Production/Engineering Salaries?

[stoobie]

Anyone have any idea what kind of money people are making in the industry? I'm not talking about the famous few that are producing/engineering the big names, but the unknown soldiers who are working on projects or jobs that an average Joe making the transition from hobbyist to professional is likely to be doing.

Anyone have any ideas or know of any resources to check out?

[soulata]

Not of much help but my friend wanted 2000$ to produce and record the album (studio time not counted in).

k

[IIRs]

I make ringtones full time. ie: hardcore MIDI programming with a bit of audio editing thrown in.

Without meaning to brag, I'm head programmer for the company I work for, and probably one of the best in the world at what I do.

My last raise took me to about the national average..

[Kingston]

I make ringtones. I'm head programmer for the company I work for, and probably one of the best in the world at what I do.

Cool! Finally I get to ask about something that has bothered me for ages.

See, I just hate the average ringtone sound, as it's always a hit or a classic played on a cheap wavetable or FM phone general midi sounds. Nobody ever listens to these songs fully before answering, hence you only ever hear the first two bars or so. (I do realise this is the only thing general public wants or knows about.)

That in mind, shouldn't it be clever to do some short/interesting/goodsounding/different ringtones?

Even the cheesiest wavetable samplebanks or FM are capable of some pretty good sounds if used to their full extent. Where are these? Could you maybe direct me to some KVR worthy new and different ringtones?



(erm, sorry about the thread hijack, maybe I'll move this elsewhere?)

[original flipper]

HI

I would suggest that your question is 20 years too late and that 'the Industry' that you mention is so microscopic as to be almost non existant.

Historically there was never an endless supply of recording studios and even then the majority were small owner/engeneer type set-ups - nowdays this has become even smaller as many producers do their arranging/composing in their home studios and finish off in a post production suite.

You don't mention specific areas - recording/mastering/rehersal/A&R but nevertheless IMO you are not gonna make anything worth talking about unless you ARE working with top names as a producer/engeneer brought in specifically by the client based on your track record.

You will find Studios advertising in the LOOT, Melody Maker and such like - you can cold call - they will expect you to know your platform inside out as well as the main software, think Pro-tools/apple macs/Logic/Cubase/Audio editing/remixing - possibly hardware synths/fx/mixing consoles as well.

Expect low money and long hours, unfortunately I talk from experience!

Flipper.

[IIRs]

That in mind, shouldn't it be clever to do some short/interesting/goodsounding/different ringtones?

What, like these?

We generally do what our clients ask us to.

I did spend an interesting afternoon last week trying to program General MIDI sci-fi sound FX though..

[Kingston]

What, like these?

Some of those were clever indeed. Still not quite what I was looking for. When you're finished with your sci-fi FX, give us a shout will ya?

[stoobie]

You don't mention specific areas - recording/mastering/rehersal/A&R but nevertheless IMO you are not gonna make anything worth talking about unless you ARE working with top names as a producer/engeneer brought in specifically by the client based on your track record.

Expect low money and long hours, unfortunately I talk from experience!

I'm wondering specifically about Production, Engineering, Mastering...but I'm really interested in knowing about what all the different kinds of positions earn. I'm also aware what a vague sounding question it is, but I have to start somewhere.

Let me put it this way, to go in one specific direction: How much gross revenue could I reasonably expect to bring in if I owned a small studio in a suburban area, say suburban Philly, that was patronized completely or almost completely by unknown local artists?

Let's look at a best case scenario: say that I have successfully established a reputation, and I have a relatively steady business.

What does relatively steady business mean in this situation?

[C00kie]

What does relatively steady business mean in this situation?

Lets face it, you will probably starve... Nowadays anybody owning a bog standard PC can do in his/her bedroom what required a full studio 20 years ago.

[Forever Sun]

What does relatively steady business mean in this situation?

Lets face it, you will probably starve... Nowadays anybody owning a bog standard PC can do in his/her bedroom what required a full studio 20 years ago.

Unless you stock your studio with high-end esoteric gear and charge peanuts...er, but then, you might still starve.

It's also good to note, before you start looking at the financial viability, look at some KvR (or other audio forums) member's sites, those who provide audio recording services. Most I've seen diversify and offer anything from studio and live recording,PA, mastering, sound design, tuition,even web design.

[M'Snah]

...

[bobbyblank]

the important question, i think, is -
do you really want to get paid to produce
unknown talent from suburban philly?
the 'illadef' scene will always give us good
hiphop, but what about the knuckleheads who come in to your studio/home and wreck your furniture/steal your gear/hit on your loved ones/ kick your pets...and so on.
In houston, tx - We have an uncontrollable population
of death metal bands, guys that think drinking way too much, and breaking things makes them play better.
Maybe it works, but the studio and the producer suffers because of it. And sometimes just a lonely little singer/songwriter can be enough to make you wanna pull your hair out. After singing off key for hours, or playing a mandolin without tuning up, they want you to put +24db of 2k over the entire track.
Sure, they paid for the time, and they can be as 'artsy' and 'experimental'as they want, but how many hours will that mandolin be shoving an ice-pick through your skull?
So maybe you can handle all that, but how about this: I was tracking with this country-punk band at a local studio, and Mickey Gilley stopped by.
He was a friend of the guitarist [and a country-western star back in the day].
As he was chatting it up by the mixing console he spilled a full can of budweiser on an ancient Neve sidecar.
that's about 30,000 dollars worth of damage.
how would you handle someone ruining your gear?

something to think about. bye!

[cron]

That in mind, shouldn't it be clever to do some short/interesting/goodsounding/different ringtones?

What, like these?

We generally do what our clients ask us to.

I did spend an interesting afternoon last week trying to program General MIDI sci-fi sound FX though..

Those ringtones are brilliantly done!



Not so sure about the guy you've got doing the logos though.

[IIRs]

Those ringtones are brilliantly done!



Not so sure about the guy you've got doing the logos though.

Thanks! I like the logo's actually! Nothing to do with me though..