Funding for studio set up

paulmcd201

I am about to finish a HND in Sound Production at college and im looking to find links to places where i might get funding as to setting up my own business from home.

I'm looking to set up a service for mastering tracks for bands and artists from home to start with, before trying to branch out and hire a small local unit and try set up a small studio with another mate from college.

Im going to need funding for studio equipment and i know the scottish arts council help bands with funding to get albums produced, but would they assist someone like myself who is trying to start up on my own?

Im just looking for any information that i might not know about, im also going to ask my college lecturers as well about this and i know they will help but its just in the off chance this brings up something.

Thank you
Paul

paulwf

A good first step would be to contact the Scottish equivalent of Business Link...it might be Scottish Enterprise but I'm not really sure, sorry.

If you really want to proceed with this you'll need a business plan, as the name suggests this sets out a plan for the business and will go into great detail about the start up costs and cashflow projections. You can't look for funding or loans until you know what you need.

My initial advice would be to get a job in the industry, basically get paid while you get experience and build up a portfolio. You'll probably learn a lot more when employed than when at college, plus you'll get to build up a list of contacts and suppliers. I wouldn't want to set up a business without having industry experience first, plus I doubt many bands would pay you without a portfolio.

As part of your business plan you need to analyse the competition. I'm going to be blunt here, in my area there are a lot of students doing music production courses and I bet they all dream of buying some kit and setting themselves up as a producer. Now that studio kit can just about be afforded by an individual what is going to set you apart?

Your idea sounds great but I bet everybody else in your class is thinking the same thing. I bet most of them end up buying some kit and working for "mates rates" i.e. for free. Just do some maths, for instance if it takes you a week to master an album who will give you £500 for that work, and where can you find 50 bands from a year that will pay that amount?

Horace

Paul has given some very sound and wise advice.

Another avenue that you could look at perhaps is working directly for bands as a sound engineer as opposed to setting up a studio and working from home. I was asked yesterday if I knew any sound engineers in Stockport who were looking for work because a local band there wanted an engineer.

paddyrg

There will be local rehearsal studios in every decent size town/city - they will be hidden away down backstreets etc, but ask at local music shops, they will know. Then go to the owner and ask about doing a trial week or something, make yourself useful, see if you can get a job/the odd overnight session for startup bands, and build experience and portfolio. And be aware running a business is not the same as doing a job...

paulmcd201

Thanks for all the advise so far, i would be aiming my services at the dance producers out there, who have sat and made a track and didnt know what to do next thats my plan. I have been in the situation myself that's why i went to college to learn to master music and it has helped me so much.

A lot of people who make dance music then try to play it on dj software notice there is a massive difference between their music and the music that has been mastered, and they only way they are going to get a label to listen to a track is if its mastered. So im looking to try provide a service to a lot of people who are stuck, just like i was a few years ago.

Like i stated earlier if the scottish arts council are helping fund bands to get albums produced and help people with funding of £2,000.00 towards the cost of studying the discipline of Free Running and Hip Hop dance techniques in Los Angeles and New York. Or £2,169.00 Towards the cost of touring Graeme Maley's production of
'Djupid' to Tasmania.

So i would hope i would be able to get some sort of funding towards my situation ive already got a lot of the equipment but would need more to set myself up.

Savvy_Sue

With this being a bit of a niche, the people best placed to tell you whether you'd get any funding from the Scottish Arts Council are ... the SAC! Other start up grants are few and far between, at least south of the border.

The general advice you've had is spot on. In addition, working from home isn't always straightforward: if you are a tenant you need to check your tenancy agreement as this usually says not to run a business from home. Even if it says you can't, your landlord may give permission, but they will want to know that your business isn't going to cause any 'nuisance'. If you won't have lots of clients coming to your home, and you won't have bands rehearsing in your kitchen, and your equipment isn't going to give out too many decibels, then it shouldn't cause a 'nuisance'.

If you own your own home, then you need to tell your mortgage provider, they may also have restrictions.

And your business plan needs to include insurance: you need to tell your insurer, and they're likely to increase your premiums and / or put restrictions on your cover.

paulwf

paulmcd201 wrote: »

Thanks for all the advise so far, i would be aiming my services at the dance producers out there, who have sat and made a track and didnt know what to do next thats my plan. I have been in the situation myself that's why i went to college to learn to master music and it has helped me so much.

A lot of people who make dance music then try to play it on dj software notice there is a massive difference between their music and the music that has been mastered, and they only way they are going to get a label to listen to a track is if its mastered. So im looking to try provide a service to a lot of people who are stuck, just like i was a few years ago.

Like i stated earlier if the scottish arts council are helping fund bands to get albums produced and help people with funding of £2,000.00 towards the cost of studying the discipline of Free Running and Hip Hop dance techniques in Los Angeles and New York. Or £2,169.00 Towards the cost of touring Graeme Maley's production of
'Djupid' to Tasmania.

So i would hope i would be able to get some sort of funding towards my situation ive already got a lot of the equipment but would need more to set myself up.

Lets assume for one moment that they'll give you £2,000 then. You'll still need lots of other funding to develop your business and just as importantly you'll need a source of income whilst your business finds its feet.

If you get a job in the industry that will take all the pressure off of the company to deliver profits right now so it will have a much better chance of succeeding, plus you might have some wages left over to inject into your business.

How much does your business plan say you need to start up and what's your cashflow projection? I wouldn't even dream of approaching anyone for funding until you know these figures.

jexygirl

Hi ya
if you are at college, studying this, you will know that 2k will barely buy you a budget 2nd hand minimum channel not top quality mixing desk let alone all the other stuff needed (monitors, decent mics, headsets, track edditing stuff, sound proofing, recording kit, effects units etc) .
Im with the other advisors, get a job and contacts in the industry - even if its cassy work at a local theatre or local hire companies for a year doing get ins gets outs and sound checks, you will learn so much from it and get so many contacts despite it being really hard graft! i did theatre stuff for a few years along side main career as hubby was in the industry, and there is nothign like learning on the job - with no disrespect, the college guys we had on work experience, lived in an ideal world, and in the industry, nothing is ideal!
good luck
jex

Jowo_2

Unsurprisingly you are focussed on grants but many businesses are expected to invest their own money (this includes business loans) into them. I read saying recently along the lines of 'Anyone who doesn't back their own business with their own money knows it will fail'. That's the kind of principle why many funding/financial bodies will expect a business start up to bring something to the table that they are willing to risk losing.

So in tandem with looking at grants (when you've completed your business plan) you should also mug up on access to business loans or ways of raising start up capital in ways other than non-repayable grants.

I had a glance at a funding document for Creative Scotland (there are numerous schemes, not this is just one) and they won't entertain an application from an organisation (I assume you setting up a business) unless it is actually established and there are lots of caveats to it. Unsurprisingly, it is not about helping a private organisation make profits. In this particular scheme, it is clear that it is about the business of culture, not about commerce. So it looks like you have to think carefully about your objectives with your studio - is it to make yourself money or is it to bring dance music to a wider audience on a not for profit basis? Your business plan will draw this out.

http://www.creativescotland.com/publication/project-application-guidelines-for-organisations-2010-11

Types of organisations which are eligible
You should primarily be an arts organisation or an organisation which wants funding for arts activity, such as:
· local authorities, registered charities and other non-profit making organisations
· public sector agencies, if the arts activity is outwith your day-to-day work
· schools (who should apply in the name of their local authority) if the arts activity is clearly outwith the normal curriculum, and there is significant professional artistic input which will result in the production of new work, as well as clear public benefit
· artists’ groups, as long as you already have an appropriate management structure in place, a written constitution, and dedicated banking arrangements
· commercial organisations, but only if you can clearly show that your project will promote the public good and will not be for private or commercial gain.
· sole traders, as long as you can show that your project will promote the public good and will not be for private or commercial gain. We will expect you to clearly demonstrate how you will deliver the project, detailing the systems you will put in place to manage public funds and mitigate any likely risks.
· groups of organisations working together (consortiums) may apply.
· joint applicants can also apply, but one of the organisations involved will need to take the lead and have the main responsibility for managing the application and any grant. The nominated lead organisation must keep this role throughout the project. Once we have made an award, we cannot change the lead organisation to which the grant has been paid. You will need to give us a partnership agreement.
· organisations based outside Scotland can apply, as long as the project is for the benefit of audiences and participants in Scotland
· organisations who receive Foundation Funding from us may be able to apply, but you must consult your lead officer before making an application