My guest today is Daniel Grimmett, founder of SongwritingTeam.com, a songwriting and production company serving over 200 artists/brands in more than 20 countries. Daniels works with clients worldwide and has built a 6 figure online studio and music production business that redefines what it means to be a recording studio in the age of internet.

Taking the SongwritingTeam to the next level Daniel has also created Anthemize.com a curated collection of high quality, customizable tracks from top producers to help make your song writing experience painless and professional.

And finally Daniel has created one of the coolest things I know of in the world of online courses. It’s called How To Make Money Producing Music - Virtual Recording Studio

Daniel took all of his success with Songwritingteam.com and turned it into a detailed How To course that takes you step by step from just getting started with no clients at all to potentially making over $100k a year as an online recording and music production studio.

Now I know that a lot of you are recording yourselves, but if you are interested in recording for other people or building a business for studio then you will want to check out How To Make Money Producing Music - Virtual Recording Studio.

Jam Session:

Q - What was holding you back at the start?

A - When I was a teenager and first started getting into recording, I was having trouble holding on to my gear because of my substance issue. I would work and make money but then sell off my gear to keep my addiction going.

Just keeping gear around to actually get my job done was the unfortunate thing holding me back then. I hope that not a lot of other people relate to that, but it’s the truth.

Q- What was some of the best advice you got early on?

A - I started working at Old House the commercial studio in Charlotte NC. And coming from being a home recording guy I was ready to get my hands on all the gear.

So one of my first sessions I did the LA thing and had like 400 mics on the drums! And it sounded like crap…

And my mentor told me “Hey man I know you like the gear and all that but don’t forget the song. Do what’s best for the song.”

Q- Share with us a recording tip, hack, or secret sauce.

A - This is not actually a recording tip but more of a business tip…

Follow up! What’s the biggest thing that you do on a daily basis that allows you record for a living? Following up!

So use a CRM software like Insightly

Q - Share a favorite hardware tool for the studio

A - I love the Universal Audio stuff! It sounds so great. We sold all of our outboard gear and we now have one box, one laptop.

Q - Are there any favorite plugins from UA?

A - I love the classic stuff the LA-2As, the Urei 1176. But the coolest thing are the Unison Pres! The pre amps that emulate vintage mic pres so that you can record through the sound on the way in. Also the Moog filters for drums or the Ocean Way room reverbs.

Q - Share with us a tip for the business side of the recording studio

A - There is a software tool called Trello for list based project management. It's like that episode of Silicon Valley where they move the post it notes across the board (Agile Scrum) to keep track of the project development.

When your company gets bigger you have so much stuff to do and you’ve got to keep up with it. I find that lists help me keep track of what’s going on.

Q - If you had to start over what gear would you need? How would you find people to record? And how would you make ends meet while you got started?

A - I would start with a guitar, midi controller, 2 channel interface, computer, and headphones, and maybe a Shure SM57. Then I would hang out where the musicians go and meet people because an online studio takes a while to build so it’s best to start locally while you build up your business. Then build the website and go from there.

Q - What is the single most important thing a listener can do right now to become a rockstar of the recording studio?

A - Going back to my earlier quote, make a decision on what you want to do. Are you going to do this or are you not going to to it? Make a decision and go for it!

Whatever “Rockstar” means to you, whether it’s to become a better engineer, or make a better living just decide what it is that you think you need to do next and go for it.

That’s the difference between two indie rock bands that are both great, and one makes it and the other doesn’t. Just having some kind of plan or strategy. The band that made it made it had a better strategy. They just did a couple things right accidentally because they were on a path and kept going.

SongwritingTeam.com

How To Make Money Producing Music - Virtual Recording Studio

Anthemize.com

If you have any or questions about recording you would like me to answer on the show or suggestions for the show please email me:

lij@recordingstudiorockstars.com

If you dig the show and find it helpful I would be honored if you would subscribe, and leave a rating, & review in iTunes.

And if you want to get on the email list for free content full of videos, tips, studio tricks, and special offers just text RSROCKSTARS to 33-444 from your phone (super easy and I promise you won’t get spammed!)

Cheers!

Lij