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General Studio Scams
| Recording studios can be a very competitive business, especially in a town like Nashville where there are more studios than any other city in the world. While this can be a very good thing for musicians and makes prices very competitive, it also can make studio owners desperate for business. Competition sucks...just ask the Bell System. Most serious musicians, whether they're looking at doing a full album or just want to pop out a quick demo, will look around at various places in town to see what their options are. Rates, gear, atmousphere, and rappot with the studio staff are all important factors when choosing a place to records. With technology the way it is...and the prices for it the way they are, the market has gotten even more nasty. Musicians seem to think that they've got to record in a million dollar facility to come out with a good tape. How is a studio owner going to get past the fact that his board and gear are from the Nixon-era when the guy down the street has the latest thing and will work for the same price? "We send everything we record here to a friend at Capitol Records." Isn't that a great foot in the door to major label success? It seems that every halfassed studio in town has a friend just waiting to sign new talent to the deal of a lifetime. Sure, the guy down the street has a better facility, but who cares?! This guy has a friend at Capitol Records! Don't buy it. The friend, if there is one, is probably trying for a legitimate career in the business and wouldn't want ruin it by passing along any lukewarm recordings. However, it's more likely that there is no friend and that you'll have shot your recording budget without anything to show for it but a demo you're embarassed to hand out. The staff is the most important part of a studio, so find people that you think you can trust. Legitimate operations don't need to "pass along" something for you to get business and would never promise you that kind of thing without hearing what you sound like. Why would they ruin their own reputation for you? A studio has one job...get something on tape. They're not out there to promote you, so don't be fooled.
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