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Author Topic: How profitable is owning a recording studio these days.  (Read 24263 times)

Glenn Bucci

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Re: How profitable is owning a recording studio these days.
« Reply #15 on: April 14, 2005, 07:34:41 AM »

Well there you have it. Why is not many buying big consoles, and a lot of gear? That don't have the clients that will pay for it! Confused

I am wavering on spending thousands of dollars to update my studio with better D/A converters, more inputs and going with a controller over my digital mixer. The thing is, I am not getting enough clients who will pay for all this. So if I go that route, I have to go to Guitar Center or Sam Ash when they have no interest for a year and pay it off that way.
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Bob Olhsson

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Re: How profitable is owning a recording studio these days.
« Reply #16 on: April 14, 2005, 07:53:29 AM »

To the best of my knowledge owning a recording studio at any level is only profitable to people who use a studio enough that renting the time they NEED elsewhere would cost them significantly more.

The last I heard of somebody making a comparable profit to a bank account was during the late 1970s.

maxim

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Re: How profitable is owning a recording studio these days.
« Reply #17 on: April 14, 2005, 08:35:05 AM »

spot on, bob

that's where i'm at
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Tim Gilles

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Re: How profitable is owning a recording studio these days.
« Reply #18 on: April 14, 2005, 09:52:17 AM »

In the Western sense of 'profit', I suppose it's the WORST business to be in that I'm aware of... Nerve wracking lows.... All too fleeting highs.... Going on 18 years on this roller-coaster in May.

But....

Hey... Having a blast, making records, get to hang out with wacky young folks all day long and act like an idiot/teenager, suspend reality, deny mortality, dodge bullets(figurative and literal...Hey! It's Jersey City...), drink too much coffee, smoke too many cigars, avoid much contact with society and it's dreary adult responsibilities.....

HAPPY AS A CLAM...

SITTING IN MY SANDBOX AND AMUSING MYSELF FOR HOURS ON END...

Just like when I was 4 years old at the Newport RI beach.

Luckiest guy in the world.

Best job ever.


Yep.... I say the profit potential is limitless... Boundless.





Sign me up for another 20.

Tim "Rumblefish" Gilles

Ryan Leigh Patterson

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Re: How profitable is owning a recording studio these days.
« Reply #19 on: April 14, 2005, 10:20:18 AM »

If anyone is in this business for $$$ they are clearly in it for the wrong reasons!! Music is a passion driven business and a passion driven industry.  Would any of us rather be doing anything else???  I'll sacrifce most material possesions to be able to get up every day and look forward to going to work Very Happy What the hell would most of us do with more money anyways.....  BUY MORE GEAR!!!!!  Twisted Evil  

Ryan
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Ryan Patterson
Toronto, Ontario
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Timeline

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Re: How profitable is owning a recording studio these days.
« Reply #20 on: April 14, 2005, 10:21:15 AM »

Tim Gilles wrote on Thu, 14 April 2005 06:52



Best job ever.

Sign me up for another 20.

Tim "Rumblefish" Gilles


I know what you mean but I loved my business at Alpha Studios Burbank and miss it.

Best year was about 275K in the early '90s after we installed the Calrec UA8000.
A few years later the consol automation, (designed by AMS,) almost destroyed us because it didn't work properly and crashed taking with it the clients all night mixes.

Fortunatly my co-owner partner, Denny Shaw, who now works at Warner Films Hollywood, tore it out and interfaced SSL-G and we continued another 8 years.

In the end we just gave it up as the business went away almost everywhere.

Long, fun ride though, 1978-2003.

Cheers,
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Gary Brandt
Timeline

jfrigo

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Re: How profitable is owning a recording studio these days.
« Reply #21 on: April 14, 2005, 11:19:13 AM »

It's a rough business, but many of us here are making a full time living. Like any other business, if you want to be profitable, you must know your market, offer something they want, and have a good plan. It's even more important in a competitive, unpredictable, small margin business like a studio.

Part of the planning includes access to start up capital since you need to invest quite a bit before even opening the door, and have enough to weather the first couple of years in a business that is fairly slow to ramp up and recoup. The other thing is to have some business already lined up before opening the door. Offer additional services that can feed each other. If you add post services, offer composition as well. Or try to bring in some independenet video editors if you have some extra space. That can get you audio post work from their video clients.

One challenge is imposed because many people enter the studio business with no plan to be profitable. Three possible scenarios include somebody with family money who starts a studio for the glamour and not needing to make the monthly nut to continue; a successful musician who again doesnt need to make the business numbers work to remain afloat; or somebody who just has no business plan or skills and hopes that if they build it...  These three versions of studio businesses unfortunately are not concerned with numbers that work, so they spend more than they make and charge less than they need to stay in the black, and that makes legitimate businesspeople unable to compete in many cases. It drags down the whole profession and makes studios either wealthy play toys or unprofessional wanna-bes.

Even with the risky, oversaturated nature of the business, there are several examples of people that get it right and make a profit. As older studios fail, newer ones are coming online, some with creative businesspeople at the helm figuring new ways to be sucessful in the changing market. If you manage to get a reasonable idea of how it's changing and where it may be going, especially in your specific market, and have the capital to take advantage of it, then you have a reasonable chance of at least modest profitability. There's always the "lottery ticket" approach and you may get lucky, but don't count on it. Make real world decisions and never forget it's a business. You are unlikely to get rich, but you can make a living doing what you love.
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rankus

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Re: How profitable is owning a recording studio these days.
« Reply #22 on: April 14, 2005, 01:33:37 PM »



Making money... LOL .... I'm in it to make MUSIC
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Rick Welin - Clark Drive Studios http://www.myspace.com/clarkdrivestudios

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Alécio Costa - Brazil

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Re: How profitable is owning a recording studio these days.
« Reply #23 on: April 14, 2005, 10:32:03 PM »

Yes, you must add the 0 - U$5000 figure -LOL

soemtimes I wonder why I am still in this business. I have been working and owning my small place for 9 years (1996-2005).

We felt a big crisis circa 2001 when everybody had a digi 001 at home and the name Pro Tools.

However, I just do not see myself doing anything much different from the music production area.

I have  a friend who sells oranges and cheap chinese stuff.. He was never  very into studying.. well, he has the fanciest BMW in the city!!LOL

Guess what.. In 2006 everybody will have a crappy M-audio $300 interface with Pro Tools at home.

Then, the next chapter will probably be the big chase for cracks at kazzaa and similar ones  on the web while us professionals will be  burning our brains with ilok and expensive plug-in upgrade hassles.

Good luck to us all!
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Alécio Costa Studio
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brandy

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Re: How profitable is owning a recording studio these days.
« Reply #24 on: April 21, 2005, 01:11:11 PM »

Hi,

my first post here! Smile So *hi* to everyone and please forgive me my poor english in the future!


I am busy these days working up to 100 hours a week. That's quite a lot.

But it is not so easy to make as much profit as others while working so much because the more you are into business the better will become your experience. The better you are into business the better will be your name in the music - that means that those budgets will increase and the clients who are stepping in will be "better" etc. etc.

But then you want/have to update/expand your gear/software/stuff all the time to be able to please those clients and of course your own needs for a good work.

So:

maybe the income will increase to exorbitantic values but i think the profit you make will ever be as small as @ day one.


brandy




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Christoph Brandes | Iguana Studios | Freiburg/Germany

jwhynot

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Re: How profitable is owning a recording studio these days.
« Reply #25 on: April 21, 2005, 02:13:51 PM »

Timeline wrote on Thu, 14 April 2005 07:21


Best year was about 275K in the early '90s after we installed the Calrec UA8000.

Hey Gary, what happened to that desk?  I've really enjoyed the ones I've worked on.

JW
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one of both the most and least successful producers of ALL TIME!

maxim

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Re: How profitable is owning a recording studio these days.
« Reply #26 on: April 21, 2005, 06:31:26 PM »

imo, money is to be made from skills not gear

fwiw, in making my record, i paid the recording engineer and will pay the mastering engineer, once it's mixed

if i ever go into a studio, it will be for the ambience/location, rather than anything else (and then, only if i win lotto/get an advance from a label/find a golden bullion (all about the same odds))
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David Kulka

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Re: How profitable is owning a recording studio these days.
« Reply #27 on: April 21, 2005, 08:34:14 PM »

Being artistically creative and enjoying oneself while scraping along on a shoestring is all well and good but you don't want to be pushing 60 without a nest egg or retirement account that will support you in some degree of comfort.

I'm not sure of the statistics in other parts of the world but vast numbers of Americans have little savings, one day reality just might come tumbling down.  I have known a few engineers who gave this little thought until things crashed and burned.  Few studio gigs offer a retirement plan so careful fellows, unless you fancy the thought of wheeling your belongings down the street in a shopping cart some years from now...

"It's a glamour profession..."  Rolling Eyes
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Timeline

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Re: How profitable is owning a recording studio these days.
« Reply #28 on: April 24, 2005, 02:10:51 PM »

jwhynot wrote on Thu, 21 April 2005 11:13

Timeline wrote on Thu, 14 April 2005 07:21


Best year was about 275K in the early '90s after we installed the Calrec UA8000.

Hey Gary, what happened to that desk?  I've really enjoyed the ones I've worked on.

JW


Desk went to Pasadena and is for sale I understand but it needed quite a bit of work.

Email me eir@ispwest.com  
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Gary Brandt
Timeline

George_

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Re: How profitable is owning a recording studio these days.
« Reply #29 on: April 25, 2005, 12:27:22 AM »

I know, if you have 10 U87ai you can't be costeffective.. or??

I focused on recording bands demos (in the deathmetal, blackmetal-genre, also some nu-metal), one weekend for 400$ including mixing and demomastering (make it louder;) ). Hei, I'm recording now every weekend.. so, a month nettoincome 1200 to 1600$ + mainincome from work 3500$.. Smile

I'm in little buisness.. but I am..
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"BORN A ROCKER, DIE A ROCKER"

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