Studio that will work with you remotely!

[VickiLogan]

Good afternoon everyone!

I am a newbie to this forum, so I hope this is the correct spot to post. If not, I apologize as I saw another post similar so I assumed...

Anyhow, I know that with Covid still hanging around and we all need to do things a tad differently, I thought I'd post about a studio that I've been working with for the past few years. When Covid hit, I found this studio to be exactly what I needed. The studio is Starbell Hatchery in Harvard, IL, a suburb north of Chicago about an hour. No, I get nothing from posting or recommending their studio, but I feel like I "pay it forward" if I help others to find an inexpensive, great quality and excellent resource to help them excel at their own work. When I needed stuff, I found it was hard to find things that were really beneficial because too many people think of others as competition and don't want to reduce their chances at success. I'm not like that. So....

First off, I record a LOT of my stuff electronically. I usually go into the studio to record the acoustic and percussion instruments. Since I no longer could do that, in part because I've moved to MI, I had to learn to record EVERYTHING out of the house. John helped me to understand how to mic my instruments and how to record them so that he'd be able to use the tracks in the best possible way when mixing and mastering. I went on to record everything and sent him the tracks using we transfer as the files are huge! He then puts everything together and we go back and forth until we get things just as I want them. He will offer suggestions to make your song better, but will never just "do what he thinks best". It's your song and he will do what you want him to do. It's all about the song and not about his ego. AND he is affordable...especially for those starting out who needs quality work without breaking the budget. John also knows several musicians that he works with long distance as well, so these days you really don't need to go into the studio if you have a home studio or a way to record your tracks differently.

This link is to allow you to hear a song that I recorded ENTIRELY out of my home and John mixed and mastered. I released it as a single and got amazing reviews and the song won an instrumental song competition, so I know he does great work. https://soundcloud.com/vicki-logan/the-eighth-fire

The studio information is Starbell Hatchery: https://www.starbellhatchery.com/

[cosmicdolphin]

Nice track Vicki and welcome to the Forums

I appreciate you didn't write this specifically for Taxi but when you do submit you'll probably need to format your music a little differently for it to work for TV.

Most cues only need to be about 2 minutes long but they need something of a developmental arc ( build it up, break it down , build again ) and at least a couple of edit points ( places where an editor can snip them to put under picture ) which you can usually spot just by eyeballing the waveform.

I would always advise people new to this game, that for instrumentals especially it's probably not financially viable to pay to outsource your mixing/mastering and production to a 3rd party. A few reasons for this :-

1. You'll often get asked for changes to be made , sometimes several times over before a library is happy with the final cue.

2. These things are often time sensitive so you might need to deliver it that day if you want your cue to be included for an opportunity

3. Once accepted you'll need to supply multiple alt mixes and stems to the library , this can easily be 8 - 10 files to be mixed/mastered/exported etc.

4. Even good composers say they only get roughly quarter of their catalog used, the rest just sits on the shelf. It's the nature of the industry and not a reflection on the abilities of the composer.

5. A typical library deal for instrumentals would be that you supply the music : Gratis - Exclusively - In Perpetuity...and in return they will ingest the music into their catalog and distribute it to their clients for possible use in their projects. The income you get is from the backed PRO royalties and as Michael Laskow has said many times it's a pennies game. I would guess most of the amounts paid out on my PRO statement wouldn't cover the cost of paying someone else to do the mixing and mastering if you include all the alt mixes, edit requests etc. You just need a lot of placements over a period of time.

Songs are a different case in point, as they can generate one off Sync Fees that can range from the hundreds up to thousands depending what they land in, so it can be worth paying people to do the things you can't. i.e Hiring a great singer could make or break a song.

But instrumentals is more of a numbers game with smaller amounts of royalties accumulating over time so it's best to learn to be a one stop shop as much as possible if you plan to make an income from it. Sounds like you're already doing the hardest part..writing - performing - recording - learning to mix is easier than all of those IMHO.

This guy puts it better than me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1WHfxB20iY

Mark

[VickiLogan]

Thank you, Mark!

All very good points for me to know as far as film/tv goes. This area is pretty new to me, so it's appreciated immensely. AND, that's why I'm here. I have a lot to learn in this area!

I also agree. I'm already doing a ton of stuff on my own as an independent. Most of my music has been released via album and played on radio. I sell a lot of CDs/downloads at shows and stuff. I also have a couple of contracts which allow me to keep my "glorified hobby" moving forward, but I'm getting older and need to look at some other options.

So, THANK YOU again. Most appreciated.

[Casey H]

Vicki
Thanks for the recommendation. Just a note that if the studio actually records anything on their own (playing instruments, adding content, vocals, etc) as opposed to just mixing/mastering, you need a signed work for hire from those who contributed. Otherwise you can't use in Film/TV. Even with mixing/mastering, it's a good idea to get this because they sign off that they performed as WFH and have no ownership in the composition or master.

Best,
Casey

[VickiLogan]

Yep! You are right! That was one of the things I learned early on. I always get things in writing before hand. It totally saves on headaches later on! But I did NOT realize that it was needed for the film/tv realm. Good to know that I'm on the right path so far. Thank you.