what should I charge to rent out my home studio?

mark007 · 26th December 2009

Hi guys,

I have a small one room home studio setup, (11 by 16 feet), good sound isolation and professionally treated by an acoustician for voice over recording - good preamp (john hardy) good converters (lavry blue)

In my area studio rates can be anything from $35 to over $100 per hour (that also includes the studio technician / engineer, microphones etc) - depending on the studio reputation, size and location etc..

How much should I charge if I wanted to rent out my space for someone who'd like to use it for vocal rehearsal or voiceover recording. This would include only the room, my preamp, converters and computer. They would bring their own mic and there would be NO sound technician provided(the person would be recording him or herself).

What would be a fair price?

thanks

Jamie Mac · 26th December 2009

I'm not really sure if there is a demand for a home studio with only a computer, one preamp and a convertor.

I'd say invest in a couple of microphones and some monitors, so your clients wouldn't necessarily have to bring their own equipment if they want to do some basic recording..

mark007 · 26th December 2009

There are obviously monitors as well, and headphones and 2 guys kind of inquired about it (and both have their own mics they usually use) but I have no idea what kind of price range to ask

They would also have access to Cubase and could record and do some editing and mixing as well in this room.

Jamie Mac · 26th December 2009

I wouldn't have a clue either..

Ask them what they are willing to pay

Dopamine · 26th December 2009

Charge as much as you can, ie, what the market will bear.

Lifted · 26th December 2009

Find a price point where you don't feel like you are being shortchanged and you still enjoy working for that amount , but at the same time where you are not robbing the clients.

Simple as that

Stitch333 · 26th December 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dopamine

Charge as much as you can, ie, what the market will bear.

This advice works for everyone.

nigel_g · 26th December 2009

WHat mic pre and converters we talking about? Sounds like you have a pretty budget home studio. And I dont mean that as an attack - I'm just saying, everybody and their mom has a little m-audio fast track and an ART Tube MP these days so..

Jamie Mac · 26th December 2009

John Hardy pre and Lavry blue converter isn't in the budget category I would think..

nigel_g · 26th December 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamie mac

John Hardy pre and Lavry blue converter isn't in the budget category I would think..

Sorry I totally missed this part of his post. My bad.

Beefy · 26th December 2009

If I walked into a studio that was trying to charge me and that was the set up I would walk out.

cartrouble · 26th December 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beefy

If I walked into a studio that was trying to charge me and that was the set up I would walk out.

Especially without an engineer. With an engineer $15-20/hour maybe?

moon_unit · 27th December 2009

Totally depends on the space.

We talking' about 20-foot+ ceilings, hardwood floors and non-paralel surfaces?

Or we talking' about the typical basement, low ceilings, auralex padding, carpet, complaining neighbors, etc.

mark007 · 27th December 2009

thanks

yes it's a low ceiling space, but it's rather good acoustically (not auralex stuff - but rather custom build panels covered with gilford&maine fabric) as the person who designed and treated it is a guy who has over 30-40 experience designing concert halls.

like I already specified before, it's for voiceover purposes - i don't think they need 20 foot ceilings for that. It was never meant to be a "studio" - but a high room speficially designed for voice recording purposes. As a "vocal" booth, i think it's much better than a 4x4 whisper room as some people use. And, the room is extremely quiet. Computer is not in the same room and no outside noise gets in as walls and windows are double (box inside a box construction).

And no, gear is not cheap - john hardy preamp and lavry converters are not low budget. As for the mic, I have a $4,000 one - no way I'm leaving this lying around.

Thanks for input - i'll follow your advice and "test" the market first - as a matter of fact, I just found a site of a local place that actually does rents out rehearsal rooms (without a engineer and with gear of much lower quality) and for a 10x16 room they charge between $10-$15/hour. So I guess $10/hour is a very reasonable price in my case - it's not a big revenue but in my case the studio is just sitting not being used for a good part of the day, if it could bring me in even $100-$200 a month - why not, at the end of the year that's a new piece of gear.

psycho_monkey · 27th December 2009

If it's actually IN your house (ie you have to walk through your front door to get to it) I wouldn't rent it out without an engineer. In fact, I wouldn't rent it out at all (apart from to friends or friends of friends who come recommended). It's just not worth the risk.

DamnYankee · 27th December 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark007

Hi guys,

I have a small one room home studio setup, (11 by 16 feet), good sound isolation and professionally treated by an acoustician for voice over recording - good preamp (john hardy) good converters (lavry blue)

In my area studio rates can be anything from $35 to over $100 per hour (that also includes the studio technician / engineer, microphones etc) - depending on the studio reputation, size and location etc..

How much should I charge if I wanted to rent out my space for someone who'd like to use it for vocal rehearsal or voiceover recording. This would include only the room, my preamp, converters and computer. They would bring their own mic and there would be NO sound technician provided(the person would be recording him or herself).

What would be a fair price?

thanks

The question really should be: what are the risks of theft & personal safety by allowing strangers into your home?

ohmicide · 27th December 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by psycho_monkey

If it's actually IN your house (ie you have to walk through your front door to get to it) I wouldn't rent it out without an engineer. In fact, I wouldn't rent it out at all (apart from to friends or friends of friends who come recommended). It's just not worth the risk.

exactly what i was thinking..

KRStudio · 27th December 2009

Start out around $20hr. Don't buy into the "don't bring people in" stuff. I ran my studio out of my house for ten years. It was my full time gig and most clients loved it. It was comfortable and down to earth. Clients pay for results, nothing more, nothing less. You will need to start out a little on the low side for payment and once you start to build some client base then raise them a little. I do not recommend you letting clients run your gear unless (a) you test their knowledge of what's going on and (b) you have them sign a "you break it you buy it" clause.

Good luck!

bitmob · 27th December 2009

If there are excellent monitors, the room is treated (not just deadened), and there is an iso booth, I'd pay $100/day if I really needed to do some overdubs and there was no other feasible option.

A 2-ch Lavry and one good pre-amp isn't going to bring people in. If you want to make the money you need to make the investment, OR rent yourself along with it and build your career from there. What you're asking is sort of ridiculous.

26th December 2009	#1
mark007 Gear maniac Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 159 Thread Starter	what should I charge to rent out my home studio? Hi guys, I have a small one room home studio setup, (11 by 16 feet), good sound isolation and professionally treated by an acoustician for voice over recording - good preamp (john hardy) good converters (lavry blue) In my area studio rates can be anything from $35 to over $100 per hour (that also includes the studio technician / engineer, microphones etc) - depending on the studio reputation, size and location etc.. How much should I charge if I wanted to rent out my space for someone who'd like to use it for vocal rehearsal or voiceover recording. This would include only the room, my preamp, converters and computer. They would bring their own mic and there would be NO sound technician provided(the person would be recording him or herself). What would be a fair price? thanks

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26th December 2009	#2
Jamie Mac Gear addict Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Brussels Posts: 384	I'm not really sure if there is a demand for a home studio with only a computer, one preamp and a convertor. I'd say invest in a couple of microphones and some monitors, so your clients wouldn't necessarily have to bring their own equipment if they want to do some basic recording..

26th December 2009	#5
Dopamine Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 1,903	Charge as much as you can, ie, what the market will bear.

26th December 2009	#6
Lifted Lives for gear Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 1,243	Find a price point where you don't feel like you are being shortchanged and you still enjoy working for that amount , but at the same time where you are not robbing the clients. Simple as that

26th December 2009	#8
nigel_g Gear interested Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Toronto, On Posts: 21	WHat mic pre and converters we talking about? Sounds like you have a pretty budget home studio. And I dont mean that as an attack - I'm just saying, everybody and their mom has a little m-audio fast track and an ART Tube MP these days so..

26th December 2009	#11
Beefy Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: St. Louis, Mo Posts: 691	If I walked into a studio that was trying to charge me and that was the set up I would walk out.

27th December 2009	#13
moon_unit Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Bucktown. Chicago, IL Posts: 926	Totally depends on the space. We talking' about 20-foot+ ceilings, hardwood floors and non-paralel surfaces? Or we talking' about the typical basement, low ceilings, auralex padding, carpet, complaining neighbors, etc.

27th December 2009	#15
psycho_monkey Gear Guru Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: London Posts: 13,408	If it's actually IN your house (ie you have to walk through your front door to get to it) I wouldn't rent it out without an engineer. In fact, I wouldn't rent it out at all (apart from to friends or friends of friends who come recommended). It's just not worth the risk.

27th December 2009	#18
KRStudio Lives for gear Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: San Diego Posts: 1,345	Start out around $20hr. Don't buy into the "don't bring people in" stuff. I ran my studio out of my house for ten years. It was my full time gig and most clients loved it. It was comfortable and down to earth. Clients pay for results, nothing more, nothing less. You will need to start out a little on the low side for payment and once you start to build some client base then raise them a little. I do not recommend you letting clients run your gear unless (a) you test their knowledge of what's going on and (b) you have them sign a "you break it you buy it" clause. Good luck!

27th December 2009	#19
bitmob Gear nut Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Hollywood, CA Posts: 122	If there are excellent monitors, the room is treated (not just deadened), and there is an iso booth, I'd pay $100/day if I really needed to do some overdubs and there was no other feasible option. A 2-ch Lavry and one good pre-amp isn't going to bring people in. If you want to make the money you need to make the investment, OR rent yourself along with it and build your career from there. What you're asking is sort of ridiculous.