business concept
A recording studio is a room with one or more soundproof rooms equipped with recording equipment. Each room is adjoined by a sound engineer's booth, where the recording process is monitored at a special station. Depending on the needs of the client, the studio is provided for hourly or daily rent, the subsequent work of recording processing specialists is paid separately. An hour of rent in a non-capital region is from 600 rubles.
The services of recording studios in today's world of audio and video content are a necessity not only for professional musicians. The most popular uses of the studio:
- conducting online broadcasts and live broadcasts;
- creating podcasts, audiobooks, radio commercials;
- dubbing educational materials, videos, clips;
- recording of corporate anthems, audio gifts, demonstration materials.
In their free time from recording, the studio premises are rented out as rehearsal rooms for musical groups (repbaza). In this case, a rehearsal shift is paid, the duration of which is 3 hours. This service is often available only in the morning and costs 300-500 rubles.
The rental of studio musical instruments is paid separately. Artists prefer to use their instrument for rehearsals and recording, but, for example, a drum kit is difficult to transport and takes a long time to set up, so the possibility of renting it increases customer loyalty. In the absence of percussion instruments for rent at the studio, the drummer is provided with a free hour of setting up his equipment.
You can also earn on additional services: recording mixing, arranging, mastering (improving the overall quality of the recording).
Part 1 Recording Techniques
If you've never worked in a studio before...
Then you most likely have no idea how many steps it actually takes to get the idea of a song that's spinning in your head...
Convert to an mp3 file that can be uploaded to the Internet.
In the following 6 articles, I will cover how this is done:
- How to record a song
- Vocal recording
- Recording Instruments
- Microphone pickup patterns
- Stereo recording methods
- Mixing in headphones
Let's take a closer look at each lesson...
1. How to record a song
I'm sure you've already guessed that recording a song is a complex process.
From start to finish, you have to do hundreds of tedious activities.
For beginners, it can be difficult:
- Remember what to do and...
- Understand how it all works together to achieve one goal.
In this tutorial, I go over the 4 steps to creating music in detail:
- Recording
- Treatment
- mixing
- Mastering
To learn how each step happens, check out this post:
Music Production Basics: 4 Steps to Recording a Song
2. Recording vocals
Regardless of the genre of your music, vocal recording is a skill that everyone wants to learn...
Because this is the part of the song that ALL listeners pay attention to. But unlike other tools...
But unlike other tools...
Where mic placement and recording technique is up to the engineer...
When recording vocals, a lot depends on the performer. And this can become a problem if the singer does not have studio experience.
So, to find out how to unleash the potential of a vocalist, check out this post:
How to record vocals better: a beginner's guide
3. Recording instruments
Once the vocals start to sound good, you still have to adjust the sound. everything else.
In popular music, 4 instruments are usually recorded:
- Guitar
- Bas-guitar
- Keys
- drums
The problem is that…traditional methods professional studios for recording these instruments are not always suitable homemade studios…
Where the lack of equipment makes the task difficult.
To learn how to record each of these instruments with minimum resources, check out this post:
Beginner's Guide to Recording Guitar/Bass/Keys/Drums
4. Microphone pickup patterns
When you start collecting microphones...
One of the first things you will read about in a microphone description is its polar pattern.
cardioid, “eight”, omnidirectional - these 3 terms will be repeated from time to time.
But, oddly enough, few in fact understand what these terms mean and how to use them... if they know about them at all.
This is unfortunate because the radiation pattern is the most important information to keep in mind when using microphones in various situations.
If you do something wrong, your recording will end before you even start it.
So, to learn more, check out this post:
Basic course on beam patterns
5. 5 stereo recording methods
When you start to understand microphone pickup patterns…
The logical next step is to know stereo recording.
Sound engineers in professional studios use it every day to achieve chic wide spectrum of sounds that can be heard in music and on television ...
And it's sad that most home studio owners never even try it.
Or because they don't have the equipment, or they don't have the right knowledge, or they just never heard of it.
And in the end, they wonder why their records sound like newbies.
To learn how to use stereo recording to achieve professional sound, check out this post:
5 stereo recording methods
6. Headphone mixing
It is generally accepted that you need to mix on studio monitors ...
But in today's world of independent musicians working in home studios, mixing in headphones became the norm.
And although it is not perfect, in fact, no one would be doing it if it were not for its advantages.
To find out what these benefits are and how to use them in your mixes, check out this post:
The complete beginner's guide to mixing with headphones
Financial calculations
The results of investment and payback calculations vary significantly depending on the number of control rooms in the studio and the equipment purchased. Even more difficult in the financial part is forecasting the profitability of the business: the number of clients directly depends on the sound engineer, his professionalism, and fame in the music field. Calculations for the organization of a semi-professional studio with a minimum load of one tone room:
Start-up capital
| Paperwork, patent | 20 000 rub. |
| Repair (including wiring) | 200 000 rub. |
| Soundproofing | 150 000 rub. |
| Equipment | 600 000 rub. |
| Furniture | 100 000 rub. |
| Creation of a website and business cards | 30 000 rub. |
| Total: | RUB 1,100,000 |
Monthly expenses
| Rent and utility payments | 60 000 rub. |
| Salary and contributions to funds | 40 000 rub. |
| Domain payment and printing | 15 000 rub. |
| Console security | 5 000 rub. |
| Total: | 120 000 rub. |
How much can you earn?
The full-time studio schedule can be represented as follows:
- 10:00-16:00 two rehearsals for 500 rubles. each;
- 16:00-21:00 five entries for 800 rubles. each.
If we add to this additional income from work with already recorded information (1,000 rubles per day), then the daily revenue will not exceed 6,000 rubles, and the weekly, taking into account one day off, will be no more than 36 thousand rubles, which in a month will allow you to receive 144,000 rubles.
Payback periods
Even with a sufficient number of clients and full employment of the studio, the net profit, including rent, will not exceed 24,000 rubles. per month, in their own premises can reach up to 74,000 rubles. per month. In this case, the capital investment will pay off in 1,100,000/20,000 = 46 months or 3.8 years, in own premises - in 1.2 years.
What is required for implementation
However, a businessman who is far from the world of music is unlikely to think about opening a studio, so at the initial stage the functions of a director and administrator can be taken over by the owner of the business. With a sufficient amount of investment, a technical engineer is hired to install, debug, and configure equipment.
You should also rely on your own resources when it comes to locating a studio: judging by the feedback from entrepreneurs, this type of business may not bring any income for months, and rent payments have to be paid monthly. Plus, investments in complex expensive repairs in case of problems with the landlord will be irrevocable. Therefore, in most cases, studios are organized in premises owned by a businessman: an apartment, a private house or a specially built pavilion.
When searching for premises for rent, priority is given to brick buildings on the outskirts of the city (in order to save on rent payments), with parking for large cars (for groups with their own musical instruments), apartments on the first floors and semi-basements of residential buildings are allowed
The presence of neighbors is not important: soundproofing - one of the most important parameters of the studio - ensures silence outside the recording room at any time of the day. A mini-studio will require a room with three rooms for various purposes: a recording room (tone room), an adjacent sound engineer booth (hardware room), an entrance area with a place for clients to relax
The total area of the premises is not less than 50 sq. m, the monthly rental payment will be 50 thousand rubles. and more.
The third stage will be repair, laying of powerful electrical wiring, organization of ventilation and soundproofing of the room. From the tone room, a window is made into the control room for communication between the director and artists during recording. If this is not possible (it is impossible to agree on the redevelopment at the BTI), then communication can be organized via video communication: a camera, monitor and additional microphones will be required. The walls are finished with soundproof boards (texound, noisenet, isover), and then soft panels of foam rubber are glued for sound absorption. The cost of materials is about 100 thousand rubles. excluding repairs.
Much more expensive will be the calculation and coordination of the wiring diagram and supply ventilation, without which comfortable work in the studio is impossible.
During repairs, you should also pay attention to small nuances that significantly change the quality of the recording: noise-absorbing, preferably black (acoustically transparent) ceiling covering, carpet with a long pile on the floor, LED lamps instead of incandescent lamps
There are also ready-made offers on the market that allow you to do without repairs and organize a mini-studio even in a separate room of a residential apartment. Prefabricated acoustic (vocal) booths, reminiscent of a telephone booth, are sheathed from the inside with sound-absorbing material and equipped with a ventilation system. Cabins are made according to the customer's dimensions, can be easily disassembled and transferred from place to place. The cost of semi-professional models starts from 300 thousand rubles.
The fourth and most expensive stage will be equipping the studio with equipment for sound recording and processing. Buying a minimum set of equipment does not make sense, since any potential client can organize an inexpensive home studio. People turn to a professional recording studio because the equipment presented in it cannot be purchased for personal needs: it is expensive, large, difficult to set up and requires maintenance. In total, the purchase will require about 30 items of various equipment, the configuration of which must be selected based on the parameters of the room, the performance of individual units, the requirements for process comfort and recording quality. Basic equipment and programs:
- the most productive computer - from 60 thousand rubles;
- monitors - from 30 thousand rubles;
- mixing console - from 100 thousand rubles;
- preamplifier - from 60 thousand rubles;
- studio microphones - from 20 thousand rubles. each;
- studio monitors and converters - from 30 thousand rubles;
- sound workstation (program) - from 40 thousand rubles;
- headphones and amplifiers for them - from 20 thousand rubles. every;
- audio interface - from 40 thousand rubles.
The amount of initial investment in equipment is from 600 thousand rubles. without musical instruments. In addition, furniture will be required for all participants in the process: tables, chairs, a sofa for a relaxation area, and microphone stands. To ensure the safety of studio equipment, the premises must be equipped with an alarm system with a security console.
