Ready to take your music career to the next level? Constructing a music studio might be the most natural next step. After playing piano for years in your basement or letting your covers ring through your childhood bedroom, a music studio can give you the space you need to explore the heights of your musical creativity. At first glance, you may think that all you need to create a music studio is four walls and some sound equipment. For a serious music studio that has the potential to grow with you as a musician, though, a music studio will need much more than the bare bones.
From getting the word out about your new music studio to diving into the nitty-gritty details of setting one up, our comprehensive handbook will give you everything you need to get your music studio services kickstarted. Practical details like setting up the electrical wiring are just as important as adding little personal touches that make your music studio feel like an inspiring, inviting space. We’ll cover some of the basic marketing tactics you can use to let the world know about your cool new music studio services. Before you know it, you’ll be the hottest music studio in town with these tips – at least, that’s the dream, right?
Making a Statement
When you are ready to open a music studio, your first order of business should be calling a sign company to create a sign for your studio. After all, if no one knows where your music studio is or what it is, you won’t have much luck getting others interested in your studio. Without a sign, folks passing by your music studio will think it’s a plain, generic building. To stand out from a sea of other businesses and apartments, you’ll want to have a sign on your music studio.
In addition to differentiating your building from other ones on the block, a sign can act as free advertising. If you think about it, you’ve probably passed plenty of businesses and noticed their signs while you’re traveling. You might have even made a note to visit the shop or looked it up if the sign spoke to you. When you have a sign that’s professionally made, you can think of it as a small billboard that shares your studio’s name with visitors, tourists, and community members. You never know when someone might be looking to contact a local music studio and stumble upon your sign.
A sign is your first opportunity as a company to make a statement and make an impression on potential customers. With the sign, you can express your brand identity. Adding graphics and colors that coordinate with the rest of your branding materials can give your music studio a cohesive look with other marketing efforts before you even open. It can also drum up hype in the community. As community members pass your sign, they will probably wonder when you’re opening.
You can include a temporary sign that lets interested parties know when you’ll be opening and even add your social media handles, phone number, or other contact information to the sign. When you design your sign, make sure that it fits the size of the building where your music studio will be. You should also consider whether you’ll want or need lights on the sign. If you do, make sure that you have a way to plug the sign into the building or install wiring before it’s time to open.
Building Your Online Presence
In the 21st century, having a strong online presence means everything to a business. For music studio services especially, a smart web design that’s functional and attractive can make or break your success in the music business. For this part of the process of opening a music studio, you have several choices. You can hire a website developer and leave the website development to the professionals.
Alternatively, if you’re technologically inclined, you can always learn HTML coding and build a website from scratch. If you have some technical skills but you’re not super well-versed in HTML, a “WYSIWYG” website builder (i.e. “What You See Is What You Get” website builder”) allows you to have some creative freedom in building a website with easy design tools. Some website builders like Wix or Squarespace have templates you can use.
As you’re building your online presence, you’ll need to purchase website hosting, a domain name, and related products. If your domain name is already taken, you can try buying it or using a variation of the name with an available domain. For example, if your music studio is called “XYZ Music Studio” and xyzmusicstudio.com is taken, you might be able to use xyzmusicstudio.biz or xyzmusicstudio.net. Building an online presence is important for generating traffic to your studio and creating a professional impression on potential connections, so you should spend time focusing on polishing your website.
Besides a website, you can enhance your online presence by creating social media accounts on popular platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Platforms that allow users to share sounds like TikTok and YouTube can be ideal for a music studio. When posting on social media as a music studio service, make sure that your content fits your professional brand. While you might post little silly memes on your personal social media accounts, your business account should give off a professional vibe. It should also represent the values and aesthetics of your company.
If you need help creating an online presence, hiring social media strategists and marketing professionals is a good idea. These folks tend to have a handle on current social media trends and content strategies. Simply posting whatever you want on social media is unlikely to generate hype. With a clear direction for your online presence and marketing goals, you’ll be able to grow your business digitally and experience results in the analog world.
Sound Perfection
Of course, no music studio service would be complete without the right equipment for an audio mastering studio. For this type of music studio, you’ll need to invest in equipment that can handle audio mastering tasks. Some common audio mastering studio equipment includes audio interfaces, equalizers, multiband compressors or compressors in general, limiters, monitors, loudspeakers, and digital audio workstations. Depending on the scale of your music studio, you may need to think about how much space you need to contain all of this equipment before you lease a studio space. Figuring out whether you want to rent or buy equipment is a crucial part of the planning process, as well.
Smooth Parking
Depending on where your music studio is, you may need to think about where your clients will be able to park. If you already have ample street parking, then you might not need to invest in asphalt paving. If your studio is located on a lot, though, you’ll want to ensure that clients and professional connections have a smooth parking experience with asphalt paving. This contributes to the professional impression that your music studio services will put out into your community.
Protecting Your Investment
As much as it might sound like common sense, your music studio needs a roof to keep your equipment safe from the elements. After all, your music studio probably has thousands of dollars of vulnerable equipment that wouldn’t react well to excessive moisture or leaks. When you spend hard-earned cash or take out extensive loans to cover the equipment, it pays to make sure that it’s protected 24/7 with proper roofing.
For this job, hiring a commercial roofer is a must. If you can, you should plan to hire a roofer during the fall season so that the roofing materials are sure to stick to the roof. You should also try to schedule a roofing job on a sunny day. If you can’t do these things, choosing an experienced roofer who knows how to work in inclement weather can ensure that the roofing job gets done right the first time around.
Wired For Sound
No music studio services would be complete without professional wiring to enhance sound quality. When you’re setting up your music studio, calling in the local electrician to wire your studio will give you a great start. Electrical wiring can be a complicated job, but the pros know what they’re doing. They can also advise you on how to set up your studio so that you do not experience power outages from overwhelming circuits.
Keep Things Flowing
Although it might be the last thing on your mind as you’re planning your new music studio services, you’ll need somewhere to do your business – and we’re not talking about your music business. A functioning toilet and sink are vital for any business. Giving local plumbers a ring might not be the most fun part of your job as a new music studio owner, but it’s a necessary one. With all of the electrical equipment in a music studio, you’ll also want to make sure that any potential flooding problems or other plumbing issues are resolved before you move pricey sound studio machinery into a space.
Durable Flooring
As a sound studio, your floors will have to take on heavy equipment and handle a decent amount of foot traffic. With the strain that this can put on certain types of flooring, you’ll want to choose a material that’s suitable for your purposes. Our recommendation would be tile vinyl flooring. It’s easy to clean, durable, and relatively inexpensive for its quality. If you need to move large, heavy objects across the studio, vinyl tile flooring can take it.
Additionally, it’s easy to keep clean. Unlike hardwood floors, you won’t have to worry about polishing them to keep them looking fresh. When you add new flooring to a music studio, the last thing you want to do is replace it within a few months. That can take time out of your music studio services and create a frustrating dilemma. Choosing flooring wisely can help you avoid this issue before it even starts.
High-Quality Glass
For storefront windows and other parts of the music studio that require glass, consulting commercial glass experts is the best idea. Constructing sound booths out of glass would also be best under the guidance of a commercial glass professional. Since sounds can affect glass, you want to make sure that the type of glass you use in your studio is safe for the intended purposes.
While most of us have only seen glass shatter due to a killer high note in the movies, we would hate for you to experience that scenario in real life because you didn’t listen to a commercial glass expert. The pros will be able to guide you to the proper materials for your music studio. They can also give you pointers for keeping the glass from shattering or breaking because of sound issues.
Safety First
Like with anything in life, you’ll want to make sure that you’re putting safety as a number one priority when you open up your music studio services for business. Some safety concerns are common sense like having gear to protect your ears in the event of loud noise or keeping a clear path through the studio in case of a fire. For other safety considerations, you’ll need to refer to your local laws and ordinances.
As a bare minimum, you should look into commercial facility fire protection and any insurance you may need as a business. If your music studio ever falls victim to a fire, you’ll want to make sure that it’s protected as a commercial establishment. Additionally, looking into commercial insurance is important if your music studio is operating as a business. Otherwise, you’ll run the risk of liability and bankruptcy if expenses for injuries and related issues exceed your resources.
Starting a music studio has many steps. From making signage to calling the plumber, you’ll have plenty to keep you busy as you set up your business. Once your music studio services are up and running, though, it’ll all be worth it. As you support local musicians in pursuing their dreams, you’ll enjoy seeing your own dream come true when your music studio service comes to life before your eyes.
