CHAPTER B-3
Being a Business
We’re often amazed at some of our students. They believe being a music producer is all about glamorous studio sessions, parties, and gigs. But it’s really a unique blend of business and creativity, regrettably not even in equal measure!
The world of music production relies on the flexible and independent services of a whole host of professionals. Over time, as we’ve already established, these professionals are of a freelance nature and manage their own business.
What this means in effect is that as soon as you work for yourself, you’re actually a business. Not a large corporation of course, but still a business and one that needs to pay attention to the rules, regulations, and taxes that your territory insists upon.
In this chapter, we’ll look at what it means to be in business. Being from the United Kingdom, we may speak with a U.K. focus, so you’re advised to seek out the relevant support from your trade association and local business advisors for up-to-date and pertinent support as you set up shop. We’ve provided a list of many of the international trade associations toward the end of this chapter.
WHAT, I’M A BUSINESS?
One of the hardest things to learn when leaving school or university is that what you have learnt might not be the most important set of skills you’ll need! We spent some time in the last chapter speaking about the art of communication and networking—important skills in an entertainment industry such as ours. However, some schools, colleges, and universities providing education in the music production sphere neglect one of the most important aspects: business!
By business we do not mean a mere unit or module on the music industry, although this is important as it sets the landscape and context in the career the student may work in. We mean business in the raw, industry-standard sense of the word. Things like good practice in administration such as invoices, remittance advice, communication, customer service, as well as those aspects of real life such as the business plan, forecasting, cashflow, bookkeeping, among many other boring, yet vital, aspects.
As a producer, unless employed by a label or production company, or you’ve hired a producer manager, you’ll at some point need to have a handle on all those key business methods we’ve mentioned above. In this chapter, we do not begin to offer detailed advice on this topic, as we’re not the experts. Instead, we offer a comprehensive overview of the things you’ll need to consider as you set up in business and where you might wish to look for that much-needed advice.
As you begin on the path of the music professional, you’ll wake up to note that if you really want to make a living from what you do, then you’ll need to get the business side of things sorted. You’ll need to consider a whole new set of issues, possibly outside of your normal realm of thought: music production!
Running a business can be challenging and demanding for every line of work, but in music production it can be harder in some ways. Regrettably, this is an aspect of the producer’s work that many do not speak much about in the interviews you read. To many, once the “points” are out of the way, people are somewhat less interested in the goings-on behind the scenes, but are predominately interested in the goings-on in the studio and music itself. We agree, it is more interesting, but logic suggests that good housekeeping behind the scenes ensures more successful goings-on in the studio.
So “good housekeeping” could be a good title for this chapter perhaps. Much of this book deals with a discussion of what a music producer is and does, while this chapter discusses the aspect of simply being a business.
WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW? THE BASICS
Being a business is pretty much the same for all lines of work. Regardless of how the money comes (profit is, after all, the ultimate reason for being in any business, unless you’re what is known as a not-for-profit, or social enterprise), you have an obligation to work as a professional and stay aboveboard.
Setting yourself up as a business is therefore key to being aboveboard. In the U.K. there are many ways in which a company can be set up and it would be foolish for us to write a long and detailed example of these types here, given the international audience that may read this book. However, some aspects are important and relevant as we go through the discussion, but be sure to check how the points made relate to your country’s laws and tax rules.
Deciding to go into business is never an easy decision to make, and often comes out of necessity. In the current economic climate, many new businesses you speak to say they were forced to make a go of it because they had lost their main line of work through cutbacks or so on. As a result, a number of businesses known as small or medium enterprises (SME) have sprouted up, which may indeed be you.
However, some business owners choose to start up their business in a calculated and completely prepared way, deciding to leave the house engineer post they had, and so on. In this way they can save, look for adequate finance and premises while all the time building up an appropriate client base as required.
Business types
SELF-EMPLOYED
As you kick a career off in the freelance world, it is likely you’ll start out as self-employed. Anyone who is not working for a company is most likely to fall into this category. In the U.K., anyone who is a director of a limited company (Ltd) will need to return the same self-employed tax returns.
Being self-employed is about the most practical place to be. It’s good as it’s flexible, nimble, and allows you to move with the industry. You can work part-time for someone, while also being self-employed for the freelance work you get in. It is, in one sense, the simplest way of getting your tax returns completed with the least cost, as you do not need to employ an accountant to do this for you.
You don’t have to register a company name such as with a limited company, although you’ll need to let Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs know you’re self-employed. However, instead of trading as your name, you might wish to consider a company name to develop a presence and brand, something we’ll cover in a little while.
Being freelance can have its downsides also, insomuch as it is not a recognized limited company, which to some people is considered to be more safe or more established. This can be problematic if you’re trying to get business from a larger corporation that insists on working with limited companies. This is unlikely to happen in the music industry, but might! You might also find, when looking for investment in your company, that the banks do not look as favorably on you as they might with a limited firm.
Nevertheless, this is the most likely place for many producers to be starting out and should be looked into in a little more detail through one of the sites below.
For the U.K. see the Self Assessment website, www.hmrc.gov.uk/sa/index.htm
For the U.S., navigate to www.irs.gov/businesses/small/index.html
For other countries, seek out your government’s pages.
LIMITED COMPANIES
The type of business and how you “incorporate” yourself is important. For example, you may wish to ensure that all your assets are protected should you run into difficulty because of a lawsuit. In the U.K., a limited company is a good option as it allows for some protection. The company is owned not by the individual solely but by either its members, shareholders, or the public. These three varieties make a distinction in that the company is separate from your own finances and your responsibility to the company.
In the U.K., the limited company can be one of three kinds:
- 1. Limited by Guarantee, meaning that the members of the firm are responsible to a limited amount in the case of the firm folding.
- 2. Limited by Shares, meaning that the shareholders hold the limited liability should the firm fold. This is the most common of limited companies for private firms.
- 3. Public Limited Company (PLC). This type of company is where the firm floats on the stock markets and its shares can be bought by any public individual.
You are the director who runs it. Should the company owe money through receivership, its assets will be sold to pay back the debt. (Assets are classed as anything that can be sold for cash, so in a music production Ltd company this could be all the studio equipment, for example.) In this eventuality, there are penalties for the directors (and these seem to be more and more financial in recent years) such as not being able to act as a director for a number of years once bankrupted. Essentially a limited company is run by the directors, governed by state regulation and shareholders are protected from some limited liabilities.
For more information in the U.K., see www.companieshouse.gov.uk/, a government organization with whom you need to register your limited company and file annual returns to.
PARTNERSHIPS
There is another limited company type, and this is perhaps more suitable for the music industry professional wishing to work in a partnership. This is known as a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP). It is similar to a limited company, but does not require a larger board of directors. It can simply be two partners working on something, sharing some of the benefits of the limited liabilities enjoyed by limited companies.
Partnerships can also operate without limited liability. Essentially each partner will have to produce self-employed accounts, in addition to partnership accounts. A little strange, but many people work this way in the U.K.
Finally, without being an employee of someone, you have the option of being simply self-employed. This is where you manage your earnings and declare the tax you pay each year by submitting accounts to the U.K.’s Inland Revenue. (A freelance sound engineer, for example.)
THE U.S
In the United States, the terms vary slightly in that there are two equivalents of the U.K.’s limited company:
- 1. Limited Liability Company (LLC)
- 2. Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)
The first is akin to the U.K.’s limited company, and the Limited Liability Partnership is broadly the same as the U.K. equivalent.
There are other company types in the U.S., such as corporations (also referred to as a C Corporation) which are larger companies where shareholders have placed money into the company in return for their shares. An S Corporation is slightly different in that the tax affairs of the company fall to the individual shareholders in their own personal accounts.
For more information about these, seek out further information at www.irs.gov/businesses/index.html
BUSINESS IDENTITY AND BRAND
That’s some of the boring stuff out of the way, although very important nevertheless. Onto the more interesting and engaging things for some people: the brand.
The business identity should represent what you’re about. Are you setting up a production company with premises and so on, and are you focusing on one specific genre? If so, you may be able to tailor the whole package to appeal to the genre and the people within it. You’ll need to choose a name carefully and design a brand that exudes your position in the market, values, and aspirations for the future.
Business name
Every company has a logo these days. Every company has a name at least. Choosing these can be important. Some companies are simply named after someone and, given time, in the market the other manufacturers’ products are not called vacuum cleaners, but Hoovers, whether they’re made by Hoover or not! The same goes for public address systems; many people refer to them as the Tannoy but in fact this is the name of a specific loudspeaker manufacturer who hasn’t necessarily produced the system being referred to at all. Other companies are named specifically to fit into the world in which they trade and their activities. For example, The Digital Audio Company in the U.K. pretty much says it on the tin, as does Audio Recording Unlimited in Chicago! Actually, if you delve a little deeper, both of these firms are not simply recording studios, as it happens.
Choosing the right name for you will depend on so many things we’ll not delve into here. You may choose to call it Your Name Productions Limited, or something completely different. That is up to you, but whatever you decide, be sure you’re happy with it and that it will stand the test of time. One thing to consider is choosing a name that does not restrict the activity you do. For example, if you were to call it Your Name Vinyl LP Limited and you’ve become in time a mastering house dealing exclusively in Digital CD and MP3 mastering, the name no longer suits. Make it suitably vague to the future possibilities you’ll want to encounter.
URL
Before spending a lot of time developing your brand and image, make sure that you’re the only company with the name you’re looking to be and if you are, ensure that you get the URL! There’s little point going out and getting a new brand for yourself to later find that the .com, .co.uk and .co have all gone, unless you’re happy with .net or .org.
Go online to one of the registration companies to see if the name is available and, if it is, why not register it? Should you change your mind later, you’ll have only wasted at most $20! Having this is important as it is your calling card and will be a large trading place, or certainly somewhere for your future clients or fans to pop along to find out how to connect with you. It’s all about the network!
Business logo
Every company these days will have a logo or image. This is important given the number of images we need these days for the website and social media, in addition to the normal time-honored traditional signs, letterheads, compliment slips, and business cards.
Choosing a logo is something that you can go out and do yourself, but you might choose to get a professional to do it, as it may have more impact and a longer lasting appeal than something you think you like. The image and therefore the business logo can become the brand in its own right, so it is worth spending a little time investing to get this right. It is important to remember that music production is a creative pursuit and therefore you might want this to be reflected in your logo. For example, if you are a hip hop producer, then you don’t really want a logo that looks too formal.
Stationery
Once the logo is decided on and the image is coming together, it’s time to get a set of business cards printed, as well as the business-standard compliments slips (if you’re in the U.K.), letterhead, and so on. These will be the image your business exudes as it does its business. It might just be Your Name Productions, but to have a card to give out to the right people will be very important.
Thinking about the business cards for the moment, to have something striking and different from the norm can help in a big stack. Coming back from a trade show, which the average producer might wish to attend from time to time, you’ll have a whole stack of cards which will remain there for a while (unless you’ve read the time management and organization bits later in this chapter).
Even if a contact has 50 cards from the latest AES convention, if he can gravitate to your card because it’s unique, then he’ll find it interesting and he is more likely to get in touch. One card we were given recently was unique. It was quite thick on exquisite white card, almost reflective a little. It had no writing on it whatsoever. All the text was embossed on the card in such a way it was easy to read. The company also took the advantage of placing the details in Braille too. Very thoughtful!
Another card to the eye looked the same as most others, but this one opened out to be a little booklet. This offered a lot more space for the company to write about what they did and how they helped their clients.
Either of these tricks can be good and will make you stand out and be remembered the morning after the night before, and in business this counts. So think of a way of making a business card that’s interesting. Stick with the regular size, however; people don’t appreciate a card that does not fit in their card carriers or wallets. You might choose to get the cards printed with a gold or fluorescent yellow around the edges, making it stand out. Have a think and get some advice from your local printer or designer.
Another trick some business gurus recommend is to include space on the card for you or others to write some notes on. For example, many networkers suggest that to write some pertinent information about the person on their card will assist you in remembering them both visually and who they are. Leaving some space on your cards for others to write on them would also be helpful.
The remaining stationery is fairly straightforward and should reflect the business card, unless you’re the business using the embossed card. The design of these should be professional in style and make an impression. It is a good idea to get these professionally printed on good paper, as this beats hands down most printing facilities available to you as an individual.
Website
You’ll probably choose to have a website, unless of course you’re just a sole trader and are always in the studio in employment. You may not see the need to have your own site. However, you might feel the need to connect with your audience and colleagues. As we’ll cover later in the book, you can manage this yourself. Anyone with a Mac and iWeb can pretty much sort out a fairly swish site, using the images provided from your logo designer. The content is then up to you. There are of course similar WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) packages for the PC too.
Alternatively, you can employ the services of a web designer to create something a little more exciting for you. This might suit if you want the website to be more interactive and fun to visit. Alternatively, it might be wise to employ a designer as you might be too busy or not have the patience to understand domains, hosting, and so on.
Either way, a website will be good for you and, along with your URL, it will become a key identifier. Your email will belong to the URL and as such will maintain a level of professionalism and belonging to the firm.
What you place on your site will be up to you, but most producers will place their discography and perhaps some photographs of them in action in the studio. Placing the services you provide on the site would be beneficial, especially if you have a specific skill or specialism, such as a specific genre.
BUSINESS PLANNING
Read any business start-up manual and the term “business plan” will crop up in more than one place. Another dull, yet important, process to go through. It can be vital to map out how you wish the business to develop and expand. Business plans are, if you like, a roadmap for the future of the company, detailing both ambition and the real-life fact of how the business might achieve its heady goals. However, realistically, for music production start-ups it might not be all that sexy or indeed all that necessary. It all depends on how big you might want your business to become.
Business planning in many forms of business can be straightforward. You devise a business, write an elaborate plan with all the correct facts and figures you have to hand at the time, and then perhaps tout around for some funding from a bank or venture capitalist, if that’s what you need.
We make it sound easy, but it can be far from it. These plans often need to be detailed, with profit and loss analysis and some assurance that the business will be a success. Nevertheless, if you’re wishing to translate your ideas into a larger business with investors or fellow shareholders, you’ll need a plan.
Bringing a music production business plan to a bank could be problematic. The financial returns are often sporadic and cannot be guaranteed. Gaining finance for such endeavors from a bank can be difficult and therefore music professionals frequently take a more organic approach to building their businesses, with often family loans or simply chipping away, gradually amassing their own financial leverage.
PRINCE’S TRUST
One organization worth mentioning is the Prince’s Trust. (Unfortunately, this is only available in the U.K. although there may be similar funds available in your country.) The Prince’s Trust is predominantly set up to assist and support disadvantaged young people who are not in work, education, or training. However, even though you may not fall into this bracket, the organization may still be able and willing to support you with start-up business loans if you have a good idea and plan for a business but are unable to gain the financial means to do so. It gives both practical and financial support and to creative industries. See the website for further details. www.princes-trust.org.uk
Producing a business plan need not be a chore and many banks provide business planning forms, software, or online tools to help you along should you feel the necessity. It is worth getting some of these packs before you set up your company. It’s worth it, for it not only helps you shape your business (unless it’s clear you’re a self-employed producer and that’s all you’re up to), but also will give you a clear indication of the bank’s offer as you may choose to create a business account.
What’s in a plan?
Every business plan will be different, but it will contain mostly similar content. As we’ve already established, you may choose to do a plan based on the fact that you want to plan the business out clearly as it goes forward, identifying key goals you’d wish to achieve in time. Alternatively, you may be pulling together a plan to go to someone for some key investment, whether that be a bank or investors.
We’ll take a quick look at the kinds of things you’ll need to think about and develop as part of a typical business plan. These are not exhaustive explanations and it is advised that you seek out books solely on this subject matter before completing the full business plan.
You’ll be expected to come out with a business summary that details the business, its purpose and its values. You might also wish to explain where you want the business to be and grow into over a three- or five-year period.
Next you may give an overview of the business and how it operates. Remember that many people do not have the knowledge of your industry that you do and will need simple and positive explanations of the work you do. You will be expected to lay out the financial position of the company at this current time.
So, in this example you may be a self-employed person who has produced several albums and now wishes to invest in a studio complex to expand the number of albums you can work on and also claim some of the studio charges. In doing so you will need to explain your current income streams and how the new business will change and increase your productivity. This is known as the business strategy.
By providing a business strategy, you outline the ways in which you are confident that the work will come your way and the methods by which your company can honor the new work. It is here you can expand on your values and expectations for business growth. Alongside this, you will need to establish the marketing strategy if you need one. Alternatively, you will need to outline how you intend to maintain the level of work coming in or attract more business.
As you grow, you will no doubt take on staff to support your studio complex and the increased work you’ve taken on. It is worth using the business plan to outline how you might envisage this working. Will you have an assistant, a Pro Tools operator, a receptionist, and so on?
Finally, you will need to submit some financial forecasts and budgets. These will accurately demonstrate to any investor that your business to date is strong and that you’ve considered the future and the long-term financial risk you’re taking. Running a studio complex, or any business for that matter, may not be profitable for the first three or so years of incorporation. Earning enough to start to pay back the bank can take that long a time and is not too uncommon.
Before completing and finalizing your business plan, it will be worth you seeking out a local business advisor to assist you. Their experience might not be in the music industry, but they will know what a bank or investor might be looking for in your plan. Just like a producer is to an artist, or a mastering engineer is to a mixer, the business advisor will provide an objective viewpoint.
DAY-TO-DAY WORK
The day-to-day work of the producer is much like any industry and the better you are at it, the better you may be in business. Again, this stuff is not the magical creative music-making that flows in the studio from time to time, but is still vital to have an understanding of.
In this part of the chapter we’ll look at some of the more mundane, yet vital, skills and decisions you’ll need to make as you go through your career. This chapter will probably be the least read in the whole book, but for those of you who are students of music production and wishing to go into the industry, we hope you’ll gain a lot from this now through your studies, and throughout your career.
Producer manager or not?
As you read in Chapter B-2, Your People a producer manager can be an important person in the whole process of running your business. As we learnt from Joe D’Ambrosio, a producer manager might take care of so much of the work you do on a day-to-day basis that some of the items below may fade from focus. However, there are some gems in there, such as time management, for all of us.
Whether you wish to engage a producer manager or not is entirely up to you, and as you get busier it might be essential for you to have representation to go and get you work, and continue to get you work. Earlier in this book, Joe D’Ambrosio spoke of the work Jay Newland continues to get. Newland has been “constantly busy for five years” since the release of Norah Jones’ first album. Keeping this flow of work is what you pay a percentage to the producer manager for.
The decision as to whether you choose to hire one or not will be based on the work they can promise to provide you and also the added services they can offer. If you’d like your manager to take care of all the financials and any other aspects in the business you’d rather not deal with, then they will become an invaluable member of your team.
Time management a.k.a. productivity
Time management sounds almost cult-like. To many people, they follow their system religiously. In fairness, this is how positive gains manifest themselves. Many producers might read this section and laugh out loud and consider it barmy! They may be right too! Once they’ve calmed down you’ll find they have their own system and they use it religiously.
Effectiveness can be realized through the productivity system chosen. There are many ways this can be achieved. You’ll note the word productivity used here in place of the more standard time management. There is a reason for this. Time management only looks at one aspect of being effective. A producer’s time can be managed, but it’s more about doing, planning, and organizing than time alone.
Setting definitive times for things to get done will stifle creativity in the studio, but not outside for other, more mundane tasks. So time is not the main factor here. Productivity is! If you think this is all common sense, it probably is. But we bet you could do with a refresher and admit that there is still room for improvement.
DOING
This is about finding the time to do things. As a producer, you might have a lot of time where you’re in the studio and this will not always be necessarily 9 am till 5 pm. The mad days of sessions lasting for days might be over, thankfully, for the majority of sessions, but it is not uncommon to start around 11 am. What do you do with that time in the morning?
If you become regimented with your routine and organize yourself accordingly, you could be up, out of bed early at a set time every morning and use the time before the studio to think, respond to emails, update your social media and website, and do some much-needed administration. This routine will enable you to be ahead of the curve and very much in control of operations.
Finding a rhythm that suits your way of working enables you to have the time to control the flow of work coming your way and will make you productive. It will allow you to achieve those things you’re trying to achieve. Take a look at your schedule and think about making time to process all that administration and give yourself some time to think about bigger things.
PLANNING
Once you have found some time, you need to consider the planning of a few important things. As we’ll cover later in this book (Section C-3, Project Management), there’s a whole set of project management tools for organizing large projects such as the recording of an album. This planning, and your own productivity, is all about what you’re doing, who the clients are you’re working for, and who you might like to start working with in the future.
Providing the space to consider the large stuff like the direction or path your career is going will assist you in making smart and sensible choices as options unfold. However, this time is also for you to consider the smaller things you need to plan in your life such as when to take a trip, hook up that meeting, or spend time networking on the phone or in person.
As for the recording projects you’re involved in, you can use this time for that too. We’ll discuss project management later in the book (chapter C-3).
ORGANIZING
You’ve carved yourself out some time to consider what to do and when; then, of course, there’s the point of actually planning it and organizing all those things we want to do.
Finding a system that effectively ensures we deliver on everything will be a very personal thing. Some productivity methodologies have become really popular in business circles. Cult-like, in fact. In the past few years, systems such as David Allen’s Getting Things Done® (also known simply as GTD®; see www.davidco.com) and Mark Forster’s Do It Tomorrow (DiT) (see www.markforster.net) have become widely adopted. Longer-standing systems have been developed, such as the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey (Free Press, 1989) and through which a whole other planning and management system is created and followed passionately (see www.franklincovey.com).
In the following section, as you laugh aloud, we’ll look at how such systems relate to anyone in business, and you might even find them helpful as you manage multiple projects, artists, and events as you get busier.
“I’ve been so busy lately… my diary is my saving grace.”
Tommy D
Productivity systems
Getting Things Done® is a system by which the user organizes her tasks by project and concurrently also by context. This is exceptionally powerful to people of all walks of life. The project might be the production you’re working on. There might be other projects which are either in the planning phase or on hold, and these might be contained in their own little projects. Allen’s contexts relate to the place or situation you need to be in to complete these actions. For example, studio, office, home studio, mastering studio, rehearsal studio, record label offices, meeting with manager, meeting with an artist, and so on.
The premise is that, through the use of software or sensible organization on paper, one can quickly identify the tasks that need to be carried out in the home studio while you’re waiting for that DVD to burn. Also, you can then decide what to do when in front of the computer stuck on a train going to a meeting. Getting Things Done® can work very well, but relies on complete dedication to the art and also a fairly rigid system.
Many find the system fantastic and develop the skills and tools to reflect their own work or merge it with other systems they have researched. Others report spending so much time playing with the systems, they fail to become more effective!
These systems have been developed by their creators to assist their adopters in handling the sheer amount of things professionals are expected to do these days in busy lives. They are in no way music industry related but can be adapted accordingly.
There is no reason why Getting Things Done®1 or Do It Tomorrow could not be applied to the life of a record producer, just like any other system.
This all might sound a little far-fetched. To many people, they follow their system religiously. In fairness, this is how the results manifest themselves: by relying on their system. Given the many people who have adopted these systems, it clearly must work. Many producers might read this section and laugh out loud and consider it barmy.
Try to stop them laughing for a second. Calm them down, and ask them how they manage their professional lives. As and when the laughter abates, you’d soon find they have developed their own personal productivity system to cope with the immense task of producing a record, or records.
For example, Mat Martin, a producer, musician, and artist in his own right (www.kirstymcgee.com, www.hobopop.com), employs his iCal diary, two spreadsheets, and his email to manage his day-to-day recording projects. Many producers may like to simply use the iPhone and manage accordingly.
“I run two spreadsheets—one for the money and another for the songs. Money is obvious. Songs is a record of who’s playing on what, which day we hope to record, whether we have chord sheets done for them or not, et cetera. I update them both constantly,” says Mat Martin.
This is a clear example of a system that has been produced to serve the purpose. Using spreadsheets works for Martin, but for others just good old pen and paper might be the way forward. Whatever the system, you’ll need to be effective, as your time is your money and making every bit count will help.
Taking time to develop these systems and skills in the down time between productions should ensure that, when the times are stressed with juggling plates, you’re equipped with a solution to overcome the workload while feeling free to engage with the production in front of you.
Administration
These curious productivity systems are not just about the time management, but encourage you to consider everything that you use for work. Filing crops up quite a bit for example, and suggestions are made as to why you should adopt a system that allows you to clear the decks and keep clear focus on the production you’re engaged in.
Knowing that you need to be organized and do your administration is common sense, we admit, but we all have difficulty keeping up and completing it, don’t we? We hope here we’re able to encourage you to think differently about it and take a little time to get your skills in this area nailed when you have the time, because when you’re busy, you’ll want to get on with the music at hand.
Administration is naturally important. Having an understanding about what needs to be done and when will help the money come in, especially if you’re ensuring you’re getting the invoices out the minute you’ve done the work. However, making time to respond to your emails and doing so in a fairly timely manner will be very important too.
It’s all about getting into a routine, or putting a system in place, relying on your chosen personal information manager (PIM) and note-taking system. Become an expert at it in addition to developing a conscientious attitude to your work and you’ll do well. Consider also employing a database or client record management system to help you with your productivity, as we mentioned in Chapter B-1, Being a Producer.
Reading books such as the ones we’ve mentioned above will help you hone your skills in these areas and ensure that you’ve considered the way in which you could work, not just in a simplistic “how-to” way, but in a more holistic way. They encourage you to consider why you are doing the work you are doing, and where you want to be in the future.
Imagine being able to confidently manage the work you’re engaged in, meeting all your deadlines while remaining responsive and proactive—not just fire fighting! Thinking about your time and the wise use of it will lead to more opportunity and hopefully success.
Note-taking
Believe it or not, note-taking is still an important part of working as a music production professional. As we’ll learn later in Chapter C-1, What’s the Deal, note-taking can be very important to ensure you capture all the information of a session. Noting such things as who played what and how, what you agreed on with the A&R person and the band, what order the tracks should be as you’re recording them, the mic position on the bass drum, the settings of the Vox AC30 you managed to squeeze that awesome solo from the guitarist from, will help you keep track of what you need to remember.
Notes such as these may be extremely useful as the project goes on. Many people will manage easily to retain the knowledge required to recall the information. Others will get swept away with events and perhaps forget the odd piece of vital information. It is the retention that is the issue. There are so many aspects of the session you may wish to recall later on for historical or nostalgic purposes.
How you take notes will be completely up to you. We appreciate that many of us in music production are quite keen on gadgets and may choose to rely on our smartphone, but many would still suggest that pen and paper is the fastest and most creative for getting things down. However, some choose to use their lap-tops or iPads, such as Mat Martin mentioned above.
The most important reason to keep some paper and pen about is for any legal stuff that might be discussed. It would be worth taking anything that is verbally agreed down for reference. You may not be able to enforce any such agreements, but they will provide you with the notes to follow up on anything at the earliest point, plus allow you a record should you wish to revisit what you thought was agreed.
Accounting and bookkeeping
Yes, it can be boring. Being a business, and certainly self-employment, will mean that a lot of the day-to-day bookkeeping, and so on, may fall to you. It’s not rocket science and it is not akin to programming System Exclusive in MIDI, or working out the detailed acoustic solutions to your control room. However, it does take a little organization and diligence to do easily. We’ll cover the accounting bit later on, but here we’ll cover why it’s important to keep on top of things.
Getting used to collecting and gathering what you need to do to file your tax returns takes a little while to grasp. It is perhaps simpler now than it has ever been, especially in the U.K. with a comprehensive online tax return system. What you need is to get organized and manage your papers accordingly, and perhaps even open a separate business bank account to separate your business money from your own, as this can make the accounting side of things a little easier.
The country in which you live will have its own peculiar systems and regulations and you should, if you’re not already getting on with it, look on your government’s websites for further information. Here in the U.K. we’re expected to report a number of details about what we have earned and what we’ve had to pay out in order to run our business. The online system (of the HM Revenue and Customs people) will calculate the tax you owe based on the figures you give. However, it is very wise to read up on the way in which this works in advance, as this might inform your purchasing for the coming year.
Being self-employed means that you have to purchase your own equipment and tools of the trade in order to provide your services. As such, these tools are tax deductible. Each territory will have its own system by which this works, but many tax regimes can be very generous when you purchase new essential equipment, providing tax breaks, and so on. Keeping abreast of the new provisions for this, and perhaps any other tax breaks on offer, may make new ventures or activities possible. So check that site from time to time.
Taking an interest in your business affairs will make life less exciting perhaps, but may allow you to make more informed decisions about the market and the future of your company.
YOUR WIDER BUSINESS AND OPPORTUNITIES
In this day and age, as we find ourselves in a global financial downturn, professionals in some sectors are finding their share of the action dwindling. The same is the case in the music industry and many producers are either having to spread their activities a little or are choosing to do so to add new income streams or variety to their work. The portfolio career is becoming widespread and is a method to insure financial security going forward. The reduction of all eggs in one basket is perhaps a wise strategy.
Along these lines, it is not uncommon for producers and other music industry professionals to find new ways of expanding their reach. Activities might include starting a band instead of leading other people’s sessions (this is more likely for personal reasons, such as enjoyment, as in the case of Tommy D’s band Grafitti 6). However, there is a pertinent reason for doing this as you become the songwriter, not just the producer, and as such your share of the finances is increased.
Other examples might be writing a book such as this or offering your skills up to education by means of guest lectures or master classes, such as those provided by JAMES (Joint Audio Media Education Services), question and answer sessions at stores, product endorsement as in many of the trade magazines, acting as a consultant in studio practice or studio ergonomics and design engineering, even some mastering. There are so many activities you can spread to, especially if you’ve made a name for yourself in production already.
Generating new business is never easy at the best of times, but successful producers have a track record and this can help their new ventures in many ways. For example, Phil Harding (producer of many hits, such as East 17’s success in the ‘90s) has written a book about his time working at PWL and recording the likes of Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley. Other producers have spent time considering their work and placing this information in books, but there are nowhere near enough and we hope that many producers will spend time to reflect on their expertise and share their experiences in the fullness of time. Phil Harding is an example of a producer who has chosen to also enter both the education field, offering his time to teach students and give guest lectures, in addition to working professionally as a musician recording his own album recently. He has chosen to do both these projects without the backing of labels or publishers.
Professional affiliations and networks
We’ve mentioned the benefits of joining professional bodies before. Many of these are listed in Appendix F-1, The Tape Store.
Joining a professional body can be very useful to make new contacts and network. Joining an organization such as the Music Producer’s Guild (MPG) or the Association of Professional Recording Services (APRS) in the U.K. or an equivalent in the U.S (AES) etc. can provide many opportunities to meet and interact with fellow professionals. Also it is an opportunity to discuss pertinent issues and perhaps raise awareness of the industry at the current time.
As with any professional affiliation, you get out what you put in, and there may be opportunities for you to join the organization and help along the way, opening more opportunities to network.
Similarly, there are many online networks such as Gearslutz and ProSoundWeb which provide professionals with connections with many other audio professionals across the globe. These can be a vital source of audio information and tech support should you need it. Take a little time to check these out if you can.
Note
1 Focal Press and the authors of this work are not licensed, certified, approved, or endorsed by or otherwise affiliated with David Allen or the David Allen Company, which is the creator of the Getting Things Done® system for personal productivity. GTD® and Getting Things Done® are registered trademarks of the David Allen Company. For more information on the David Allen Company’s products, please visit their website: www.davidco.com.