How to Make a Recording Studio Profitable
Let us pretend that you are a person who likes music, likes to be surrounded by music, but cannot make a career as a musician. Let us also imagine that you want to start your own business and make a lot of money.
How can these two things be merged in order to achieve great results? How about setting a recording studio? You might have heard about people who tried to make this business successful but failed. However, there are others who got rich and are still doing great. There are some things you need to consider that can make a recording studio a really profitable business.
Some things to keep in mind
There are many studio managers that think only in terms of their flat hourly fee and do not think about the multitude of opportunities they can try. Nowadays, many independent musicians and singers know that pretty much all you need is an audio interface, a laptop, as well as a good microphone for capturing quality sound.
It is true that self-producing an EP, a single, or an album is really challenging, but it is not as difficult as it used to be. And some artists will choose this path over spending hundreds and even thousands of dollars for the services of a professional recording studio.
Therefore, if you want to be able to keep the light on, you need to think about various services you can provide in order to supplement your income. You just need to make use of the resources you have available.
Demo tracking and pre-production
Think about it this way: if you are not willing to offer demo tracking and to do pre-production at an affordable price, you might not do so great. Even if you have a standard hourly fee, you should be flexible, and set the prices according to each customer’s possibilities and needs.
Not only will you still be making money, but you might even increase your client database. It is true that most recording studios don’t do this, and they stick to their prices, but you can be different.
Mixing
Even though this is a service that most recording studios offer, it should not be missing from yours. Most artists will choose to record and mix in the same place, rather than carrying their stems in various different places.
Exercising your mixing skills should be easy, especially if you are used to working with many different clients. Anyway, in most cases, the engineers are also doing a bit of mixing while they track away.
Mastering
This is another service offered by many recording studios, but not all. Experienced artists know that the mixing and mastering engineer should be two different individuals, but often, they end up being one and the same.
If you know how to master or have someone on your team who knows how to, you can seriously improve your profit.
Audio editing
We are not talking about editing your clients’ music, but about adding a new service to increase your income. You can edit commercials, podcasts, radio shows, and many other similar materials.
If you market it to the right audience, you can gain a lot from this service. Also, you could also consider lowering your price for editing, as it is a much easier task than mixing.
Rehearsal services
When you do not use your studio for tracking, you can easily turn it into a rehearsal space. Forget that you spent so much money and time equipping your rooms.
If you want to keep your studio busy, you need to keep it occupied at all times, even if you ask for a lesser fee. Each time someone enters your studio, regardless of the activity, you are making money.
The right equipment
Having the appropriate gear is important for you to provide quality services and to make clients return to your studio. You will need to do some research to make sure you get everything you need.
Nowadays, it is very easy to get all the information you need, thanks to the internet. For example, on sound-unsound.com, you can find a list with the top-rated studio monitors.
