In this time where every second bandmember has a pc with cubase or a 001 you really have to bring something extra to the party when you have a small project studio (like me).
Meaning: people have to come to you, not the studio.
I work with local bands and try everything in my power to have them leave the studio with a real album, not a demo.
At my place my partner and I really try to focus on the music; with me being an experienced drummer and he a fantastic guitarist, we cover the better part of rock music which is our thing. I do about 2-3 complete albums a year and some stuff in between and I really try to build a relation ship of trust and fun with the bands.
My main goal: I want to make them wanting to come back. If they want to come back, they spread the word and get other bands interested in my studio.
This has succeded in the last three years and I'm now at a level where I'm in a possition where I contact the bands that I know have expressed an interest and that I like (I go to their live shows or listen to the mp3's on their sites; which most have) and invite them for an evening at the studio to see if we could work together.
Of course, being a true slut (and doing this besides my dayjob), I'm putting all the money I earn back into the studio and slowly, even though the bands come to work with us, not our studio, slowly I can start to impress them with some real decent outboard stuff, a solid mic-locker and of course a discography with some cool songs...
Oh, and I have a basic producerscontract with all bands (2points each for my partner and I) and have them pay per song.
The next step would be that one of the bands really get's a major deal and starts selling nationally
.
I have one in the running at the moment and the one I'm currently producing has also gotten some label interest from the mini album they recorded at my place.
To summ it up: it's about the music and we really do care for the songs that the bands we work with bring in... And when you do a solid job, the dedication gets noticed and the word will spread
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Greetings,
Dirk