I don't notice a big drop-off at my place, but i intentionally only book 20-25 hours or so per week. I still make about half my income as a performer (musician), supplemented by some live sound here and there.

This could be because i get a lot of clients who take 6 months to a year to finish their projects, which is useful, because if new work slows down i can always make those phone calls and stir up some reactivity on some of the dormant projects. With almost 350 GB of hard drive storage now, it doesn't bother me in the least if a dozen clients want to let their tracks languish for a while.

VF slow ...... tell me about it .... I suppose I can't complain .... I can still afford a lawnmower but jeez .... compared to a year ago ???? Hell no .....

Recently got a project bumped by EMI at the very last second because they're in trouble .... they don't or hardly sign new projects anymore ... and they're not the only ones ... it is a chain reaction. A part of the studio is a Pro Tools dealership .... upgrades are still coming in but larger systmes to sell ..... damn hard these days. Word has been out for a few years now .... studio business over here is not exactly going GREAT ... but over the last year the fall has been bigger then ever. Major studio's buying digi 001 as edit systems where as a few years ago they would have just looked at the price tag and said ... hell no .... way to cheap .... we want the big system.

In general .... happy to be still alive and kicking I guess .... hoping for things to change.

Originally posted by Julian Standen:

V F slow IMHO...

:) [/QB]

Ditto on the Left Coast of America. Althouh I believe that 9/11 was just a straw. The real problems began with the big mergers a few years ago coupled with the digital revolution (begun by adats a decade ago) that's been snowballed by digi.
I have a few irons in the fire, and I can't find another career to jump into that I can make as much as I do now on any given day.

I don't think it's ever going to get better for types like me (engineer/producer). Where you want to develop your talents (if you have the requesit abillities) is in song writing/arranging followed by music biz/net working savy, through in some good 'ol engineering on top of that and your the man that the industry future smiles on.

I'm pessimistic by nature, so allways take me with a grain and two asprin...but I figure it's best to prepare for the worst, hope for the best and lust after all the gear and women you can (just don'y tell your significant other) :cool: