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Originally Posted by jomo1234 Larger cities will provide you with a larger client base, but obviously there will be higher overhead/cost of living issues. The inverse is true for smaller cities. Any metropolitan area with a population over 500K will invariably have multiple pro and project facilities. To beat a dead horse....dwindling record label budgets and home studios are driving down day rates and making competition fierce even in major markets.
Instead of focusing geographically, I think the real key to attracting business in this climate is the producer/studio model based around a certain sound or genre. Guys like Mike Mogus (Lincoln, Nebraska), Peter Katis (Bridgeport, CT), Trent Bell (Oklahoma City, OK) & Dave Fridman (Fredonia, NY) are doing well in smaller cities as they are known for a certain sound and attract clients worldwide due to their uniqueness. |
Excellent points.
Addressing the first one, i guess it is like any other job, but you need to find where the maximum of the curve is. Let's say the overhead on Manhattan (NYC) would be 10,000/month for a 3,500 sq ft facility in a decent building, and you could charge $75/hr and you could book 200 hours a month (bringing in 15K/month). If you were in Tulsa, you may only be able to charge $50/hr and book for 160 hours/month (less clients) and bring in 8,000/month but your rent is only $2,000 for a similar sized facility. In NYC you have 5,000 after rent, but in Tulsa you have 6,000. Those numbers were just off the top of my head and totally made up, but perhaps a decent representation of the costs.
And remember in NYC you'll have to pay another 300/month for a parking spot for customers or yourself if you are crazy enough to drive there daily.
Of course with the competition the key is to find a niche, many of which have already been filled in major areas like NYC, LA, Nashville, Boston, Miami, London, etc.. Perhaps Tulsa doesn't have a room to mix surround in, or a decent post room. Perhaps there isn't a good all analogue room in Kansas. Or perhaps there aren't any places that specialize in jazz recording in Michigan. Finding that niche will be important. In some areas near the southern border of the US that Niche could be speaking Spanish or such to fill a market.
I like your second point.