebleboost7]

Excellent Points! As a home studio owner, I need to be producer/artist/engineer all in one. The unique and crazy unexpected problems that have cropped up on past projects that almost prevented the ball from going across the goal line have been staggering (and most of them DAW related)! Problem solving has had to be one of the biggest elements. I am trying to minimize this! I am doing this more for selected fun projects going forward so at least don't have to worry so much about the business angle.

[@AJOrpheo]

I would say the best investment I ever made for my studio business was actually taking less time in the studio to take an entry level CPA job (one that lets me help in the process and basically be a CPA assistant but without needing a degree or license). HOLY CRAP, the amount of time and probably money that I’ll save is insane. Now, not realistic for everyone, but if you took some time to learn those business and money skills, I bet you can have an adequate sound with subpar gear but out perform business wise your competition that has more skill and gear. Albeit you have good networking skills. But you can’t really be a studio without that so it’s assumed. If you want to learn the money skills be wary of KZbin, great resources but just be careful what advice you take. My suggestion is you can do something called “auditing a course” essentially you’re allowed to take the class but not get credit. Most community and even big colleges let you do this for a semester for less than 50 or 20 bucks a class. I’m telling you: YOURE WALLET AND BUSINESS WILL BE 1000x BETTER FOR IT!

[@chideraben100]

Please can you recommend a course I can take?

[@TonyThomas10000]

Great advice. Recording is a service business and people skills are the most important!

[@MajorBruno]

Love this style of video, definitely one of my favorite things you're doing with the channel! I run a composition/sound design business, and there's enough overlap that these videos always give me something new to think about.

[@RecordingStudioLoser]

Dude I have seen your channel! Its nuts... sound design for games blows my mind. So cool

[@MajorBruno]

@@RecordingStudioLoser That's super kind of you to say dude! Made my day. Still early days for me, but I'm enjoying learning and soaking up as much as possible. Really appreciate what you do and how much it helps!

[@bluenotesharp]

As an ex studio owner and pro mix engineer for 30+ years I really appreciate you giving back to the new upcoming creative teams. You make so many good points in this video …..and I really enjoyed your story about the bad broadcast plug-in sucking almost all of the processing power you had available at the time. I’m one of the lucky ones who transitioned from total analog to the new automation options to DAT to Winchester drives to Digital Hard disk based DAW’s. Many of these skills were transferable like mic choices and placement techniques. Cut , copy , and paste was a physical tape thing. What a wonderful journey it’s been. That being said I get to pick and choose my projects these days and now there is music production for video games , television , cartoons , and film that is easier than you may think if you know your stuff and have the biz skills you mentioned just now. I just want to wish everyone luck who is coming up and keep in mind that if you are suddenly dealing with an argumentative group in your control room. Just look for some wooden trim on your console or control surface and say in a strong clear voice : “ Do you think this is real wood?” Todd Rundgren used this trick many times and his head engineer taught it to me. Totally diffuses any argument or band disagreement in the studio. Works like magic! Have some fun but know your place. If you are the engineer don’t produce!! Just record excellent tracks. ‘Nuff Said

[@WorldBurial]

The part about knowing your place is important indeed. It applies to interns as well as the main mixing engineer. But to be honest, it's sometimes difficult not to contribute ideas when you're also a musician and have worked with a band several times before. It has happened that I was hired as a mixing engineer, got quite involved in the session, started thinking of ideas and talked about it with the band when something wasn't working well. Other times I kept quiet. You have to be able to read the room though and see if they like that approach or not. It's a fine line between nudging in the right direction and trying to change or add too much. Sometimes bands just ask what you think and welcome input of course. The psychological part is also big. For example navigating a tense situation between some band members. I then try to listen to their individual complaints while at the same time not choosing an obvious side to keep things as calm as possible.

[@shaunmaq]

Thank You Sir...

[@michaelclover9186]

GREAT info!!!! I’m semi retired from the studio business after 30+ years. “Business Acumen” can’t be underrated. Looking forward to your opinions on the gear needed.

[@RecordingStudioLoser]

Thanks! On the gear I don’t get super specific as to not promote to many things. I tried to keep it very 101.

[@pro_influence]

Thanks for sharing this

[@BrainBurg-bq2si]

Thanks for the info, it’s useful. Drive is everything. Equipment is still important. Knowing how to use it is more important. Not being a grown child is the most important. I see a lot of comments that note commenter’s age. That is a sign. If you are noting your age, then it’s time to grow up and get to work. Wake up early. Stop smoking weed all day. Stop complaining about whatever you are currently complaining about. Focus on work. This is still a job. If it’s what you are going to do with your life, then start focusing on others.

[@danymalsound]

Great stuff as always! On a side note, sometimes I just put on a vid of yours 'cause I like the sound of your voice lol Cheers, brotha!

[@RecordingStudioLoser]

Careful - Your making me want to start that podcast I've put on the backburner.

[@dougleydorite]

It’s all gear. Don’t let anyone try to tell you that experience and skill factor in. Buy the big name items for the KZbin and Instagram and say it’s not the gear

[@SouthSidePretty]

This is a lie. I been an engineer for over 10yrs and I promise you gear don’t mean that much.

[@dougleydorite]

@@SouthSidePretty Ah - I was being sarcastic. a bit like a rich person telling you that books are more important than their Lamborghini. You have to rememember that these influencers have their hands in sweetwater and Focals pocket, vice versa

[@eshortsax]

I realized that I’ve been subscribed for a few months now because I love music and your videos but I haven’t left many comments. For that I do apologize, I’ll do better. I do enjoy everything I have seen even if I haven’t left a comment 🙂

[@RecordingStudioLoser]

I am a lurker by nature. Totally get it. Cheers man!

[@weschilton]

Lots of great points made here, that can pretty much apply to any small business. :)

[@RecordingStudioLoser]

we aren't so special after all... lol

[@weschilton]

@@RecordingStudioLoser Haha, well you do call yourself a "loser" ;)

[@typewritermark]

How i love your videos, let me count the ways: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, 10!

[@RecordingStudioLoser]

Awww thanks dude

[@louiegolden]

Ah yes, the hardest of truths! I love this.

[@RecordingStudioLoser]

That’s what she said. --I watch the office too much

[@busywl69]

#1 plug ins

[@BadbwoyKelly]

All facts

[@bradzillarocks]

Time management is definitely an area I'm trying to improve on especially now that I have more time daily to work on music. As far as business acumen, did you have an education on it, or did you just learn by doing, and do you have any recommendations for reading material that helped you?

[@prodpenthouse]

I think the first step is super important. So many problems pop up and if you can't fix em quickly you're kinda screwed lol.

[@prodpenthouse]

number 3 as well lmao

[@cloudstrife6138]

It is gear when you can even star because of it

[@bboymac84]

Ear over gear

[@LeChapeauMusic]

Wait did you just say that Pro Tools... CRASHED? This is the first time this has ever happened in history!!! Unbelievable!!!

[@zeenuf00]

You need to actually have TASTE. Seriously. It's not just getting things to sound good. It's about what sounds good WITHIN WHAT CONTEXT. EXAMPLE: a 'great' snare sound could be completely wrong for the song. Maybe a crappy, boxy sounding snare is right for the song,. AESTHETIC ABILTIY. TASTE. Any nerd can learn how to work Pro-Tools and learn what a compressor does. You have to have a well developed AESTHETIC SENSE to serve your clients well if you're an engineer. Here's something else: if you're a local recording studio - meaning you're working with local, weekend warrior type musicians - you're not gonna be working with super proficient musicians and people who have great artistic vision. THEY'LL NEED HELP. The bass player will have crappy tone, the guitarist(s) gear won't be working right, the singer won't have any idea what singing in key actually means. Unless you want to put out music that sounds like TOTAL F'NG GARBAGE and gain a bad reputation for yourself, you'll need to help people with all of this. YES, it is your responsibility. Technical ability goes without saying. And learn about MUSIC. Basic music theory. How to count bars. Basic diatonic chord theory. What a major and minor third is. Don't be stupid. Know things.

[@RecordingStudioLoser]

Taste is something I talk about a lot. you need to be have a developed palate of music you can always reference back. That’s what gets you gigs. That’s why people come to you. This video was trying to speak to the other side of things.