How do you find work?

[timmymacParticipant]

I'm curious to know how everyone finds work. If you're fortunate to have a steady stream of clients coming to you due to reputation and past work, maybe talk about how you got started. The projects I've worked on have all come from being in bands. I'm looking for other avenues to grow my network. What's worked for you?

[Warren HuartKeymaster]

Great topic! For me at first it was all hustle!! I went to shows and talked to bands and asked them to record, if they had a budget then great but most of the time they don;t so I choose the ands I liked! I recorded in my apartment in Silverlake on a Soundtracs Topaz and 2 ADATS! I had an AKG C3000 and a few cheap dynamic mics and one very cheap compressor! I recorded full bands spread around the apartment, live drums in the front room, bass in the corridor, guitar in the bathroom and vocals in the closet! It was a lot of work but I made it work! Now with the advent of the internet I tend to encourage people t pit themselves out there, create a website, a Facebook page, instagram, that coupled with a lot of hustle finding artists and doing great work will create a buzz! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[Musa HendersonParticipant]

At the moment I am getting all my recording gigs from the open mic and acoustic gigs i run and from attending events. It is a lot of fun in London to get out on the scene and meet people. I work for free on the first project and then charge a small amount after, most people come back so i guess its working.

[timmymacParticipant]

@warrenhuart - Hey thanks! Ha! The c3000 was the first condenser mic I ever owned! Thanks for sharing your experience getting started. I plan to hustle a lot more this year. ?

@Musa - that's a great approach! I've done some live sound in the past. Would like to do more!

[Warren HuartKeymaster]

Hi Musa, that's perfect! Going to open mics is a fantastic idea!!! I am about to start doing an album with artists from the Los Angeles Songwriters Collective! I'm doing it really inexpensive to a) give back to the local community b) be involved with up and coming artists and help them build their careers!! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[timmymacParticipant]

Help young artists/bands. That's what I really want to do. Get into the process early and help bands navigate through the whole recording process. I remember not having a clue how all this worked many years ago (not saying I know everything now). ? But I've learned a few things over the years which I wish someone had told me when I was starting out. I'm planning to hit music venues during the week instead of the weekends to find bands that need that kind of help.

[Hector Jon JonParticipant]

I run a Spanish audio blog and youtube channel called Audioproduccion.com so basically I feel that all the video tutorials that I share serve as a channel for people to hear and see what I do and also to give them confidence about giving their material to be worked on to someone who is not in their hometown or city. Anyways that has worked very good for me and now I get to work on projects with people all over Latin America.

[timmymacParticipant]

@hectormjon that's great! I have had less luck with getting just mixing work. Typical I'll track a band and then they'll ask me to mix it. I really like being part of the whole process but wouldn't mind just doing some mixing work from time to time.

[Cris Sabater SabaterParticipant]

Hi guys, I work with and am part of an international band and I help in production and I also do all the mixing and mastering for them. I do this for free as they have no money and we have a Bandcamp website which is pretty cool. I am looking to expand though in the future and perhaps setup a Facebook page and maybe create a website with my portfolio there so people can actually listen to the work I have done and see if they would like me to work on their mixes! As Warren says with the power of the internet these days there is no reason not to use it to it's full potential. There are so many people already doing this and it is a saturated market but he who dares wins as Del Boy used to say! The British contingent will know what I mean! Be positive and don't take any negative comments personally and love what you do! Most of all don't do it for the money!! You will be disappointed so just take it as it comes and try to build it up slowly.

Cheers,

Cris

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by Cris Sabater Sabater.

[pask74Participant]

Great topic!
I used to work for cheap for local bands with the idea to help them launch their career but I found out that most of them are happy to use whatever is free and then scout for the next (near-)free studio etc. so it rarely produced any payback as such. Also, putting your name on emerging but not necessarily very good bands can be a bit hazardous.
Now, I've created a list of address with bands I'd be interested to offer my services to and send a studio newsletter (using Mailchimp) - which is a good excuse to let them know what is happening at the studio and let the word out.
I'm also considering contacting labels directly.

[Nathan KayeParticipant]

Great topic!
Most of the clients I've garnered, thus far, have been directly from touring as an artist myself and then bands and songwriters approaching me to help them, usually as a mentor, or to record their next EP, etc. So it's been more of a mobile studio arrangement, then I take the stems home and produce the tracks more and mix them, etc, based upon being a touring musician, which slots in well with my tours... The only production I did that didn't fall into this category was for the late Andy Fraser (he was the principal songwriter and bass player for the huge 1970's band Free). I produced, played and co-wrote on some of his songs for his last solo album through a mutual connection.

But having said all that, after so many years of touring, I want to do less of the touring (not completely stop doing it because I love playing live & going to exotic places, but slow it down somewhat), because it's getting more exhausting, and augment it with producing more upcoming artists.

This puts me in new territory with picking up new clients through other means, so I'm all ears to other methods of procuring production/mixing work.

I have one frustration that has reoccurred in the last year or so. There are 3 other producers I know (actually great friends with them - terrific guys) who keep getting my potential clients because we are in the same circles of connection, even though they actually know very little about mixing, frequencies, etc, themselves (these guys outsource their projects to a famous mixer). But that's because they have had a lot of previous clients and have created a nice momentum for themselves. I guess, I have to find a way to communicate the skills I have and the uniqueness of what I have to offer, but I loathe the concept of being 'competitive', especially with friends. you see my conundrum. Any suggestions?

[Zach FellParticipant]

I'm bumping this up because I am at the stage where I am opening up the doors to my private pro-home studio. I have a website, twitter, and I have put up 8.5x11 info sheets at the local music stores. The last time I recorded a band was 10 years ago when I closed the doors and stop pursuing clients due to life events. I'm in my early 40's and never was a go out to the local shows and "sell" my services. Being a salesperson always made me feel uncomfortable. Any advice?

-Zach

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