The answer is…. maybe!
It’s a big decision that we all have to make as we level up our audio careers: work out of a home studio, or “graduate” to building/renting a commercial space.
And the truth is, there’s no right or wrong answer– both options have their pros and cons, and it really just comes down to what’s right for you. Going to a commercial space could be that boost you’re looking for, OR it could completely destroy your life… so think it through carefully!
Starting to get nervous? Don’t worry homie, we’ve got you covered as always 🙂 Joey has been down both roads, having worked out of both a commercial space and his house for many years– and he breaks down the pros and cons of each in this episode of The Career Builder Show!
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Comments 1
IME so far(about 14yrs beyond the board , 23yrs on the other side of the board as well) renting a commercial space right now as a brand new studio is a bust! Especially if you don’t have enough money to pay for an entire 1year of rent and all utilities, plus a cushion fund for when shit blows up(like hard drives, and you’ve gotta pay an exorbitant fee to recover your essential data-$500 or so)or when you have other problems, like air conditioner going out, and all your gear overheating, etc. Don’t forget the thousand dollar security, night vision, etc system you gotta put in, and your insurance in case someone breaks in and steals all your shit! Also your renters insurance for the regular stuff, like building catching on fire(your gears not included in that so you’ve gotta have both, and usually a rental agreement with force you to have the building insurance). Something always goes wrong in a session, sometimes it’s an easy fix, sometimes not. Sometimes an artist will want a certain sound you can’t get with the products you have at present, and you’ll have to go out and buy something that will get that sound. There’s a ton of things.
Then you have to consider that most people nowadays are the do it yourselfers! So many iconic studio’s are closing their doors due to lack of business, as many people want to just go out by a $100 interface and mic and make a record instead of paying Thousands of Dollars to record in the studio! For real! Then you’ve gotta work, at the very least 80hrs a week, your ass off to make it happen. Don’t forget your advertising fee’s. If you don’t advertise then no-one knows ****such and such***studio is even there or open! And you yourself are going to be busy as hell networking with other people/mixing/recording/reseting up your room/figuring out where that bad cord is, in you multitude of 1000 cords/other shit, that your not gonna have time to sit there for hours, and hours try to pinpoint your market, and target them with ads that you built in your other spare time you don’t have, so that they will know you exist in case they ever want to rent studio time! Hell you could spend 100+hrs on marketing/advertising a week alone, and that will probably bring you in 1 or 2 rappers. So it’s a very tough market! Start at home, build connections when you can, go to shows, pass out cards, etc. If you live someplace quiet, relatively) then maybe spend the money you would opening up your studio, to build one on your property, like say garage size, or maybe and expansion on your house! That way if it’s a bust you still have a property value increase, because of the extra storage space/room available!