Working for Myself

[thecr4ne]

I've been collecting gear for years and not using it because of annoying responsibilities like Mortgage payments and home remodeling. I'm getting sick of my job and want to move on to doing something for myself. I'd like to put together a recording studio, but with a different twist on it. Making it a not-for-profit venture, possibly even a learning studio for people interested in getting into making records, or even into the tech side of things, repairing, modding, building gear. Sort of an audio oriented maker space or something. I live in southern California, about an hour from LA, and I just want something local for people like me to actually get an opportunity to dig into this world without spending a fortune to do it. I figure I could try to croudfund the startup costs and start small and just see where it goes.

Am I crazy? Is this even worth trying in a world where laptops can do it well enough? Is there enough money in this anymore to sustain a small startup shop?

I need some encouragement, or a solid case presented against trying to go out on my own. I should just do it but I can't help but overthink it all.

-Chris

 

[pucho812]

dude go for it.

plenty of us so cal locals around here. go do it. 8)

 

[bluebird]

"Making it a not for profit" venture is key here As most small studios are by default "barely for profit".

I think its a wonderful idea... I'm not sure how your going to keep up the mortgage payments following your (this) dream though. I would definitely keep the day job until you have a fully working model.

 

[PRR]

Since, as you say, the "gear" is now everyday, maybe you should focus on "help". Get the artist out of their garage into a different place (your garage?). Listen to their work. Suggest enhancements (be the friendly producer). Operate the laptop (desk, whatever). Know something about marketing, at least how to post to social media.

The problem is still in finding people with more money than you could get from the same number of hours flipping burgers.

 

[scott2000]

I remember many years ago after sitting in a seminar with Jimmy Douglas and some others,  at the end being told. once you master this, you'll be able to make several hundreds of dollars in a semi joking way...... 

I started noticing several years ago how helpful several industry people were  online with Youtube channels and instructional videos and such. 

I posted a Steve Duda video a while back somewhere and it was interesting to hear how his career path went.  In the beginning of the video he talked about how, after he finished his music college courses the professor said congratulations to the class. He then told them they could now go get their Masters in teaching music because that's most likely the only way you'll be able to make a living.

Of course it doesn't have to be the case but, it's not entirely untrue.  Steve stayed in the music industry any way he could and became a successful music software developer eventually...

Here it is...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOUkI5hH2HY

I think I heard on Oprah one weekend, my wife always has it on on Super Soul Sundays :-[, that

" What you appreciate. appreciates"

 

[Tubetec]

Im in a similar situation, plenty of gear ,but just no workable set up . Many of the projects Ive done over the years I've subsidised cause the artists didnt really have a pot to piss in ,but their talent was worthy of getting down on tape.I think a lot of modern teaching set up's end up focusing way too much time on computers ,back in the old day you had an MTR ,more fucus was put into signal chain and micing technique,fix  it in the mix was always an option ,but nowadays with computers its almost always 'we'll fix it up later' mentality. I'm not sure Id even want a walk in off the street type commercial studio in any case ,it would be much nicer to be able to chose who you record on merit and simply scouting new bands that appear and offer them a deal

Another option I've been looking into is trying to get in under the roof of an artists collective ,there was such an entity here I was negotiating with ,funded by government money ,but it vanished and sent all the artists packing in the end .

Another thing I was thinking was just to get a mobile setup ,then simply rent beg or borrow a place to record as and when needed , kinda like the Daniel Lanois install methodology.I have plenty of space and an outbuilding I can easily convert into a studio ,but somehow I find it hard to motivate myself to do it .

Going down the road of a teaching studio is of course another option ,funding might be available in such cases but your probably subject to tons of rules and inspections as it is more or less a youthwork project . In any case ,if your bringing in young bands there going to learn about studio anyway . The oversight involved and qualifications needed for lets say a state funded thing might end up killing the good in it too .

I liked PRR's comment  ,
even the serious wedding/cover band guys here almost all have day jobs to to keep a roof over ,even the big name studios in Dublin are pitching at the home end of the market, if you do it too cheaply or for nothing yourself its like burning the candle at both ends business wise.

One idea would be ,even if cash doesnt change hands for the recording of a band ,a notional daily rate is incurred, then if theres a bite from a big label in theory you get something off the upswing as well as maybe getting paid for earlier work ,it would be beautifull if it happened like that ,but all to often the band will get a sniff of the money and get duped into putting themselves into serious debt to record their album ,end of day they wheellspin  and leave you in a cloud of dust.

Even the most humble studios nowadays can get great results ,if you have a decent analog front end, tube mics ,mic amps ,comps etc and you know your stuff the only limit nowadays really is the quality of the artist, also as Prr mentioned people skills and being able to shepherd/produce, gain the trust of the people your working with and maintaining  their interest in the process in a day of 'screen gawping' in studios  ,thats really is the biggest challenge .You can get the tech side of it down to a T, but the human element is always going to throw you curve balls . The attention span of the younger generation isnt what it used to be ,same time sitting watching someone clicking a mouse with their head in a screen for hours on end is boring AF, I generally find for recording vocals its almost always better to kick the rest of the band to the kitchen to drink coffee and roll spliffs or what ever, one wrong comment over the talk back from a band member ,and your vocalists confidence can drop through the floor .

Anyway hopefully something to inspire you there ,best of luck with it .

 

[dmp]

I've been collecting gear for years and not using it because of annoying responsibilities like Mortgage payments and home remodeling. I'm getting sick of my job and want to move on to doing something for myself. I'd like to put together a recording studio, but with a different twist on it. Making it a not-for-profit venture, possibly even a learning studio for people interested in getting into making records, or even into the tech side of things, repairing, modding, building gear. Sort of an audio oriented maker space or something. I live in southern California, about an hour from LA, and I just want something local for people like me to actually get an opportunity to dig into this world without spending a fortune to do it. I figure I could try to croudfund the startup costs and start small and just see where it goes.

Am I crazy? Is this even worth trying in a world where laptops can do it well enough? Is there enough money in this anymore to sustain a small startup shop?

I need some encouragement, or a solid case presented against trying to go out on my own. I should just do it but I can't help but overthink it all.

-Chris

I think it's a great idea. But go in with reasonable expectations

I rent a loft in a warehouse area with a few guys as a studio / rehearsal space. We all chip in to cover the rent.
Although gear isn't limiting anyone these days, a big nice sounding room is rare. And a place where you can leave stuff setup, turn up the amps loud, and get away from your house/ apartment is. So I'd focus on that when you are scouting locations.
Covering rent is about the most you can hope for, in my experience.  If you even want to pay yourself a salary it's gonna be tough.
Basically you run out of desirable hours that people want to be in there (evenings) and the price people will pay barely covers rent (in my experience).  But hey your location might be different.

 

[thecr4ne]

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the support and the emphasis on realistic expectations. I am feeling more and more serious about this each day, and have started working on getting the wheels turning. I'm in touch with some people still heavily involved in a local DIY music scene and they are supportive of the idea. I think it could go somewhere, but there's a lot of distillation of ideas into plans to be done. If things look clearer at any point, I'll be sure to post an update.
Thanks again,
-Chris

 

[Tubetec]

I ran rehearsal spaces a fair bit over the years ,initially a buddy got a very cheap short term lease on a large building, enough space for two large bright and airey rehearsal spaces and a studio,another friend pitched in and brought his 8 track Teac and studiomaster mixer , but I was also working in a pro studio at the time so I could borrow extra gear if I needed it . Main rehearsal space was huge ,I did a few interesting recordings using ambient mics on the drums both in the room and on the stairwell that led off it .That operation lasted close to two years ,and all my amps were blowing fuses by the end of it .

Later I shared a workshop with a luthier in the city ,It was brick vaulted ceiling wood on concrete floors ,and to all intents and purposes underground ,so even though city centre location ,quiet enough noise wise to even record vocals or acoustic instruments.
It doubled as a rehearsal space also,  wasnt advertised ,only word of mouth and on personal recomendation /subject to approval ,that worked great ,never any hassle ,well no your always going to get one or two incidents along the way ,but  no damage to person or property in any case.

I did see a few other rehearsal space/studio projects turned into no more than an excuse for people to lay around on couches drinking ,smoking weed and probably heroin . Its all to easy to turn up at your rehearsal rooms one day and find a scene like something from 'Cocksuckerblues' going on ,secure lockdown of your control room in any case is going to be essential . Still if the party starts to get out of hand in the longer term your place might aquire a bad rep,damage, theft and attention from law and order etc not good things at all .

The system I worked the later rehearsal space was ,the customer would pre-arrange an evening ,they could either pick up the key in the afternoon or ,meet me in the pub having a pint after work etc  ,after they left and locked the doors the key was posted in a letter box ,so in theory at least you dont have spare sets of keys floating around .in any case my work colleague lived on the same street as the rehearsal/workshop . Location is everything if you have to end up making a trip out there at night to lock up etc ,again leaving unknowns rehearse or what ever else on an all night basis without oversight could draw in the night crawlers, we happened to have a very co-opperative security guy ,who in certain cases where night lock in was required it could be arranged , I think for insurance reasons it had to be accounted for if someone was in there after hours but it wasnt an issue at all.
Its a bit of a graveyard of best intentions the rehearsal space game ,but if you can establish a small solid client base and you really know your stuff as well as,have high quality gear  ,word of mouth will do the rest for you .

I work from home now ,I do miss the craic of the workshop city centre ,and the networking and social elements of it ,everything is by appointment nowadays.

 

[sodderboy]

I've been mulling ideas on this since I first read it and my first instinct was along bluebird's thinking. How could one turn their existing business into a non-profit when it is just sustaining?  Something jarred my thoughts and reversed polarity.
Start it as a non-profit rather that transform something existing. Write a business plan and  actively seek arts grants and sponsors. Locally here there are at least five sources of gubment money looking to fund the arts. Then you have local businesses that will be happy to donate supplies/funding for your endeavor for some publicity.
If you really have the joy and energy to realize it then you can shop it to any of the thousands of private charitable foundations looking to support the arts.
Listen to your local npr station and you will hear the numerous sponsors of the programming.
The energy that you create will attract singular sources of funding that you never thought existed.
I didn't search it but SCORE must still exist in some form, where you can present your plan to a retired bank officer or corporate executive who will help you craft your idea for free.
Go for it!

 

[JMFahey]

Give it a try but do not leave your day job.

Problem is average Musician (which will be your average customer) is always broke, period.

PS: I have *always*  worked on my own, successfully, and for almost 50 years (in February) but .... started in 1969!!!!! , a very different World.