How much gear is enough??

Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2005 12:56 am

Thomas W. Bethel wrote:

JoeH,

You mentioned Cleveland. Ohio in an earlier post. It is a GREAT place to live and the housing and food cost are lower than on the coasts but for a city that calls itself "the home of rock and roll" we don't have ANY world class recording studios here.

I am hoping that more groups and individuals do not see the need to go it on their own or Cleveland may not be such a "GREAT" place to live.

MTCW

Ok, you got me on this one....MTCW. ????

I have heard good things about Cleveland, (wanna go there sometime) and you're right about the competition aspect. I've avoided commenting on this somewhat....we're in a small niche market, and there's always a concern that too many people will figure it out and want in.

But, I think a lot of the competition comes from the comments we made above - people trying to do more things by themselves, go on the cheap, instead of paying a professional to do it.

Building up a solid loyal clientelle is tricky, and it takes many many years. It's not for the fast-buck crowd. Staying power in this biz is one of the reasons that "slow and steady" wins the race. If you're looking for a quick success story, this is NOT the genre for it. I can't tell you how many times I thought I had a sure thing going, only to watch it go down in flames due to something unforeseen happening. I've had my hopes dashed MANY MANY times with tempting leads and possibilities that didn't pan out, yet the day to day stuff continued to build (agonizingly slowly lots of times).

Building relationships with your clients is one of the most time consuming and frustrating things you have to do in this business, IMHO. Many people in the "Arts" don't know a whole lot about self-promotion, sales, etc., and there is a sense of entitlement with some of them. (Why should they advertise and promote their wonnnnnnderful concerts; the world should autoMATICALLY come out and see them, right? Rrrrrrrrright.....) This same mindset doesn't respond to traditional sales promotion, or cold-calling, unsolicited flyers or mailers, or even offers of discounts or specials. They prefer to work by word of mouth, with people they know, people they trust, and it can be a very insular world.

For example, very often grants are involved, and the recording part is often a condition of the grant - they have to record to justify the grant, which in turn gets them more grants, to record, etc. etc.

I have built my biz slowly, one client at a time (yes, it's a cliche', but it's true.) Mainly, I get recommendations from existing clients (remember that they love to brag to their colleagues when they find someone good) and I often meet new clients on existing gigs. ("give me your card; I need someone like you to....") This type of buildup can take years and years, though.

It's tough to keep on top of it all, and if you're not in it for the long haul, you can get seriously depressed and PO'd lots of times. Even though people in this biz wear tuxes and have gone to some nice schools, there's no shortage of weasels and sharks. (They just drive nicer cars and their checks don't bounce AS much...) It's a low-speed chase nailing down many of these clients, and KEEPING them is just as big a challenge as getting them.

There's always someone looking to eat your lunch and undercut you for cheap.

I try to look at it that the good ones are smart enough to stay with what works for them, and the ones that get away are probably for the best. That doesn't make me feel any better when I get the bad-news email, or find out a gig "went away," but I'm too old or too stubborn to change now....

Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2005 8:39 am

Cucco wrote:

I'm curious - how do many of you balance your constant need for gear with your need for food, clothing, shelter, etc.?

Am I the only one out there who does this stuff as a labor of love and not for any real profit? Frankly, I'd like to make $40K a year doing this stuff. (Which, if you know the cost of living in the Northern Virginia area, you know $40K is a joke. I've seen townhouses - 1600 sq feet of poorly constructed crap - selling for $900,000!!!!!)

Is there money to be made doing this, or do I really need to keep my day job??

Jeremy
I'm with you on the labour of love thing, although in my case "unhealthy obsession" is probably a more appropriate term! As far as considering food, clothing and shelter is concerned, it looks like I'm going to have to look for a 'proper' job, but once I can remain alive and avoid being homeless, the job's function will be to pay for new gear. I have two serious obsessions apart from recording that cost a lot as well -perfumery and clocks/watches Wink

Unfortunately, like you, I live in region where the equivalent of $40,000 a year is a joke. Thank God for credit cards and bankruptcy lawyers!

John

Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2005 11:49 am

Hey Tom,
I used to work at Buchannan's (BRC)

Sorry not really on topic but I that you might find some of this interesting.

What a sad waste of money for him to come to Cleveland and spend a 100,000 remodeling the old Midtown then moving a year later and building the new place at a cost of 1 million for construction plus gear, that nice old SSL ten years old still 250,000. Then lose it all because he had no business.
Rap studio no good size live rooms, I hated that.

People would come in from out of town just not enough people, and local bands or groups just don't have any money to spend. In the old days people would drop 10,000 on a record and do it right, now they have maybe a 1,000 if that and they want it all. (I don't think so) In Cleveland this is.

Buchannan has since skip town closed the studio closed his restaurant took off. He owes people money.

I think there is no really need of a world class facility hear because there is no big music business hear. No really labels
Like you said "for a city that calls itself 'the home of rock and roll" Theres no music business here.
Great place to live just not a big music scene right now! Cool

Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2005 1:32 pm

That's a shame to hear about the Buchanen situation. (Didn't he do any market research before spending all that $$$?)

That happens a lot with gear-lust, though...just on a larger level. I'm all for someone spending their money on their dreams, as long as they realize it may never make back a dime of their investment. Building a "dream studio" is a perfect example. Lots of famous people do this when they finally 'make it', saying things like: "I want to build a place where I can record any time I feel like it." Well, ok....does that include equipment upgrades, maintenance, and a staff to keep it all running tip top, let alone book outside clients to help pay for the upkeep?

George Benson did that in Hawaii; dunno how it's doing now, or if he's even there anymore. It was big in the 80's and early 90's. Hope he either made back his investment, or is just enjoying himself with it. I remember Witney Houston did something like that too, about a decade ago now, tearing out huge parts of her house in NJ, spending millions on a studio in her basement or something....gad....talk about wretched excess. I wonder how many tracks she's done with Bobby Brown since.....

There are all kinds of beautiful rural studios out there, (esp Upstate NY & PA!) some staggeringly beautiful restorations of farmhouses, old barns, city lofts, warehouses, you name it. (Mags like MIX and EQ often show these places when they're new and hot and fresh. I often wonder how they are doing once the bloom is off the rose, the bank starts asking for their monthly loan repayments, and the initial client buzz wanes....THAT's when it's time to get serious.)

Someone recently built a world-class studio, 2 hrs away from here, 3 hrs from NYC - in WILDWOOD, NJ. I have no idea how they're doing, and I really wish them well. But if anyone has ever been to Wildwood NJ in the dead of winter, you realize it may have been a tactical error. I hope I'm wrong, but unless you're looking for a seriously isolated sonic outpost in the middle of nowhere in the off-season, (October through May) the farthest reaches of the South Jersey shore may not look as good an idea after the dust settles and the bills start coming in.

Some people can turn a profit with studios like that; most just use it as their personal playground/sandbox, and rent it out to others in some hope to make back a little of the investment.

I see all that hot new gear for sale, and I often wonder how they make back any of their investment. Something tells me that the few profitable ones actually have good business managers at the helm who are impervious to gear-lust, and realize that gear is just a means to an end anyway....tools of the trade, and to be chosen carefully for their use; otherwise RENT the things you can't afford.

I read website after website that lists their equipment like it's some kind of holy grail, "my stash is bigger than YOUR stash." (Who reads this stuff, and WHO CARES??? Maybe other studios!?!?)

I think in the end, if you're lucky enough to get clients with a real budget, you need some kind place with easy access/good location. Have it in a well populated area to support the kind of work that pays the day to day bills in-between the big-name acts and projects. And, don't confuse a rich kid's hobby with a career, or at least don't take down a lot of good people with you, should it all tank.

That may sound more negative that it's meant to be; I'm really an optimist at heart, but I've seen a lot of bad ideas fall apart faster than Jennifer & Brad, and every time I see one of those 'vanity' studios open up, I make a mental note to check back in a year or so and find out how long it took 'em to go tits-up. Confused

Add computers & home studios/DAWs to the equation, it's a wonder there are still ANY studios left. I like being "off the radar" just fine, even if I never make enough to retire on it.

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