30A

7A

1) An opportunity I would like to pursue definitely would be music production. 

2) There is an opportunity because all throughout Gainesville are indie artists looking to make music. Many of these artists are people with small amounts of money. While some higher-end studios charge ~$100 per hour, I have the opportunity to keep costs low with minimal studio equipment. 

Who: Indie artists in Gainesville, Florida

What: Many can not afford to go to a professional studio, but want to at least put together some sort of demo.

Why: Studio equipment can cost thousands of dollars, and to set up a whole building dedicated to a recording studio is costly and ineffective.

3) Testing --

Who: While indie artists are the main who in this scenario, many others can benefit from fast, inexpensive demo recordings. Record labels use these demos to decide whether or not they should invest, and how far they should take their investment in an artist or album. 

What: While the primary purpose of a fast, inexpensive studio setup is to provide low-budget recordings and sessions, it lacks in areas such as acoustics and live instruments. Artists would have to provide their own instrumental talent and physical instruments, or do with software instruments and synthesizers.

Why: While this type of setup would be good for recording quick demos, nearly a decade of studio experience means that it is easily possible to put together professional sounding, complete songs and albums that are fully mixed and mastered. It is difficult to pay $100/hour or more for a studio session when it could take you all day or more to put together a good track.

4) Interviews

Among the subjects: 

Female indie singer, 18 years old, one album out.

Summary - Subject still relies on mother for money. She seems content sticking to friends for free music production, but if she had not had friends to get this service for free she would seek out the most inexpensive production possible given the quality is proficient. In the meantime, had she not had her mother to fund many of her music projects, she would not be able to afford any sort of music production service.

Male indie producer, 20 years old, one album out.

Summary - Subject is an indie music producer, working on above female subject's albums. He contests that while an inexpensive music production service makes basic sense, many indie artists try to opt for a more label-centric approach, working on the artist's music for free and then subsequently splitting the revenue. This can pose issues, as his most recent splitting of revenue with said indie artist was $33 for a full length album that took approximately a year to finish. 

Male indie rapper, 22 years old, multiple albums and singles out.

Summary - Rather than enlisting in a producer to carry out this artist's vision, he opts for websites in which you can purchase the rights to an instrumental track and then record over them. These prices are competitive to the prices many low-budget producers would charge, if not slightly lower. While he claims it is an easy and fast way to put out tracks at-home, it can pose challenges as the artist has very little contribution to the overall feel of the track. For slightly more money, the subject would like to be able to collaborate directly with a producer.

Female indie singer, one single and no album out.

Summary - This artist has the budget and willingness to pay standard rates to go to a professional studio. While she wishes it was much cheaper, she is willing to pay the price for top-notch quality, and has funding provided to her by her parents. This seems to be a trend among young artists, logically so. When asked if she would consider a studio service at a lower price, she expressed hesitancy stemming from concern that the quality would be sub-par.

Male professional producer, 19, owns a professional studio and has clients regularly.

Summary - Subject charges rates close to $60/hour for studio time, depending on what the client needs. He is proficient in multiple instruments, music production, and has lots of analog studio equipment with very high price points. For this reason, he charges these rates. He says he often has clients asking for lower price points, but can not due to the cost of the studio setup.

These interviews provide multiple points of view, but suggest it is possible to fill in the middle-ground of music production.