Going Pro: How to Turn Your Home Studio Into a Real Business

The author, Jacob Roach, earning his keep in his own modest, yet effective, recording studio.

Every year, recording technology continues to become cheaper and more accessible than ever before.

Along with this increase in accessibility however, comes a shift in business model for commercial and home studios alike.

Gone are the days where home studios were just for amateurs, enthusiasts and well-to-do artists, as many home-based studios have begun to provide a livable income for many of today’s professional engineers and producers.

Once considered a threat by some audio pros, today’s home studios have the capacity not only to spit out great sounding recordings, but to offer their owners the chance to survive—and even thrive—in the world of audio.

If you’re reading this, chances are that you either have a home studio, or have worked in one at some point. According to our surveys, almost half of regular SonicScoop readers make around 100% of their income from music and sound. No doubt that many in the other half hope that they might do the same some day.

If you fall into the later camp, then yes: Your home studio work can shift from a side hobby into a viable business over time. Of course, making a sustainable profit is no easy feat in any sort of business. But just like in any entrepreneurial endeavor, the right mindset and the right approach—coupled with a heavy dose of dedication, luck and hard work—can pay off in the end.

If you want to transform your down-time interest into a full-time career, know that your prospects for success starts and ends with you, and the decisions you undertake to achieve your goals. Here are some guidelines to help you in your journey:

Getting Your First Client

So, you’re ready to take the jump? Great, let’s get to work.

After the obvious steps of learning the basics of recording and getting enough practice so that you’re reasonably good at it, the next logical step into turning a home studio into a business would be actually getting clients. Let’s start with your first one.

Here is the reality: The only way to gain that first client is to go out and find them.

Sure, you probably won’t stumble upon the next GRAMMY-award winning artist right off the bat, but that doesn’t that there isn’t some very talented bands sitting right under your nose. If you don’t already have a robust network of fellow musicians to draw on, pick some local shows or head to a few bars that have live music and listen and talk to the bands.

Here, you will have the best opportunity to network (in the old school face-to-face fashion) with the local talent in your area. The important key to this is that you talk to absolutely everybody, even the artists that may not record with you. This is vital in building a network of friends and colleagues that will eventually gain you that first client.

Now, I can see you’re ready to get at ‘em, but hold on just a second to make sure you are networking properly. If you’ve ever talked to some artists about recording and still haven’t landed that first client, you may want to listen especially closely: There is a distinct difference between a sales pitch and building a relationship.

Networking should not be a sales pitch, it should be exactly what the name implies—building a network of people that can mutually benefit each other throughout a career.

Why is this so important? Because not every person you talk to (which should be everybody) will end up recording with you, and that’s totally fine. However, just because they may not record with you doesn’t mean they won’t know somebody who will.

Because of this, it is paramount that you not only talk to everyone you can, but also focus on building friendships and relationships with them as opposed to just hunting down a quick buck. Everyone can smell a sleazy salesman, so don’t be one.

Networking for People Who Hate Networking

One internal obstacle that many would-be professionals face is fear of saying hello—fear of rejection.

There are plenty of great musicians and engineers are introverted by nature, so if this is your obstacle, you’re not alone. Fortunately, this can be overcome with time and practice, and there are simple strategies that can help you start get over your fear of approaching musicians or clients you don’t yet know.

For instance, one of the easiest ways to comfortably get to know new musicians and prospective clients to to ask for an introduction from a mutual connection.

Even when this is not possible, you can always introduce yourself in advance of show.

Simply identify what artists are playing at the show or networking event you’ll be going to and try sending them a message in advance to let them know why you’re excited to see them perform, and that you’d love to say hello after the show. If you’re shy, this can be far less daunting than walking up to someone you’ve never met.

When you are walking up to say hello to someone you’ve never met, try leading with a compliment that is honest, specific and relevant to the situation. It is very rare that a person dismisses someone who is confidently paying them a sincere compliment. Don’t be fake about it, but also recognize that if you can’t find something positive in what other musicians are doing, you should probably go into another line of work.

To boost your confidence, try to go to networking events with a friend whenever possible, or identify one or more potential contacts you’ve messaged in advance and plan to meet with there. Offer to buy a drink for someone you’d especially like to talk to, be present for them, remember to ask good, open-ended questions, and be careful not to monopolize their time if there are others they hope to meet as well. There’s an old saying that often, the best way to appear interesting, is to be interested.

From Networking to Network-ed

Let’s add some reinforcement to insure that you will actually nail a client after all of this networking.

In networking, follow-up is key. Perhaps you can introduce your new contact to another artist they might benefit from playing shows with, or hip them to another event that might be interesting to them.

Not every project requires the fanciest studio in the world. If you can satisfy your clients needs and add real value to what they do, you have a shot at earning your keep in audio. The author’s Killing Joke Studio is pictured here.

A great way to follow up that may entice people to let you record their art is to provide them with some samples of your work, providing a “reel” that might pique their interest. The more relevant to their music these clips can be, the better.

Of course, there’s a chance that your past work might be “nothing” at this point.

To get some work under your belt, one way or another, you’re going to have to get out there and record. These can just be some demos. They don’t need to be long or flashy, just little bits of music to show off that you can accomplish to some degree what the artist wants.

This leads to another way to reinforce a new connection: Offer extremely cheap or free work.

I know, it sucks, but no one who was ever great started at the top. However, I would urge you to go for the extremely cheap option before resorting to the free one.

With free work, it can come across as if you are telling your client that your time isn’t worth even a little bit of money, which is an idea you want to keep as far away as possible if you want the experience to go well.

The goal here is not to make money. Is it either A) Develop your reel so you can land other clients in the future, and/or B) Exceed the artist’s expectations so much that they will work with you on other projects in the future or happily refer you to others who might.

Theory is great, but I like numbers, so here’s a rough outline of what to charge that first client (if they will pay). Generally, I would start with at least $50/song, even if you are young and have no reel, adjusting the amount depending on who is interested and what they are willing to spend.

I recorded my first band as a freshman in high school and charged them $50 for an atrocious recording. There’s no reason why you can’t get that amount either.

Let’s See That Green

Okay, your first recordings are under your belt, and now it’s time to make some actual money.

The first step that works for most aspiring professionals would be to change your pricing model from “per-song” to “per-day”. This was a strategy that I adopted far too late and wish I would have been educated on sooner. While there are producers at the very top end who work on the per-song model, at this stage, the per-day approach is probably your best bet.

Charging per-day doesn’t always translate to more dollars and cents in the bank, it often does make for better recordings.

Suddenly, you and the artists you are recording will be much less lazy during the process. The onsetting fear of spending more money than they have to forces bands to actually practice before entering the studio, and the promise of compensation for you means that “one more take” doesn’t seem as taxing.

While a single project may actually bring in less money than charging per song, you may end up with better recordings (and more of them) which will lead to more artists who want to record with you. Not to mention that you’re offsetting costs for artists who came to work and artists who came to play. Ultimately, you come out on top.

Another way to ensure that actually make some money is by requiring deposits from the artists you are recording. Almost every studio does it, and if you want to join their leagues, you’ll have to as well.

A deposit ensures that artists will actually show up for their session and easily weeds out the talkers from the doers. I generally require bands pay in full at least two days (non-refundable) worth of time before scheduling a major project.

Sure, I’ve lost some projects because of it, but I’ve also gained security in projects that may ditch out at the final second. It’s a scary thing to do at first, but once again, no one ever did anything great by sticking to their comfort zone.

Where the real upward momentum comes in with a home studio is offering a significant amount of value to a client. You are asking them to forfeit a big chunk of change in exchange for your services, so make sure that cost is justified. This is huge if you ever want to raise your rates in a home studio.

The value to artists should increase as your rates increase. This means you must make consistent growth a priority throughout your career. We’ll touch on ways of offering value to clients in the next section.

Keeping Your Schedule Full

This is the most important part of growing your home studio into a business, and one that countless home studios (including my own) have struggled with. Even after recording quite a few bands and making a decent bit of money, how do you keep artists consistently booked in your studio?

One vital aspect of keeping a consistent list of clients is building your reputation. This is yet another reason why you should continue to build relationships instead of just trying to sell to artists. I once had a project that didn’t pan out so well. Lots of bickering and one angry phone call later, I had a drought of work for nearly six months. Let that be an example of how just a small blemish on your reputation can affect your schedule.

Another lesson to pull here is the kinds of bands you want to work with. Sure, not every session will go perfectly, and that’s okay, but the goal here is to create a unanimously positive vibe, which stems from keeping both you and your clients hapipy throughout the process. And yes, this means sometimes turning away work.

A scary prospect indeed, turning away work can sometimes be essential to your growth. You don’t want to be dragged down by artists that are already failing, and should instead strive to focus your energy on ones that have a chance of succeeding. Like pruning the weakest branches from a tree, this approach will play out more fruitfully for you in the long run.

The more you work with artists that seem like they may grow and thrive, the higher the chance that one of them actually will, bringing up your reputation along with them. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that if they grow, you grow. Focusing your energy on finding inspiring people to work with is a win-win for everyone, and sometimes requires you turning down a generic band that will probably break up in two months.

One way to ensure that growth does occur is to work more closely with the band in a “producer” role, even though you may not specifically be hired for that purpose at this point. Most local talent (and engineers for that matter) don’t actually understand what a good producer even does, much less why they’d want to pay money to have one.

This means that in addition to recording, mixing, and doing your badass thing behind the board, that you’re actually working closely with the band, helping them to develop their project and their music. Set the goals for the band, try to help keep them on track working toward those goals, and ultimately, help them clarify and realize their vision. This way, you can help bands not only make great recordings, but also churn out great music. That’s the best calling card of all.

It’s important to offer value to clients beyond just providing a great recording. Like any viable business, a home studio has to add value to their clientele’s lives in order to keep the schedule full.

Another of the best ways to do this is to ensure that you make your studio looks worthy of dropping a significant amount of money on. I know, it’s material and superficial, but it matters.

Clean your control room, take your trash out, and make sure the artists get to have an “experience” while they’re there. You don’t need to have tons of outboard gear and vintage tube mics to show off. Just keep your space professional and make sure the artists are taken care of.

This doesn’t mean you have to rub their feet while they’re tracking. It simply means stepping a little out of your way to offer more than just a Pro Tools rig and a set of ears. It means setting out water bottles during a vocal session, or a TV with Netflix in the other room to keep bandmates who aren’t tracking entertained. It may seem small, or even trivial, but these little steps outside of your job description work wonders in keeping your schedule full.

Keeping Your Head

If everything has been going according to plan, you should be up to your ears in work by now, which can be another kind of stressful. To ensure all of that hard work pays off, you absolutely must try to maintain sanity throughout the busy times as well as the lean ones.

The name of the game here is “organization”. From your sessions to your schedule, to your progress on any given project, it is essential that you keep your thoughts, processes, and clients organized. It’s so important that most engineers hire an assistant or manager at some stage to ensure everything is organized the same way—even in busy home studios!

So, define your workflow and get working at it. Sure, your workflow can and should change, sometimes often. The crucial point is that you have an organization in place in order to tackle projects in a structured way. You can always refine this structure as you go alone.

Of course, all the structure in the world won’t save you from burning out if you push yourself harder than makes sense for your life. This is a gigantic threat to the lifespan of a home studio. One (or maybe even two) people can only handle so much work, and eventually, you will be forced to take a break. To avoid this, set a workweek and work hours for yourself. Not only will you actually have downtime to recharge yourself, but you’ll also have a huge boost in efficiency when you are working. When you don’t make a point of taking necessary downtime on purpose, it often finds a way of creeping into your workday instead.

Moving Forward

My friend (and a fantastic engineer) Ben Turkovic once told me, “most of what we do involves crippling self doubt.” It’s true, and it sucks. It can be hard just maintaining the motivation to keep on with a home studio, especially when it’s your only business. However, in the same conversation, he also told me that “good or bad, just own everything you do and be pumped on it.” When moving forward in any business, it is critical to keep your head up, be confident, and own every move you make.

Your home studio may be temporary, or it may be forever. Ultimately, it does not matter at all where you end up. What matters is whether you are investing the time and resources to expand your craft and expand your business and enjoying the process. You will never figure this whole audio thing out in its entirety. This is is a discipline that will always require life-long learning. So you may as well hit the ground running with what you already know.

You can do it. And you will. Just keep your head, and keep moving forward.

Jacob Roach is a writer, producer, and engineer from St. Louis, Missouri

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