Studio Marketing in the Modern Music Biz

I recently had a discussion with a friend about studio marketing in today's economy. The discussion was about the viability of specific strategies. How does a studio promulgate its existence to potential clients?

One strategy is to let the engineers drive the business. This, in essence, is letting the engineers promote themselves concurrently with the studio. In my humble opinion, this does not necessarily facilitate loyalty to the studio. In my thinking, this does two things that are hindrances for a studio's growth.

Primarily, it puts an added burden on the engineers to drive their own success. This can be beneficial. However, it also forces them to spend more time finding work. Often times, if they are not well established, they will take a session at a reduced rate. This devalues their time and sets a precedent for future work.

Another obstacle to overcome by this method is locality. By that, I mean an engineer can only get clients locally and is subject to the local economy. Today's discipline of recording arts is saturated by the multitude of students graduating from trade schools and universities with advanced degrees. Some of these students are really talented and are trying to find work. I've heard stories out of L.A. where interns now pay to work at established facilities. This is a scary trend.

I guess it is really who you know. Not what you know.

This first method of marketing seems rather small-minded, in my opinion. If your aspiration is to have a home recording studio, congratulations! You've accomplished your goal.

Another strategy requires a little more vision and requires one to aspire to greater things. If you want to be a world-class facility, you have to think like a world-class facility. This isn't the Field of Dreams (it can be); they won't come just because you built it. You need to let the world know you exist. That's right, the WORLD.

What are some of the world-class facilities you know? Village Recording Studios, Record Plant, Airshow Mastering, Oceanway Recording Studios. While they are all established studios, they still take advantage of marketing. Clever marketing techniques lets you know about them without overtly advertising.

There are businesses like Glow Marketing that can help you develop plans and steer you in the right direction. Chandra Lynn is exceptional at her craft. She has some clever and modern thoughts on marketing. I like her tag line. It's simple and yet effective. Be Remembered.

I would agree that print ads are passé. They are hard to target your specific clientele. They may work for tangible products for the general public. But, let's face it, this is a fickle business and there's nothing general about it. And it appears to change daily.

My opinion? Studios need to take advantage of modern technology and social networking seems to be the current medium. Take a look at the most recent presidential elections. Whether or not you agree with President Obama's politics, he cleverly utilized social networking technologies to spread the word. I think this is how he was able to come from behind in the primaries.

And since the internet is worldwide, it is quite reasonable to reach outside your local market. Moreover, it's now more reasonable to be able to collaborate with anyone around the world.

So, whether you decide to hire someone or market yourself, thinking outside the box and utilizing modern technology seem to be the winning combination.

Next time - Mixing in surround; Thoughts from the sweet spot

Rock. Roll. Repeat.