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This page: Fan Financing for Studio Projects
Fan Financing for Studio Projects
'They sit at the bar and put bread in my jar and say, 'Man, what are you doing here?'' -- Billy Joel
How do you start your own label, make a record, and distribute it all over the world? It takes money, passion, and time. You must be strong enough to battle through some of the frustration of the process. You must be committed entirely to the music and open to new ideas and uncharted territories.
Engineer Dave Goodermuth worked on spec to record Scooter's debut album. |
As a solo artist, I made a choice between buying a compact digital studio and recording at home or raising enough money to utilize a 48-track analog studio with a producer and a full band. I opted for the latter. It had always been my dream to record in New York City. I made my dream a reality.
I did this by asking my fans to help. I spent about seven months talking with my fans about the recording industry and how I had made a number of contacts in the business. One of these contacts was with Dave Goodermuth, a freelance engineer/producer who was willing to work with me on "spec." I spoke with a couple of lawyers and found one who drew up an investor contract and helped me set up a corporation.
Three people with enough money and guts stepped forward to invest in a very high-risk adventure: If my record fails miserably, I owe my investors nothing. If it does well, we all benefit. I'm not giving away the farm either. After expenses, 50% of revenues from my CD sales go toward paying my investors until they have doubled their money. Then it's 40% until they've tripled, 25% until they've quadrupled, and 5% from then on. My producer gets 6% of retail sales. I will always have a cash flow even when I'm paying out money to my investors.
I took the do-it-yourself idea one step beyond home recording and found myself in New York City at Clinton Studios with a producer and studio musicians I had spent time with in pre-production. When I say DIY, I'm no fool. I needed to be able to bounce ideas off of people. The difference here was that I chose who I wanted to work with. I chose people who respected me as a musician and a songwriter. Any advice or guidance they might have would be helpful because they were into my ideas in the first place. The lesson here is to surround yourself with positive-thinking individuals and you'll create the masterpiece you've always dreamed. Take your time. Sit back and listen. I labored for a year to craft my debut. I spent three months in pre-production. I worked out my ideas at home and traveled to meet prospective musicians I wanted to record on my album. I was in no rush. There was no deadline.
I had my attorney draw up a release form for the musicians playing on my album. It basically said the musicians were paid to play on [fill in the blank] song and are not entitled to further compensation. No one had a problem with this contract. I ended up with some well-known musicians. Jack Petruzzelli (from Joan Osborne's touring band) did some excellent guitar work. I was also able to record with Bret Alexander and Paul Smith of the Badlees. We even recorded some tracks at their studio, Saturation Acres.
Once I finished recording, I decided to hire Roger Lian of Masterdisk in New York City to master the completed project. Both Dave and I felt another set of ears on the music would ice the cake. Roger had worked with the Violent Femmes, the Jon Spencer Blues Project, and Madonna, so we were in good hands.
Locally, I found a great graphic design house called Studio 105. They worked with me hand-in-hand to create the look I wanted. My friend Jennifer Rolston did all the photography. Best of all, I was able to incorporate my wife's incredible paintings throughout the eight-page CD booklet.
I've tried a few manufacturing houses in the past and I have to say that Disc Makers is the best. They did a fantastic job with my debut CD. Their prices were great and they offered plenty of help throughout the project. I ended up with a first-rate package, including a UPC bar code, postcards, and posters. They even offer a quarterly newsletter with tips on self-promotion.
Self-promotion. That's the big one.
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