The entertainment is a broad industry. This is because there are diverse things that you may be looking to start, and when you do start out, you can be sure to make good money in it. One of such genres of the entertainment industry is the recording studio business. This is one sure way to smile to the bank often and on.
The recording studio business is a very rewarding one as you can be sure to meet the needs of new entrants into the music and entertainment business, as well as other people. The funds required to start this business on a large scale is still moderate compared to other high end industries.
Recording studio business is indeed a thriving business that has loads of players making huge profits from the industry. One thing is certain, if a recording studio can successfully produce a major hit song / album or record songs for big time celebrity singers, it wouldn’t be too long before musicians and corporate organizations (for commercials and jingles) come calling from all over the united states and beyond.
No doubt the music industry of which recording studio business is a subset of is indeed a very large industry. Statistics has it that the global revenue of the music industry is estimated at about 15 billion U.S. dollars in 2013, and that is about the lowest revenue recorded since 2002; of course it is an indication that the recording studios need to become more creative and leverage on the changing tides in the world of technology.
Even the strong growth in streaming revenues was not enough to stop the music industry globally from experiencing income dropping below US $15bn for the first time in recent years in 2014. In the United States of America alone, there are about 4,917 legally registered recording studio businesses responsible for employing about 9,498 employees and the industry rakes in a whooping sum of $1bn annually.
Statistics also has it that in 2013 the three largest markets in the music industry, measured by the revenue they generated were the United States of America, Japan and Germany. Hence it is no surprise that the most of the leading recording studio brand who dominate the music industry in the globe are all headquartered in The United States of America.
Recent statistics from the IFPI revealed that overall global music production (recording studio inclusive) industry revenues dipped by just 0.4 percent last year – but that was enough to pull the annual tally down from $15.03bn to $14.97bn.
The biggest offenders for the fall were an 8.1 percent decline in revenues from physical format sales (to around $6.89bn, according to MBW calculations) and an 8.0 percent decline in download sales (to around $3.56bn).Single track downloads declined by 10.9 percent in the year, while digital albums sales saw revenues drop by 4.2 percent.
The Recording Studio cum Music Production industry is indeed witnessing a steady growth over the years especially in developed countries such as the United States, Japan and even the united kingdom. Though for some underdeveloped countries where piracy is still on rampage, the growth is a bit redundant.
One good thing about starting a recording studio business is that even if you decided to start it in the United States of America, your market will not be restricted to artists or business in the U.S.; the world will be your target market. Many thanks to the internet that has made the world a global village.
All you need to do is to strategically position your recording studio brand on the internet and you will be amazed at the rate people interested in recording their music, audio books, or jingles for adverts will be calling you from all parts of the world.
Crispy Clear® Recording Studio is a one stop and standard recording studio that is fully equipped with the latest technology in the recording studio industry.
Our recording studio will be located in the heart of Inglewood, Los Angeles – California, U.S and we are positioned to work for a wide range of client ranging from individual music artists to corporate organizations such as branding and advertising agencies et al.
Crispy Clear® Recording Studio is not just going to be engaged in the recording music for musicians, but we will also open our doors to corporate organizations who would want to record jingles for advertisement purposes and also authors who would want to record their audio books and other related works.
Our business goal is to work towards becoming one of the leading recording studio brands in the whole of Los Angeles and in the nearest future compete with the leaders in the industry not only in the United States but also in the global stage.
We are not ignorant of the fact that building a standard and world class recording studio from the scratch requires huge capital base especially for the purchase of world – class studio equipment (music production gadgets) et al, which is why we have perfect plans for steady flow of cash from our business partners with interest in our line of business.
We can confidently say that we have a robust financial standing and we are ready to take on any challenge that we encounter in the industry. We will ensure that all our employees are selected from a pool of talented and highly creative people with ears for good music in and around Los Angeles – California and also from any part of the United States.
We will make sure that we take all the members of our workforce through the required trainings that will position them to meet the expectation of the company and to compete with other players in the United States and throughout the globe.
At Crispy Clear® Recording Studio our client’s best interest will always come first, and everything we do will be guided by our values and professional ethics. We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards by meeting our client’s needs precisely and completely.
We will cultivate a working environment that provides a human, sustainable approach to earning a living, and living in our world, for our partners, employees and for our clients. Crispy Clear® Recording Studio is owned majorly by Clement Boston and Claire Boston.
Clement Boston is a certified sound engineer and he has over 15 years of experience in the music industry working for two of the world’s top recording studios.
His wife Claire Boston will be the administrative head of the business. She has an MBA from University of California and she has occupied senior managerial roles before joining her husband to start Crispy Clear® Recording Studio. This duo have been able to cut their teeth in the musical industry both at national level and international level.
Crispy Clear® Recording Studio is going to offer varieties of services within the scope of the recording studio cum music production industry in the United States of America. Our intention of starting our recording studio in Inglewood – Los Angele is to make profits from the recording studio industry and we will do all that is permitted by the law in the US to achieve our aim and business goals.
Our business offering are listed below;
Our Business Structure
The success of any business is to a larger extent dependent on the business structure of the organization and the people who occupy the available role. Crispy Clear® Recording Studio will build a solid business structure that can support the growth of our recording studio business. We will ensure that we hire competent hands to help us build the business of our dream.
The fact that we want to become one of the leading recording studio brand in the industry in the whole of the United States of America makes it highly necessary for our organization to deliberately build a well – structured business from the onset.
We will work hard to ensure that we only attract people with the right mindset to help us achieve our business goals and objectives in record time. Below is the business structure that we will build Crispy Clear® Recording Studio Company;
Chief Executive Office:
Entertainment Lawyer / Legal Secretary
Studio Manager
Music / Record Producer
Sound / Recording Engineer
Admin and HR Manager
Marketing and Sales Executive
Accountant
Client Service Executive
Front Desk Officer
Crispy Clear® Recording Studio engaged the services of a core professional in the area of music consulting and business structuring to assist the organization in building a standard recording studio company that can favorably compete with other leading recording studio brands in the United States of America.
Part of what the business consultant did was to work with the management of the company in conducting a SWOT analysis for Crispy Clear® Recording Studio. Here is a summary from the result of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Crispy Clear® Recording Studio;
Our core strength lies in the power of our team and the state of the art recording studio equipment that we have. We have a team that can go all the way to give our clients value for their money; a team that can produce world class musical sounds.
We are well positioned in the heart of Inglewood, Los Angeles and we know we will attract loads of clients from the first day we open our music production studio for business.
As a new recording studio in Los Angeles, it might take some time for our organization to break into the market and attract some well – established music artists and bigger corporations to record in our studio; that is perhaps our major weakness. Another weakness is that we may not have the required cash to pump into the promotion our business the way we would want to.
The opportunities in the music industry are massive especially in Los Angeles, and we are ready to take advantage of any opportunity that comes our way.
Technology and the internet which of course is a major tool for the advancement and gains achieved in the music industry can also poses a threat to the industry. The truth is that with the advancement of technology, it is now easier for individuals to mix up their sounds and even form soundtracks with the help of music production software applications.
So also, just like any other business, one of the major threats that we are likely going to face is economic downturn. It is a fact that economic downturn affects purchasing / spending power. Another threat that may likely confront us is the arrival of a new recording studio or music production company in same location where our target market exist and who may want to adopt same Business model like us.
Entrepreneurs who are venturing into the music industry are coming in with creativity and good business skills. The fact that revenue is nose – diving in the industry does not in a way stop some recording studio companies from declaring profits year in year out.
The trend in the recording studio cum music production industry is that most recording studio companies are trying as much as possible to recreate themselves on a regular basis and also to be on top of their game. This is so because it is easier to find music mixer or music production / recording software applications that a rookie can make use of to produce good sound without stress.
When it comes to music recording or music production, there are no exemptions to who you can market your services to.
There are loads of people out there who are interested in releasing a single or a full musical album. There are corporate organizations that would need to services of a standard recording studio companies to help them produce jingles or soundtrack for advertisement and promotion purpose.
There are authors who would need the services of recording studios to help them record their audio books and the list goes on. Over and above, our target market as a recording studio company cuts across people of different class and people from all walks of life and corporate organizations.
In view of that, we have created strategies that will enable us reach out to various corporate organizations and individual who we know will our services. We have conducted our market research and survey and we will ensure that our recording studio attracts the kind of clients we would love to work with.
Below is a list of the people and organizations that we have specifically market our services to;
Our Competitive Advantage
We are mindful of the fact that there is stiffer competition in the recording studio cum music production industry in the United States of America; hence we have been able to hire some of the best business developer to handle our sales and marketing.
Crispy Clear® Recording Studio might be a new entrant into the recording studio line of business cum music industry in the United States of America, but we are coming into the industry with core professionals and of course a standard world – class recording studio with the best equipment in the industry.
Lastly, our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category (startups music production companies) in the industry meaning that they will be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our aims and objectives.
Crispy Clear® Recording Studio is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the recording studio cum music industry and we are going to go all the way to ensure that we do all it takes to attract our target market. Crispy Clear® Recording Studio will generate income by offering the following services;
One thing is certain when it comes to music; music never dies and the demand for good music will continue to grow. This goes to show that any recording studio company that is known to always produce good music or voice recording will continue to attract talented music artists, corporate organizations and authors and that will sure translate to increase in revenue generation for the business.
We are well positioned to take on the available market in Los Angeles California and beyond and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income / profits from the first six month of operations and grow the business and our clientele base beyond Los Angeles – California to other cities in the U.S. and even the global market.
We have been able to critically examine the recording studio cum music production market and we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast. The sales projection is based on information gathered on the field and some assumptions that are peculiar to startups in Los Angeles – CA.
Below is the sales projection for Crispy Clear® Recording Studio, it is based on the location of our business and other factors as it relates to record label start – ups in the United States;
N.B: This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and there won’t be any major competitor offering same studio / music production services as we do within same location. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.
Recording studio business is not a business that you have to retail products which is why we must do all we can to maximize any opportunity that comes our way to attract people to make use of our recording studio or hire of services.
Our sales and marketing team will be recruited base on their vast experience in the music industry and they will be trained on a regular basis so as to be well equipped to meet their targets and the overall goal of the organization.
We will also ensure that our excellent music production / top class music speaks for us in the market place; we want to build a standard and well equipped recording studio that will leverage on word of mouth advertisement from satisfied clients / artists.
Our business goal is to build our recording studio business to become the number one choice in the whole of Los Angeles – California which is why we have mapped out strategy that will help us take advantage of the available market and grow to become a major force to reckon with not only in the U.S but in the world stage as well.
Crispy Clear® Recording Studio is set to make use of the following marketing and sales strategies to attract clients;
We have been able to work with brand and publicity specialist to help us map out publicity and advertising strategies that will help us walk our way into the heart of our target market.
We are set to take the music industry by storm which is why we have made provisions for effective publicity and advertisement of our recording studio company. Below are the platforms we intend to leverage on to promote and advertise Crispy Clear® Recording Studio;
It is important to point out that, though, music studio charge by the hour so it is the responsibility of the music producer to ensure that set target are met within the stipulated time. The more time you spend on the studio, the more money you would have to pay.
No doubt, hourly billing for music studios is a long – time tradition in the industry. However, for some types of music / record contracts, flat fees are adopted.
As a result of this, Crispy Clear® Recording Studio will charge our old clients (artists) a flat fee and charge new clients (new music artists) hourly when they make use of our music studio to record their music or produce music beats for their albums.
At Crispy Clear® Recording Studio we will keep our fees below the average market rate for all of our clients by keeping our overhead low and by collecting payment in advance.
In addition, we will also offer special discounted rates to start – ups, nonprofits, cooperatives, and small social enterprises who engage our services to help to produce musical jingles for advert purposes and authors who would need our services to record their audio books.
At Crispy Clear® Recording Studio, our payment policy will be all inclusive because we are quite aware that different people prefer different payment options as it suits them. Here are the payment options that we will make available to our clients;
In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will help us achieve our plans with little or no itches.
The cost of setting up a recording studio business to a larger extent has reduced from what it used to be; many thanks to the advancement of technology and perhaps the internet. These days it is now easier to see people set up recording studios in their house. All they need to do is to register a business and set up a mini recording studio in their apartment!
Basically, it is not expensive starting a recording studio company in the United States of America except for the prices of setting up a standard and well – equipped studio. The amount required to start a music production company may vary slightly from country to country and from states to states.
Other factors that can influence the start – up cost of a recording studio company is the amount needed to rent or lease a facility, the cost of the equipment you would need and the money needed to brand your business et al.
When it comes to purchasing microphones and head phones, we will go for Neumann u87; it will cost us about $2000 or more. For mixer, we will go with Euphonix or any other brand of our choice. But Euphonix is great (especially with is sweet sounding preamp and on board compressors). It will cost us about $30,000 or more.
On the alternative, we can choose to go for purely digital and skip the mixer altogether. This means that we will need a good audio interface with multiple inputs. 12 stereo pairs minimum. The emu 1820m is a good one. Then cables (nothing else but mogami cables. these are the best audio cable in the market for now; although we may explore other options)
We would need to create budget for pre amp. Avalon is perhaps our best bet and we can get it for about $2500 or less. We have also prepared a good budget for monitor; monitor is one of the most important gadgets we would need in starting our own record label and record studio. We have made provision for a Yamaha monitor; it is simply one of the best we can get in the market.
When it comes to acquiring a computer, we just have to budget for high end computer designed for such purpose. It is important for computer to have a very large memory, high end graphic card, and 2.6 GHz quad core processor and we will search for a good software to work with.
Essentially, this is the area we are looking towards spending our start – up capital on;
Going by the report from the research and feasibility studies, we will need about $300,000 to set up a medium scale but standard recording studio in the United States of America. Here are some of the key equipment and musical gadgets that we would need to set up our recording studio;
Generating Funding / Startup Capital for Crispy Clear® Recording Studio
Crispy Clear® Recording Studio is going to start as a family business that will be solely owned and managed by Clement Boston and his wife Claire Boston.
Both of them will be the financial of the business, but may likely welcome other partners later which is why they have decided to restrict the sourcing of his start – up capital to 3 major sources. These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;
N.B: We have been able to generate about $100,000 (Personal savings $60,000 and soft loan from family members $40,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $200,000 from our bank. All the papers and document has been duly signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited.
It is easier for businesses to survive when they have steady flow of business deals / customers patronizing their products and services. We are aware of this which is why we have decided to offer a wide range of music production related services and also to work with both music artists, corporate organizations and authors.
We know that if we continue to record hit songs, albums, audio books, soundtrack and jingles for both individuals and corporate organizations, there will be steady flow of income for the organization. Our key sustainability and expansion strategy is to ensure that we only hire competent employees, create a conducive working environment and employee benefits for our staff members.
We know that if we implement our business strategies, we will grow our recording studio business beyond Los Angeles – California to other states in the U.S in record time.
Check List / Milestone
