THE MUSIC CONNECTION RECORDING

ONE OF THE FEW GUARANTEES in business is that it will always be fluid; conditions change regularly, often in unexpected ways and usually without warning. But forewarned is forearmed. With some insights into the ways that the recording studio business has continued to evolve, nimble studio owners and managers can be proactive with respect to those changes and continued success can be safeguarded. With this in mind, Music Connection surveyed a cross-section of American studios about some business basics to gain a general impression of the state of the trade.

Compared to 2022, is your amount of business this year:

Up?.......... 47.37%

Down? .......... 14.03%

About the Same?.......... 38.60%

What percentage of your business is comprised of the following clientele?

Major Labels .......... 25.5% Independent Projects

(artist/producer).......... 56.5%

Indie Labels.......... 18%

"Happily, we’re doing more scoring again, which COVID definitely put a dent in over the last two-and-a-half years. We also see longer recording/album projects and a lot of music video/performance dates. We are thriving. Welcome 2023!"

–

What percentage of your production work (TV, film, games, pub demos, VO) is comprised of:

Publisher demos? .......... 34.2%

Film/television soundtracks?.......... 29.8%

Game soundtracks?.......... 11%

Voiceover work?.......... 25%

What are the percentages of the type of work done at your studio with respect to:

Full Service (whole project)? .......... 67%

Candace Stewart EastWest Studios, Los Angeles

Specialty (mixing, mastering, etc.)? .......... 25% Other (fixing, tape transfer, etc.)? .......... 8%

How much of your business – as a percentage – is obtained by:

Word-of-Mouth?.......... 70% Internet?.......... 2% Advertising?.......... 8%

"The last year has been interesting as we’ve seen an uptick in full-album projects as well as more songwriter’s camps. We’ve also embraced immersive audio and have been getting some catalog work from labels.”

Zoe Thrall The Hideout, Las Vegas

–