Recording Studio Gig

[EverlastingDawn]

This is probably not the right place to post this, but I did look and couldn't figure out a section that would have more to do with recording studios than this one, so here it goes:

 

In a couple of weeks I will be starting my studies as a music production and composition major at the Hartt School in West Hartford, CT. I'm really excited about it and looking forward to working in a studio once I get out of there.

 

I'm so excited actually, that I would like to start early! So here is where you come in. Does anyone here have any experience with getting jobs in recording studios and how to go about it? My knowledge of the equipment is somewhat limited. All I know is from playing around with DAWs at home and a couple of basic classes I took in community college. But I'm willing to do any sort of work in the studio, even grabbing coffee .

 

So how do I start? I imagine looking up recording studios in the area and sending some emails might be a good start? Does anyone have any experience with this and could let me know what to expect and what they might expect?

[chris carter]

There are three kinds of engineers in music.

 

1) Employed. These are rare positions, very rare. Like they almost don't exist except for assistant engineer positions that will pay minimum wage. There are very few commercial studios these days and there are 1000 qualified applicants for every assistant position. Most studios that used to have assistants have pared their staff to 1 and use interns for everything else. Good luck.

 

2) In-house. You are an independent contracter, but you essentially reside at one studio. Again, very few studios out there and there is a long long list of very experienced engineers who are out of work that you are competing against for a small handfull of jobs. Good luck.

 

3) Freelance. These are guys that bounce around from studio to studio. You are responsible for finding a client to hire you and then you book the studio.

 

I really hate schools that advertise that you can get a job in the music industry as an engineer because it just isn't true. Your odds of landing a gig are next to nil.

 

On the other hand, if you want to do audio for gaming, telecommunications, etc. you will have a LOT better chances. You will be an employee and get health care and all that stuff. You will actually make a decent salary. But the stuff you do will be less exciting than making records. That's the only place there are job for people with audio degrees.

 

If you want to make records, your best bet is to build your own studio or try and be a freelancer. Both are tough roads regardless.

[EverlastingDawn]

Hmmm, audio for gaming you say? Do you know how I would go about getting more information on that? One of the things I had in mind as a possibility was to try to work with soundtrack for video games and movies/tv. Is that what you are talking about?

[chris carter]

No. Soundtracks for games and tv is freelance. I'm talking about the guy that records the dialog and makes sure the music loops correctly and puts the gunshots and car crashes in and stuff like that.

 

You could also look at toy companies, especially educational companies like LeapFrog, Fisher-Price etc. They make tons of toys that have crappy audio and all that stuff has to be recorded and converted to 8bit 11kHz.

 

But anything that involves creating and recording MUSIC has dismal prospects. If it doesn't involve MUSIC, then okay you have a decent shot. But if it involves MUSIC, you will need a little prayer to go along with your degree. Not impossible, but about the least secure career choice you could possibly choose.

[EverlastingDawn]

Thanks for the info and the reality check hehe. I have no problem having to do different jobs to make ends meet. If there is one thing I learned in my music history classes is that all the greatest musical genius of music throughout the centuries have to figure out how to make enough money while working with what they loved.

 

I might have to teach, compose, record, gig, beg for money . It's all worth it if that is what it takes to have a career that revolves around music.

 

I wonder if the recording studio situation is the same everywhere else in the world too. Anyone who doesn't live in the US can chime in?

[UstadKhanAli]

I have my own home studio that I started for myself, but started getting more and more clients through people hearing the music I was recording and word of mouth. I definitely don't make enough to make a living at it, but it's a nice way to make supplemental income, enough to keep the studio running and take long trips each summer.

[EverlastingDawn]

Good, that's encouraging. So you've made back the money you spent putting together the studio then? I wouldn't mind having my own place either, but I'd like to get some experience first to know what I'm doing and what I am buying.

 

For how long have you had your own place?

[chris carter]

Word of caution, owning a studio is expensive. I've had my own studio for my entire career. It's a big investment. It's one thing to have a little PTLE system on the other side of your bed knocking out stuff for friends, the occasional low paying job, and praying that if you are lucky you might get a spin or two on a local radio station. It's another thing to make it your sole business. If I worked this hard in just about any other industry I would be making a lot more money. But the upside is I get up every day knowing I'm going to be making records. That said, 99% of people who set out to do what I do don't make it. Also be aware that when you are in business for yourself, you have a highly unpredictable income. That can be an issue when you start doing things like buying a house and having kids where financial security is important and one lousy year could cause you to go into forclosure or something.

[Chris Groegler]

Having been in the computer game business for over 15 years it's getting more difficult to get into this business as well. Back 10 or so years ago I was creating everything, music, sound effects, recording dialogue. Now it's more specialized where you have to be able to do most all things but will concentrate in one (or a few) specific areas. There's nothing better than learning from your mistakes and trying to find a mentor.

 

I think Chris has given some really great advice as he knows from his experience. Just know that a sound designer or musician in the game world is just as difficult to get into.

 

-Chris

[WRGKMC]

I agree with the others. If you plan on having a wife and kids and 2 cars in the garage of your own home, Find another profession and keep music and audio as a hobby.

 

I got my electronics degree back in 1980. I had planned on making audio and music my full career. I did have some success as many did, but when I comes to having a steady paycheck and paying the bills on time, I chose to work for equipment manufacturers. I got to see inside many studios in the process. Audio guys are a proud group. They know theres many that would like to be doing what they do. But if they had a son or a kid brother, they'd likely tell them they'd be better off is another field, any field.

 

In my case, I make enough where I was able to buy a home and build my own studio and stock it. I dont actively seek a whole lot of business though. I have enough to keep me busy part time, but I dont have the energy or time or want to do it full time. Any job you do full time gets to be a pain in the ass, and if you "Have" to do it, Then its not going to be something you do for fun. If its your own business, thats one thing. If you work for someone else, you need to be paid for your hard work.

[EverlastingDawn]

Thanks for all the great input everyone. I have a lot to think about then. Growing up in a family of musicians I know well what it is like to not have a steady paycheck. I was hoping I could somewhat avoid that by going into the other side of the business.

 

But it seems things are bad for music everywhere. And by the time I'm out of there in 3 years, my degree might not be worth as much as I would like it to be. Hopefully I'm wrong. Maybe something will happen in the near future that will help the industry. But I'm not holding my breath.

[Phil O'Keefe]

As my late departed friend Bill Dooley used to (half jokingly) say...

 

Q. How do you make a small fortune recording music?

 

A. Start with a large one.

 

I'll second everything Chris said. 99.99% of the people who want to do this for a living, or who go to school for it, wind up doing something else. If you have ANY alternative plans, bet on them and not on a career recording albums. The record business is in the tank right now. Labels are all dying. People try to do a lot of the recording at their own home studios, so the amount of work out there is less than it used to be. There are hundreds of people fighting over each available gig, and those gigs don't pay anything like a decent living wage.

 

If you aren't doing it for the love - and because it's who you are and not just something you do, then you'll never make it. And if you are going to try anyway, diversify as much as possible. Don't just bank on doing album sessions. Be willing to do voiceover work, ad spots, remote recording, editing and mixing... whatever you can to try to scrape by.

 

Growing up in a family of musicians I know well what it is like to not have a steady paycheck. I was hoping I could somewhat avoid that by going into the other side of the business.

 

That's the kind of logic that got me into this. And once upon a time, it was a bit easier... but even back when I started recording, there was lots of competition, and it's always been about as hard to make a living as a recording engineer as it is to do it as a full time musician. And the odds of becoming a mega-famous and successful engineer - like George Massenburg or Bruce Swedien or Geoff Emerick or someone like that - they're probably worse than your odds of becoming a rahquestarr...

 

It's a tough business, and it's getting tougher by the day. Sorry - but that's reality.

[WRGKMC]

Another note. If you figure out how many kids you go to school with who illegally copy music off the internet and figure out the dollar amount of all those songs if they had been bought vs stolen, it gives you a true perspective of why the recording business is so tanked. If the money doesnt go to the artists that create the music, it surely doesnt gst to the studios that record it. The music business is raped daily and the quality of music and the job availability suffers from it which is the whole irony of the situation.

[EverlastingDawn]

Don't even get me started on people downloading music or anything illegally. It makes me furious when I hear a bunch of music majors in college bragging about how they've downloaded a bunch of music without paying a dime for it. Don't they realize that they are hurting themselves and the industry into which they were hoping to get? It's sad.

 

Well, I guess I'm not too scared. I love music and I want to work with it. I am willing to make some sacrifices to pursue my dreams and passions. There are so many ways in which you can get involved with music. I just happen to enjoy them all. I'm sure between teaching, playing, recording, composing I will be able to make some money to survive.

 

Hopefully sometime in the near future something can be done about the crumbling music industry.