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How To Get Your Money's Worth In A Studio Session! (5 Tips)

Being in a studio can be fairly nerve wrecking, especially if it is your first time. The constant pressure to perform can be very hard to deal with. Here we will discuss some tips on what to do, what not to do, and how to conduct yourself in a professional studio.

Being a producer, my main role is to be in and out of the studios in my area. I've seen everything from small house studio setups to million dollar studios with the best recording equipment known to man. One thing that I have noticed is that reguardless of where you are, the "unwritten rules" of being in a studio are always the same and it is important to follow them (that is if you want to get your money's worth).

1.Show up On Time, (Preferabally Earlier)

Why this is always such a struggle to do, I know not. I do know that when you are on time, it does a few things for you.

Nobody want's their time wasted, you nor the engineer, and guess who is paying for the time it took you to get there when you should have been there 15-20 minutes ago? You are. If anything, don't waste your own money. BE ON TIME!

2.Have Your Material Ready!

Seems simple enough, but there have been so many artists to come in a studio without their material, beats, lyrics, that its not even funny anymore. Speaking to artists: If you forget your beats, please believe that the studio will no doubt have a producer on deck and try to sell you music if you don't have it. Good for the studio, bad for you. I know because I used to be that producer! Speaking to Producers: If you are going in a studio to get material mixed/mastered or for whatever reason, don't forget your session files. When I was part of the "Flip Notez" we ended up making that same mistake of not having our material ready in a big time studio and ended up having to literally pay back $100.00 to the session manager for wasting an hour in the studio trying to find our session and being late. Its never a good feeling to come out of pocket for being unprepared.

3.Be Nice to Your Engineer

One thing I've learned about being in studios often is that most engineers have become so worn from hearing bad artists, that in most cases they won't even tell you if your doing good or bad. Why? Its because they are doing their job. You pay them to record, not to critique but believe it or not, those engineers listen, edit, and manipulate a lot more music than you probably have. Be nice to them and build relationships with them. They are your friend. Its always acceptable to bring them something special or make sure they are comfortable because your end product has to go through them and they can make a big difference in the outcome of your song.

4.Be mindful of your peers

I've seen a lot of artists come and go with their own entourage in the studio, the one thing that is the most bothersome is either people interrupting sessions with nonsense, distracting the artist or giving negative feedback. Do your best to keep your personal distractions out of the studio and focus on your material. Granted you did pay for it and you can technically do what you want with that time, but it is not good for productivity. Normally if you bring a producer, part of his/her job is to keep you on track, give you the criticism you need and keep the session moving. A good producer will do this, and well.

5.Watch your own time

Being in a studio can be a pretty awesome experience, but can go very fast and you won't realize it until the engineer calls "TIME" and you have used up 4 hours and only have half a hook done and one verse for one song. Engineers generally will NEVER tell you what kind of time you are wasting, because usually it means you spend more money with them. Some studios even remove clocks in the building so you have less control. It sounds silly but bring a watch with you so you can tell your own time!

With a few of these tips, you can't go too wrong in a studio. There's so much more to this but I will likely make a Part 2 to this because there's much more content i'd like to share. If you have any questions, ill leave this available for comment.