Hypothetical business idea providing a service to musicians - Opinions Please.

raindog.promo

Hey folks,

I've to do a business plan for college and came up with this idea, which I think could be a runner (but wouldn't be doing in reality any time soon anyway) and would like to know what bands/musicians think.

Any opinions welcome as it would also help me with the whole "market research area."

The plan basically is to provide a service to bands/singer-songwriters at a beginning to intermediate level.

The idea would be that through the recording of one demo tune, a hands on workshop, the band will learn how to set up and record themselves so that they can go ahead and have the confidence to start recording themselves on a regular basis.

It would involve recording onto a laptop (ie - semi pro equipment) through an 8 input soundcard, beginning with laying down drum tracks and then add the rest through overdubs.

In one or two sessions of about 8 hours the band/singer-songwriter will be shown how to:
Backline:
1) Properly string guitars
2) Tune drum kit
3) Presentation on setting up recording application and soundcard on a laptop and filled in on available software and how to use them.

Recording:
3) Mic up guitar amps, acoustics, drum kit, vocals and bass. Also cover DI'ing bass and keyboards.
4) Getting good levels into the recording software.
5) Shown how a recording session progresses with overdubs, using click track etc
5) Basic presentation of editing, EQ'ing, panning and mastering.

Along the way, the band will have any questions that crop up answered and other practical tips and advice will be given as the session advances.

The session would take place in the bands rehearsal room or they can rent a room specifically for the occasion.

The band ends up with some new knowledge (and hopefully confidence) to record themselves, experience of how a recording session and an end product of a demo tune.

Good idea/bad idea? Any opinions welcome.

Cheers.

kheed

How much would you intend to charge? Its a fairly good idea I think, but if the price is high I reckon bands would just pay the money to a studio and engineer to get a better quality product to flog at the end, and hope to pick up tips through the actual experience of recording

raindog.promo

Thanks for the input.

I was thinking average price of studio is roughly €300-€350 per day. This would be €250 and after more thought, do away with having a demo song recorded at the end of the day.

The service gives bands a good grounding in how to go about recording themselves properly, making the best of what they have (or advice on good affordable equipment) on a regular basis. A hands on workshop if you will. The recording would be secondary and after a bit more thinking, say there's mistakes on the recording, they can refer back to it and say "ah yes, such and such a mistake happened there because of X.Y or Z." more like taking notes in class.

The difference here is paying for one session that they can repeat ad nauseum and build on each time, not actually getting a recording done but learning how to get a recording done. Getting tips from a recording session (and who's gonna set up a recording studio only to tell their clients how to go about doing it themselves?) will take much longer and prove much more expensive.

postdarwin

I think the idea is nice, but (having taught basic sound engineering to young people myself) I'm not sure it'll work out so well -- for a few reasons.

Young (dumb?) bands don't have a lot of disposable income. Not all of the band members are likely to be equally inexperienced. The range of topics is very broad; for example: the drummer is unlikely to care about the guitar setup. And in real studio situations (as you're probably aware) most people are just shouting ideas at each other, while one person remains terminally bored, and the technical stuff is handled by an engineer with guidance from the one band member (out of six!) who actually gives a crap about the mechanics of what they're doing.

Gosh, what total negativity raining on your parade, sorry!

If you really like your idea, the best advice is to ignore cynics like me and try it anyway. Good luck.

odonopenmic

Not trying to rain on the parade either but not sure I'd go for this, even if I was at a more inexperienced level.

You say "the band will learn how to set up and record themselves so that they can go ahead and have the confidence to start recording themselves on a regular basis."

But... realistically, they won't record themselves on a regular basis in the way that you've shown without the equipment they are learning on, which you are providing. I'd rather a demo in Garage Band any day, which would be more conducive to recording down demoes down the road.

I'd also have some question marks about the syllabus:

In one or two sessions of about 8 hours the band/singer-songwriter will be shown how to:
Backline:
1) Properly string guitars - I play keys / drums / sing etc. Seems like if you know how to play guitar, you're going to know how to do this.
2) Tune drum kit - I play guitar / keys / bass / sing etc. If I am a drummer I should already know this.
3) Presentation on setting up recording application and soundcard on a laptop and filled in on available software and how to use them. What software are you using- will be be practical for the band to obtain and use this after the course? i.e. Garage Band is going to be a lot easier going than ProTools for a beginner.

Recording:
3) Mic up guitar amps, acoustics, drum kit, vocals and bass. Also cover DI'ing bass and keyboards. Worthwhile
4) Getting good levels into the recording software. Worthwhile
5) Shown how a recording session progresses with overdubs, using click track etc Worthwhile
5) Basic presentation of editing, EQ'ing, panning and mastering. Worthwhile

But I'm not sure all this recording info is going to be retained or interesting to every member of a 5/6 piece band.... Would you consider running this for individuals in bands, rather than a whole group?

Anyway, broad verdict is that the backline stuff is a waste of time. The recording stuff will be interesting, but likely only for a couple of band members and not everyone. Learning by doing is the way so if in the course of doing the demo they get to experience all the recording aspects listed above then that's great but I'd think it would be a better sell as a course for musicians who want to rough-demo their bands, as opposed to bands who want to learn to record. Any band I've ever been in has probably had one or two people spearheading this aspect. And for €250, I'm not sure I'd do it.

Malice

Some excellent responses so far. I think odonopenmic pretty much summed up what I was gonig to write so I won't repeat what has already been written.

raindog.promo

Thanks for responses. Much appreciated.

Fandango

Personaly it wouldnt appeal to me. Very early on i knew how to string a guitar properly. Drummer would be the same on tuning the kit. The rest can be done by the engineer in the studio at the start and alot will be learned quick enough by the band after 2-3 recordings. You can get 1 day sessions for under €100 also these days and kids starting out will be far more likely to go for the big desk and live room than a rehersal room recording. I could be very wrong as its a long time since i started and maybe it would have appealed to me back then but i just think you could go to record in a place like elektra and get the same advice and also the experience of being in a decent sized studio which, to a young band, looks pretty feckin cool in fairness.

Fandango

Just to add, i dont want to sound like im saying its a s**t idea or anything like it. Reading back over what i posted might give that impression but not intended. The things you are talking about teaching are hugely important obviously but my only concern is that when your a young band, you want the rows of knobs and flashing lights on the desk. Learning about recording techniques/home recordings etc are a distant thought until your further into your music career

lace

I don't think teaching musicians how to set up/tune stuff is needed, but I like the second half of your plan. Most bands already have some experience of recording themselves (however rudimentary that may be) and you'd have to be careful not to come across as patronising.

Maybe you could offer different masterclasses (I'm talking a day or an afternoon) to suit different bands or subjects? For example, some may just want to know what kind of cheap, basic equipment they can use and how they can best set it up to get a good recording or to get the sound they want. Others may want to learn how to use midi and how to make midi instruments to add to their music. Some may just want to know how to mix/master/EQ etc. It seems like an awful lot to teach in one day, especially if you're using complicated software they may not be familiar with.

I suppose it all depends on what kind of equipment/software you have at your disposal and whether you intend on using cheap/free resources they could easily get their hands on for future self-recording. You're also probably going to have to have both a Mac and a PC set up, because some people find switching between the two rather difficult.

All in all, it's a good idea. I'm not sure about the price as business isn't my strong point but I think you'd definitely get some interest (with the right advertising, of course).

What you need to think about:

What equipment will you use? (good mics = good recordings but quite expensive for a band to buy themselves)

What software will you use? (full licences are mad expensive, bands won't be able to afford them)

How will you get the most out of your masterclass time? (exactly what will be taught and how long will it take to teach?)

Good Luck!

kingofpain

semi-repetitive + some promo ideas:

Entry level course for the DIY recording beginner (who's probably a band member/musician).

Dismiss drums all together, demands too much equipment (mics, kit, room, cabling, multi track soundcard) and basic knowledge about compression, gate and EQ to handle all the tracks and produce a decent overall sound. I followed a sound engineer class once, 8 hours a week 23 weeks and sort of got it in the end but it took so many crap tracks. (think mic placement and aggressive EQ was the hardest part to nail, and then you still need to fit it decently in the mix)

Bring banks of drum loops (midi/audio, lots of good free stuff around) instead to get some rhythms and tight tempo base down fast and easy instead

If taking on drums even so, figure out a two mic set up (kick + room f.x.) that'll work for garage DIY.

Lay out a package you're completely comfortable with in and out and can teach and have running on any pc/mac within few hours. Garageband def. makes everything easier so spending extra on a mac probably the best advice to some users. Not up to date with various PC DAW packages, been trying Reaper lately, excellent for the money but not really beginner suited.

Anyway, package should include recommended list of beginner budget equipment and include shopping advice, including assessing used gear offers and helping out setting it up.

€500 realistic? Soundcard, mic, stand, monitors and/or headphones, cables, software.

Guess it smells more of a regular course suited for 3-5 participants.

About the band oriented stuff, you could consider offering a digital promo package. Help out setting up the whole soundcloud, Facebook, Myspace, bandcamp etc. presence. Utilize all the community based, free tools out there, leave dedicated site building to the pros if needed.

Connect with a photographer if they don't shoot themselves. If they can't write decently or don't care posting regularly find a super fan/friend to keep that going. Quantity beats quality first year or two, just keep up the buzz and figure out 'identity/image' along the way.