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Author Topic: How profitable is owning a recording studio these days.  (Read 24264 times)

Touchwood Studios

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Re: How profitable is owning a recording studio these days.
« Reply #30 on: April 26, 2005, 09:47:10 AM »

I have owned a studio for about 20 years and I have seen lots of studios come and go and what I have seen from most studios that have gone down is that for the most part in every place I have worked and visted - Studios under value thier work and skills Charging $25.00 per hour for recording will get you nowhere as you will not be able to do lots, ...raising rates is hard as it pisses off repeat clients. You won't be able to jusify new gear. You'll have to work long hours just to pay the bills and if you hve a wife and kids you'll get a divorce and then your lawyer will bleed you dry. And finally your be out of business in under in less than 5 years and then you'll end up having to work for someone else and make money for them - not yourself.
I travel to San Francisco once a month and even burger flippers get paid $15.00 an hour. Go get your car fixed in SF that will be st least $150.00/hour.
Do some simple math with a $50, 000 investment in gear and $3000/month in expenses and $3000.00 a month in wages for yourself and with a total monthly billing of 160 hours that's about $43.00/ hour just to break even. It's a simple model but it goes to show you that low studio billing rates will put you under.
Sure it's a passion for the work nut uyou still need good business sense to make it pay.
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mumbles

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Re: How profitable is owning a recording studio these days.
« Reply #31 on: April 26, 2005, 09:14:42 PM »

Hi,
    I'm not exactly what you would call a "seasoned veteran" or anything, but this is what I know.
If you want to be seriously profitable... do commercials, voice overs, or the occasional big label, top 40 album.
    I drive a fucking bus for a living.  I record music the remaining hours of the week because I WANT to.  I took out a loan, it pays for itself and then some.  In the small market that I live in... it's me, a couple other guys, and the musicians themselves, that I "compete" with.  I guess I make a profit... by definition.
    If you ask me, it's all about "rebound business,"  and "repeate business."  Repeate is easy.  If you do a project with someone and they love it, they'll come back... everybody knows that.  Rebound business is more complex.  This is when someone records somewhere that has it all... everything seems perfect going in... but it just doesn't work out.  I get this.  I've gotten clients simply because they have gone to big, established studios, in my area, and have been totally turned off by their lack of vision and.... well, love of making an album.
    I guess, for me, it's all about evolution.  People that are willing to evolve... and people who are not.  You just have to provide a service that there is a need for....
supply and demand...
I remember hearing about this in the 5th grade....
basic business.

Seamus
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Seamus
Upstate, NY
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