[OT] - Making money

ethios4 · Post by **ethios4** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 5:09 am

So here I am in a hotel room relaxing after the first day of a 3-day recording session. I'm getting paid $1400 for 4 days of work, so that works out to $350 a day. I worked for 4 hours today, so that's $87.50/hour. Not bad.

My friend lined up this gig recording workshops at a 3-day book convention for this network marketting company. We're actually getting $3600 for the gig, split 60/40 since he is handling the business side, and did the work to secure the gig.

Basically we have to record speakers in up to 7 different rooms simultaneously, for a total of 36 1-hour recordings over 3 days. Not a big deal. Another company supplies the wireless mics, and all necessary A/V gear....we just show up with laptops and interfaces for recording, check levels, hit record, and make sure it all gets recorded. Later we'll top-n-tail the recordings, and compress for web.

Easiest $1400 I've ever made.

So I bring this up because it is really turning me on to the fact that I have highly specialized skills that can be put to good use making a lot of money in a short amount of time. I've been slaving away working a very demanding day job to support my plans for making a living playing music...not realizing that somewhere along the path of learning all about digital music production I picked up lots of skills that apply to audio engineering in general. I mean, recording seven rooms simultaneously seems pretty easy to me, but to other people it's so baffling they're willing to pay big money to have it done right.

Anyway, it's really getting my mind thinking in a business-mode....I would much rather do this kind of work over 4 days, than make slightly more working 40+ hours a week doing something totally non-audio related.

So to all you audio-heads out there...maybe you should carefully consider your skills in this area and see what you can come up with. I'd bet a lot of us have picked up skills from working with music that can be used to make a good living, which means more time and money to work on that which is closest to our hearts. The guys who recorded the convention last year were older guys who aren't hip to the new ways, and they tried to do all the recording with 7 people working tape decks, manually riding the gain on the microphones. no,no,no.....try 2 people using digital recorders at 24-bit, fixing the gain in post-production. It's been a little scary jumping into this, but we've figured out how to do it, and it's going very well.

It's really all about networking. I've heard it all my life, and it makes more sense everyday. This recording gig was worked out because someone we know knows someone who needed this convention recorded. Networking. Good stuff.

So, maybe it's not really necessary to be a starving artist....there's lots of money out there waiting to be scooped up by eager young smart technophiles like ourselves!!

Well, I'm off to bed now...gotta get up early and make another $350 for about 2.5 hours of work tomorrow!!

MrYellow · Post by **MrYellow** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 5:50 am

Contract work is good and bad.....

Had a lot of large projects that make bank over 3-6months, then nothing
for 3-6 months. Spending big then living on credit cards isn't the best. If
you're doing contract stuff u gotta be good with your money, save your
taxes etc.

-Ben

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 6:44 am

ethios4 wrote:....there's lots of money out there waiting to be scooped up by eager young smart technophiles like ourselves!!

And older ones...

D DAS · Post by **D DAS** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 6:51 am

thanks for posting this, you are right and it is inspiring.

i am struggling with this now. i am trying to realize that i can make a living off my own artistic skills. i have been paid good money here and there to do, like you said stuff that is simple and fun to me but a total nightmare to those paying me.

you are passionate about what you are doing and that is the most important thing. you have to work for the rest of your life, so if you can do something that is your passion, something you really enjoy then seperate yourself from the masses and do that work. most are miserable with what they do, even a lot of people making super bank are miserable cause the work sucks and it sucks the life out of them.

so i say, slowly weed yourself off of that 40hr a week job and get your ducks in a row and have fun making a living

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 6:56 am

Absolutely! You only have one shot at this life, so make the best of it.

I am SO glad to be out of the f*cked-up 37.5 hour week office design studio mentality, working with a bunch of gray, back-stabbing lemmings who shuffle to work and back Monday-Friday, and exist until retirement.

My objective was to turn the work week around. I'm now working weekends, have the week off, do things the way I want to when I want to, and make over twice as much having a blast at what I'm doing.

Anyone can master their own destiny. Those artists who choose to starve, and those who choose the 40-hour-work-week existence, make that choice.

Gygaxian · Post by **Gygaxian** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 8:11 am

it goes both ways really.
sometimes its fabulous, sometimes its harsh.

i've done audio post for film for the last 2 years and it has always been up and down.

i'm glad to hear there are others out there doing good.

Mk · Post by Mk » Fri Jun 23, 2006 8:52 am

well for my $ .02 US, I just graduated college with a B.S. in Public Relations and Associates in Liberal Arts and sciences, but for the last two years my only job has been DJing @ nyc nightclubs and steady work at a few gentlemans/go-go clubs ... I use Ableton to Dj, most of the time exclusively, but sometimes an odd request sends me to the cd book... my parents have seen what a passion I have for the music, and how (as of late) I can earn serious money doing it, they have asked me if I want to go back to school for music, and I think I may get a second Bachelors from FullSail instead of going back for a Masters in anything... (my parents saying that is a big deal)

I absolutely agree that our audio skills are high priced commodities, but there is a lot of competetion in certain highly concentrated areas like nyc, london, berlin... so in essence "our" unofficial profession as ELECTRONIC MUSICIANS makes us all each other 's competitiors, but the beauty of this business is that all DJs hate @ one time or another, but music garners a certain respect amongst those who can create and manipulate it in such a way that makes people forget about everything and get lost in a song, or lost on the dancefloor...

i know i went off on a tangent there but it's 4:44 am and i had been drinking at work tonight...

so find a way to make money using your laptop and Live, and u will most certainly be a happier guy or girl, especially if you read this forum...

thanx Ableton, I owe you guys much, don't lose my resume...[/i]

njh · Post by **njh** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 12:55 pm

this was a great post. it really explains how i feel in alot of area's.
im tired of doing jobs that i cant stand. on my way to work today i was thinking " i cant do this for the wrest of my life". my only drive is music. i was trying to think of some sort of jobs that i would like but, there is nothing. the only thing that makes me really enjoy myself is music... and i dont want to do anything else.

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 1:03 pm

njh wrote:this was a great post. it really explains how i feel in alot of area's.
im tired of doing jobs that i cant stand. on my way to work today i was thinking " i cant do this for the wrest of my life". my only drive is music. i was trying to think of some sort of jobs that i would like but, there is nothing. the only thing that makes me really enjoy myself is music... and i dont want to do anything else.

Go for it then. You only get one shot at life (unless you believe in reincarnation...)

If it's your passion, you're good at it, and there's a market for your talent and skills, you'll excel, and have a great time doing it.

I personally couldn't stand doing the mundane, brain-dead 9-5 assembly-line/office-worker/2.4-children-and-SUV-and-surburan-house lifestyle thing. I'd rather put a f*cking bullet in my head.

Machinate · Post by **Machinate** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 1:11 pm

The beauty of modern society is that extreme specialization such as our can actually find its place. Making money doing weird shit is great!

Meef Chaloin · Post by **Meef Chaloin** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 2:49 pm

hambone1 wrote:
njh wrote:this was a great post. it really explains how i feel in alot of area's.
im tired of doing jobs that i cant stand. on my way to work today i was thinking " i cant do this for the wrest of my life". my only drive is music. i was trying to think of some sort of jobs that i would like but, there is nothing. the only thing that makes me really enjoy myself is music... and i dont want to do anything else.
Go for it then. You only get one shot at life (unless you believe in reincarnation...)

If it's your passion, you're good at it, and there's a market for your talent and skills, you'll excel, and have a great time doing it.

I personally couldn't stand doing the mundane, brain-dead 9-5 assembly-line/office-worker/2.4-children-and-SUV-and-surburan-house lifestyle thing. I'd rather put a f*cking bullet in my head.

you say go for it but how does someone in a 9-5 job make that transition? You mention that "IF there is a market" for skills...well what if there isnt? Where do you start then? Some people who go to college/uni for music get in to debt to get there & find themselves trapped by the debt, making it impossible to give up a regular paying job.

Id be interested to hear from people about what they actually do to earn their fortunes through music, because i cant see many ways, except for DJing. Seeing as im not a DJ, and i dont like working for nothing & kissing arse to get somewhere looks like im stuck in slavery for the rest of my life.

And i dont buy that 'artists choose to be poor' either, noone chooses to be poor (or not many anyway).

D K · Post by **D K** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 3:06 pm

well, just like anything other than your own music, it can get boring and old...
be careful, a side effect of having the medium you use for work the same as the medium you use for your art is that you may find yourself avoiding it when you are not at work.
.02

ethios4 · Post by **ethios4** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 4:24 pm

Meef Chaloin wrote: you say go for it but how does someone in a 9-5 job make that transition? You mention that "IF there is a market" for skills...well what if there isnt? Where do you start then? Some people who go to college/uni for music get in to debt to get there & find themselves trapped by the debt, making it impossible to give up a regular paying job.

This is where I've been for the last several years, and this recording gig I'm doing right now is the final step in paying off that debt. Like hambone said, you only get one shot in life so go for it...that's what I've been realizing lately. I've had a bad attitude about it for awhile...coasting along compromising what I really want to do because I have debt to pay off, bills to pay. Well, I've been working pretty much non-stop for 2 years getting that debt paid off, slaving away working 40-80 hours a week, plus making time for music and my girl who is now my fiancee and taking care of my mom who's very sick. It's been rough - my beard is falling out from the stress - but I can see the light!

The way I see it, no one's going to hand me the life I want for myself....it's up to me to make that happen. I didn't see there being any market at all for my skills, but here I am using them to make a good amount of money. And I don't live in a big city, but I live sort of near a couple of medium cities, which is where I'm working this gig.

If you really want to find a better way make it a top priority. Keep looking, talking with people, and building skills and you will find a way to have the life you want. Then the question becomes are you willing to do what you gotta do to achieve it? It's amazing how things line up when you live right, keep a positive attitude, and work hard.

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 4:24 pm

Meef Chaloin wrote:"IF there is a market" for skills...well what if there isnt?

IMO, if you truly believe that what you do is really that good, you'll make a market for it.

Angstrom · Post by **Angstrom** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 4:40 pm

it's all very well working out your perhour rate like that

I did 30 hours of work and got paid £3000 - that means I got £100 per hour!

but I find that it's more realistic to total your anual income rather than base it on pro-rata

your net anual income doing contract work can look a lot less spectacular than the gross of a short term contract payment implies.

[OT] - Making money

[OT] - Making money

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