recording business blues

[mersisblue]

I gratuated school about 6 months ago and am having a heck of a time getting business
anyone got some good advicee on promoting / adverising . I've set up flyers in guitar center etc.... in
my area . well here's my situation I can record from 5pm until ten pm mon - fri sat 3pm to 10 pm
and sun all day until 10 pm . I would charge either 20 an hour since I am only a project studio or a determined set fee . My main client I have been recording for free and we are trying to create an album which we will split up te profits . I have ordered business cards which I hope will get things moving . I spent a lot of money buying my equipment and need to pay off my debt , right now I put some stuff up on ebay which I hope sells .
I'm hoping some vets who have started out in a similar position can give some advice on getting people in the door . I would say I'm a fairly competaint musician / engineer but a lousy business man ( at least so far )
well it's nice to vent and hopefully someone has some good advice
thnx

[Bender]

Hi
There are no magic tricks to get business. It is a overcrowded competitive market.
Drop off filers at open Mic's. Talk to studios in your area about giving you some work for small projects.

[Rock_Artist]

I don't know how the things in the states but here it's all about knowing people. (whether they're producer who seek for some PT-engineer) or in my project-studio case - People that know us and heard about us. most of our clients got to us by word of mouth.

And we almost got all our equipment invesment (still we're having problem getting the money from some "bad" clients).

Try offer "deals" for starting artists.
Something like entire song recording package for 250$ with 14hr recording sessions & 4hr mixing or so...
"Starving" artists always worried about the clock so a deal that could make them feel they shouldn't be worried and get value for their money is the best solution.

In our case we got more projects than we can handle so we refused some for now.

In my case I believe it's easier we are a team so my partner is someone I can trust and we can cover for each other when I have my studies or he has some gigs.

[Styles Bitchly]

You might consider "broadening" your horizons. Don't focus only on bands/artists. There's a large market out there for voice overs, sound effects, phone-on-hold music, advertising, etc. . . It may not be the most intriguing, or gratifying, but it sure helps pay the bills. Corporate america is constantly needing recording/production work. Not to mention recording and selling CDs at symposiums, and conferences of the keynote speakers. You could contact your local convention center and get a schedule of up-coming events and contact those companies to see if your services will be needed. There's a lot of work out there, you just have to think outside the box. Good Luck.

[mersisblue]

There's a large market out there for voice overs, sound effects, phone-on-hold music, advertising, etc. . .
-----------------------

this sounds cool how would I start making connectiopns in this side of the business ?
Anything to pay the bills and keep me in the control room would be awsome

----------------------
Not to mention recording and selling CDs at symposiums, and conferences of the keynote speakers.
_____________

excuse my ignorance but what is a symposium and the conference of the keynote speaker ? and what services would they need ?


thanx for all the replies , it really helps

[Styles Bitchly]

A symposium/conference is basically a large gathering of individuals who are somehow tied to a particular business, trade, group, etc. . . They come together to attend lectures and meetings in order to further their knowledge of something. There is usually a person who is considered a "guru" of the subject who presents the information. Some outside companies will record this person speaking, and then sell the recordings to individuals who could not attend the conference, or those who enjoyed the topic so much that they want a copy of the speach. These are usually held at civic centers, and large resorts/hotels. I don't do this type of stuff myself, but I would contact the convention centers/civic centers/resorts and talk to someone in the AV department about the possibility of getting into this side of the business. It's worth a try.

[stereo type]

I gratuated school about 6 months ago and am having a heck of a time getting business
anyone got some good advicee on promoting / adverising .

<snip>

well here's my situation I can record from 5pm until ten pm mon - fri sat 3pm to 10 pm
and sun all day until 10 pm .
<snip>
I'm a fairly competaint musician / engineer but a lousy business man ( at least so far )
well it's nice to vent and hopefully someone has some good advice
thnx

Obviously graduated from "audio" school, not academic school.
You might want to have someone check the spelling and punctuation on those business cards.....

Seriously though, before you get mad, I'm not really poking fun. Things like grammar, manners and personality count. There have been times that I've received business that could have went elsewhere simply because I took time to listen, answer questions and speak personably. Everyone else just answered the phone " Yo! Studio!"

With the recording and studio market being such a level playing field today because of home studios and inexpensive gear making great product , any and all edges count. And to the majority of the rational world, intellegence equals ability. Whether that actually ends up the reality or not, that's the way most clients think.

Think about it........with prices willing to be undercut or matched, gear like PT being so common and so many capable and credited engineers hungry for work, who would you decide to record with? The guy that "gratuated" and is "competaint"? Or the "competent graduate" who can work between 5 and 10 P.M.?

[mersisblue]

sorry for all the typos .... if I knew i was being graded well.......actually I graduated college as well , and then after went to " recording school " . I majored in visaul arts minored in music . I know what you mean about being a professional in a professional manor aswell . GOOD THING I'M NOT A SECRETARY RIGHT LOL
but seriously if anyone else knows any good ways to get into the voice over thing let me know . who should I call etc....

[stereo type]

Good. I'm glad you took it in the spirit I intended. That says a lot in itself.

[Bender]

I tried sending you an email but it gets returned.
if you want some info
[email protected]