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Audio Recording in the 21st Century

To be successful in the professional audio recording business of today, you have to know a lot more than just how to push a fader or send out an invoice. In fact, you probably shouldn't do both.

Howie Schwartz, the successful owner of Howard Schwartz Recording in New York City, once gave me some very good advice: “Client services, marketing, and mixing are the three main components of a successful studio. As the CEO, you can't do all three. Those hats just don't all fit the same guy. If you are a mixer find somebody to replace you or find somebody to take care of business. You can't collect money from behind the console.”

In today's world of multimedia and satellite/landline overdubs, we are no longer just recording studios. We have become professional audio service centers that should be prepared to provide one-stop audio shopping for our clients—any time they request it. If your facility is large, you do more of it in-house. If you are a home audio or video project studio, you find a cadre of subcontractors for this purpose. Large or small, you need help from other pros to properly service your clients.

Because of the advent of DVD, CD-ROM, and other multimedia formats that combine sound and picture, it is nearly imperative that your facility be capable of processing visual sound (sound for television and film). In addition, sound and picture through the Internet in all of its various forms is the key to this new century's distribution patterns. A major part of your diversification to meet all forthcoming challenges is to expand your specialty niche to include the new global industries. This approach will then give you the maximum number of potential clients from which to draw, in order to keep your studios full. Any facility not capable of both sound for CD and DVD as well as the capacity to upload and download from Internet sources will be seriously restricted in terms of its potential growth in the twenty-first century. An overview of the general preparation necessary to achieve this new balance of studio services is what follows. All of these subjects will be dealt with in more detail in the chapters ahead.

DELEGATING AUTHORITY

Find others, whether they be partners, employees, or other businesses who do what you don't do—and listen to them. Accept their advice, learn to trust them (if you can't trust them, replace them), and then let them do what you don't do, so you can do what you do better. This applies to all areas of your business except those in which you excel. A good rule of thumb comes from the basic economic principle of “make or buy?” Should you do the task yourself or hire someone else to do it? Answer: If you can hire someone to do the task for less money than you can bill a client (for the same amount of time) for doing what you do best, then you should hire someone, because you can make a profit by doing so.

Example: You are a mixer who charges your clients hundreds of dollars per hour for your services. Does it make any sense for you to answer the telephone or make the bank deposits, when you can hire someone for a small percentage of your hourly billing rate to perform those duties for you, while you go about performing your specialty? Absolutely not. To continue doing so seriously inhibits the growth of your business by restricting its income.

INFORMATION

To find out what you are doing right or wrong, you need input from your peers. Get out on the street and find out what's going on in the rest of the professional world. Conventions, trade associations, seminars and conferences, social events—go where you can exchange information. Read the industry trade magazines. Find out what your competitors are doing right or wrong, learn where the current business trends are taking your niche in the marketplace, and continually retune your facility to meet new market challenges as they occur. This is what keeps the winners winning and defines the leadership and control of new audio developments.

PRICING

Learning how much you can charge for a particular service (the maximum amount you think the traffic will bear) and why your competitor is able to charge more for it is only possible if you take the time to get his price lists (he will probably trade you for yours) and speak to his clients to find out what his discount policy is. Variable project pricing is designed to maximize revenue. The airlines have made a science of it by lowering the prices for unsold seats as you get nearer and nearer to flight time. In the studio business, if you call me on Friday afternoon and want to book my empty control room for Saturday morning, you can count on my giving you one hell of a deal!

MARKETING

Marketing is not only sales, promotion, advertising, and publicity. It is also the environment and the creative experts you present to your clients. Items as simple as fresh coffee with food service and a clean and comfortable place to enjoy them can make all the difference to a client's comfort. Anyone can buy the gear and rent some space, but the winners have the properly trained and motivated people with the right attitude in the best environment. If clients are happy, they will stay with you. If they are unhappy for any reason, your competitor will grab them before you even know they are gone. This industry has always been, and in my opinion always will be, a buyer's market. Service, service, service is the echoing song of success!

BANKERS

Keeping your bankers (or other source of your line of credit) comfortable takes as much effort as keeping your clients happy. We always want to buy more of everything than the financiers think we can afford, to make our business better. Your “banker” is your financial partner, whether it is an institution, your family, your leasing company, or a new outside investor. Before giving you the money you need to grow, they need to feel comfortable with your business plan, your books and financial records, and your track record for operating a profitable facility. No matter what your area of expertise or the size of your business, you have to take as much of your precious time as is necessary to delegate the authority to organize the financial details of the business, so that they will always be presented in their best light.

As Ben Franklin put it, “Drive thy Business, or it will drive Thee.” Make your operation efficient, flexible, and competitive. When you open your doors each day, be certain that you, your staff, and your facility present the image of being the best place possible to receive the special services that you provide.