It's been a little while since I've given my blog some attention. Lately, I've been in the middle of a huge boost in all sorts of things. Positive attitude will take you very far when you have the means and direction to do so! I thought I'd take a moment to stop, think, and reflect on all that's been going on and all that i've been building up to come in the near (and distant) future. Most of this being business related of course.
I've really shifted gears this past month and started to take command of my career from a different angle. A much fresher approach that would be far more likely to survive and lead to success in this age than traditional modes of business might fair.
Let met first start off by just recounting what's been keeping me so busy. Realizing that teetering on the edge of debt and "joblessness" isn't as black and white as it sounds, I've been for lack of better terms "unemployed" for a while now. This time has given me much room for creative re-envisioning myself as well as my "business". I've believed for a long time now that what I do is not easy, and that as I deal more and more with others who are either new to the industry or trying to find their own niche that it's not so much about "raw talent", "incredible skill" or any craft or creative notion that creates a stigmatic view on the multimedia and entertainment industries... It's knowledge and education.
I've grown almost hyper-aware of the fact that as we cruise ever faster into this era, reality has taught us some hard lessons (whether you're aware of them or not). One being customer centricity. It's a word, really. There's a serious stigma in the world of music production and that is the vagueness and misconceptions that float around because of the sheer multitude of things that go on within it.
I've talked about the industry view before, mentioning the huge change in the landscape away from the big recording studio models that have now all but completely disappeared in the face of the home/project studios. Technoloy has made it so affordable and accessible to people that it's simply more economical to go this route than to shell out massive amounts of cash to doing a full scale recording studio production with top-end gear and get that legacy sound that's so "sought after". It's also put a lot of the power directly in the hands of those who many not understand or grasp the fundamentals these technologies are based on.
Today, the stigma is about identity. Who does what, what things do, how things work (with regards to the music industry). I had an up-and-coming rap artist approach me who's excited to make his passion a sustainable career. Admittedly, the problem is he knows nothing about the music industry.
So here's where I reveal what I've been "re-envisioning", I'm no longer just approaching my business as a tool and service for creating a product; I must play the role an educator. I want my clients to be able to walk away from a project / session / consultation enriched with new knowledge; knowledge I am happy and eager to share with them. I'm finding this approach to my business already immediately more rewarding to everyone than just simply treating them like my best bud who happens to be interested in a service being rendered.
Today, I met someone who used to run their own studio and actually composed some music for E-40. A ghost-writer if you will. Not lyrically of course, but compositional. He admitted that a lot of people don't understand what a ghost writer is. He seemed pretty amazed that I even knew what he was talking about, as I was discussing with him that I run my own studio as well. I, however, was surprised when he asked me about how I approach my artists. He was more interested in knowing just what I do for my clients beyond JUST being a facility someone can come to record.
This is very smart for two reasons, one being that clearly he knows the difference between someone calling themselves a studio with minimal gear and minimal knowledge versus someone who may have a small setup but knows how to get quality recordings (of which the latter are few and far in between).
Second, it's not just the quality that's in question, but it really comes down to the "bang for your buck" factor. We all expect our dollar to work for us more; whether it's longer warranties, better customer service from the company that provided us the product; as a studio engineer I'm more involved with my clients than one would expect especially when I'm "contract-based".
Here's a scenario. I charge $100 for a 4 hour session for simple vocal recording. My clients come in, they have provided a mixed track ready to for them to perform to. What I do is not only act as an operator for all the gear making sure things are set and working correctly and being able to press record stop and playback for them... I offer my critique and opinion. It's established that i'm only human and my personal tastes will obviously affect my judgement of their performance. The bigger picture here is that they understand that my critique is meant to be constructive as i only care about helping them achieve the best possible end result just as surely as they do. I'm not offended if they don't take my advice, and likewise would be happy to "be schooled" when I'm dealing with a musical genre subject they might know way better than me. In other words, I'm as open to being educated, as I am about educating them.
In some circles or schools of thought, everything should come with a price tag. An engineer should just manage the session, if the client can afford a producer, the producer is the one with the opinions, and marketing should be left to the labels. You can see why this doesn't work if you simply look around the internet, especially with indie labels and kickstarter projects everywhere. A budding artist will dream of being signed by a label, a signed artist will dream of independence and creative freedom.
We have to get smarter about our dreams, passions, and goals. Education and knowledge are the best tools to achieving any of those.
I'm in the middle of a huge push to get all the underpinnings of this business solidified and established. I've started pre-production on a new instructional video series I plan to launch in the near future on my youtube channel. I'm reaching out to several companies right now as well (including Gobbler, Rode Mics, and more) and connecting with some HUGE communities who are all thirsty for knowledge I can share with them (including Film Riot, IndyMogul, etc..).
To give you an idea of the range of topics I'm covering, here's a list of the open scripts I have in development right now.
1. Studio essentials monitor setup and critical listening
2. QUICKTIPS Audio Fundamentals 1 - Frequency versus wavelength
3. QUICKTIPS Audio Fundamentals 2 - Domains
4. Tips for online collaborative workflows
5. Recording Audio for Video - Low-no budget Mic solutions
6. QUICKTIPS Audio for Video - Bass Management
So here's where you come in. In the comments section below, please tell me what you would be interested in learning about, share your passions, and even feel free to share your experiences to answer another person's question if you wish. Then, share this article with your friends and find out what they're interested in learning!
