Setting up shop abroad

Niall - Dahlia

Anybody tried or know somebody who has started a studio abroad? Ever considered it? Any experiences or tales to tell? Lessons to learn?

I've no plans to start my own studio for at least a few years, but a few things have got me thinking of the future.

Main reason is the girlfriend. She's Romanian, and last time I was over there I tried checking out a few studios...I could only find one HD equipped studio that seemed like a professional setup in a city of almost 2 million. Everything else was small radio voiceover studios. The cost of land and a building is cheaper over there (though not by much), which to me is the biggest obstable to setting up in Dublin. Seems like a bit of an opportunity to me. Compared to Dublin where new studios are popping up every month or two...of course the definition of a "recording studio" is a bit blurred these days, but I won't get into that!

If you had to go set up abroad, where would you do it! Realistically...

PaulBrewer

Niall - Dahlia wrote: »

Anybody tried or know somebody who has started a studio abroad? Ever considered it? Any experiences or tales to tell? Lessons to learn?

I've no plans to start my own studio for at least a few years, but a few things have got me thinking of the future.

Main reason is the girlfriend. She's Romanian, and last time I was over there I tried checking out a few studios...I could only find one HD equipped studio that seemed like a professional setup in a city of almost 2 million. Everything else was small radio voiceover studios. The cost of land and a building is cheaper over there (though not by much), which to me is the biggest obstable to setting up in Dublin. Seems like a bit of an opportunity to me. Compared to Dublin where new studios are popping up every month or two...of course the definition of a "recording studio" is a bit blurred these days, but I won't get into that!

If you had to go set up abroad, where would you do it! Realistically...

What's the customer base likely to be Niall?
I could send you an email of Jozef, a Bratislavan dealer to maybe get a bit of neighbourhood info ?

le_tigre

I came to Castlegregory - can't say the work's been piling up, so I wouldn't recommend that

PaulBrewer

le_tigre wrote: »

I came to Castlegregory - can't say the work's been piling up, so I wouldn't recommend that

What part of the Balkans is that in?

le_tigre

The Republic of Nobroadbandia.

Seriously, I'd recommend somewhere with a healthy project studio scene. Yeah, at first blush it'll seem like you've moved into a place saturated with muso-types, but a) you'll learn a lot more and be exposed to more cool gear when you visit their studios {they were quite happy to demo their consoles, FX units, whatever for an afternoon if you brought a six pack or two back in Chicago} and b) the competition won't seem so daunting if you're really good at what you do, and it's better to stand out from a crowd than to be one of the only guys in town. To that end, I'll probably move to Portland when I return to the US.

Sorry if that's not specific enough, but that's what I've learned.

tweeky

Maybe the customer base cannot support/afford Protools HD studios, check out the average local studio cost per day multiply it by 30 to 40 (ball park), weeks and then you can see if it will justify the investment.

Niall - Dahlia

Yeah exactly, it's things like customer base and what people can afford that's hard to gauge...the business end, which I'm no use at! I remember hearing a year or two ago that New Zealand was looking like a good place to be an engineer/studio owner. Would love to hear from anybody who's done it but I guess it's a pretty uncommon thing to do.

PaulBrewer

Niall - Dahlia wrote: »

Yeah exactly, it's things like customer base and what people can afford that's hard to gauge...the business end, which I'm no use at! I remember hearing a year or two ago that New Zealand was looking like a good place to be an engineer/studio owner. Would love to hear from anybody who's done it but I guess it's a pretty uncommon thing to do.

Track Greg Haver down on MySpace - He's a Welsh Producer (Manics/Furries etc) who regularly works in New Zealand. Drop him a line, say I sent you.

ogy

hey paul, if you happen to be talking to that guy any chance you could ask him real nicely to write something about recording/mixing the furries?:) my favourite band and would love to hear more about their stuff!

PaulBrewer

ogy wrote: »

hey paul, if you happen to be talking to that guy any chance you could ask him real nicely to write something about recording/mixing the furries?:) my favourite band and would love to hear more about their stuff!

Drop him a line, he's a lovely guy.

Myspace.com/greghaver.

He'll be working in Clara in September for a week or 2 I think.

That NeonNeon album is damn good too!

ogy

nice one, will do, cheers paul!