Music Studio in planning for Del. County, PA - seeking fdbk

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marshall_tucker

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Calling all fellow musicians!

** First off, this is not a solicitation for means of selling any services on the forum, but simply a bit of market research. I only want to gather any feedback possible to help me determine feasibility of this venture described below. Any future business matters will be dealt with through external channels.

My friend/bandmate and I are considering renting out a commercial space and starting up a new music studio, preferably in the Philadelphia region of Delaware County, PA (aka Delco). We are likely going to start out as just a rehearsal studio for musicians and bands, and then if things go well for us, we will acquire the equipment necessary to also serve as a full-blown recording studio.

I've been in several bands now, and I know what it's like to be fresh on the scene and just starting out. One of the biggest hurdles for most bands is "Well gee, where can we go to practice...?" It is seldom a convenience that one of the band members has ample space in their home for rehearsals (and one where they don't have to fear complaints from neighbors). More often than not, such bands would have to turn to renting a room in a studio where they can play at their full capacity. So bottom line, we want to be that studio, and provide an affordable place for anyone to come play. There are a few other studios in the same region, and we are continuing to do our research so that we can try to give a competitive rate. We do not yet know all of our expenses, so I cannot estimate $ yet.

We are both musicians and long-time bandmates, currently co-authoring original material and collaborating with other musicians in the region. We collectively have a lot of recording and performing experience, from both a musician and engineer perspective.

So, I wanted to reach out to the community here and see if there are any musicians and/or bands currently stuck in the start-up process, and trying to figure out the rehearsal space issue. Would any of you have any interest in looking into our studio in the near future, should we successfully launch? Again, we are not a company yet, and are still in planning phase. Right now, i'm just testing the waters and gathering information.

I appreciate any feedback or questions you all may have for me. If you would like to stay in the loop with me on this project, or just want to discuss more information, you may PM me and I will keep in touch. Meanwhile, we will be moving forward as best as we can, and hope to get this thing off the ground someday soon!
(When we do open up, we will advertise through normal means. None of this will occur publicly in this forum)

Thanks guys! Keep on rockin'...
 
Here in denver, we have a few places like this. For me, I enjoy the chance to get together with friends to jam without any commitment or hassle. The small studios are 10 an hour, and the bigger are 15. Check out rocket space studios in denver. Each room has pa, mics, amps, and drumkit. All high end gear. They allow people to schedule online. Hope I have helped and best of luck.
 
thanks applescrap, appreciate your feedback! Yes, we are figuring on trying to supply a PA system and possibly also drums, to ease the burden on returning clients. We will have a lot of number crunching to do with our expenses, along with price comparing with the competition
 
Hate to be a naysayer but...

Say goodbye to your evenings.
Say hello to the ugly ways of the general public.

I have some friends who did this. It lasted about a year. After six months they hated it. Six months after that they were no longer friends, much less bandmates.
 
I was always in a garage band so we did it in the garage.... I do wish you all the luck though but as Arturo has said, it could be hard on you and your friend. Young musicians can be a demanding and uncaring lot.
 
Maybe see if you can call the people here in Denver and ask how they're doing. I think they fill their Studios hour in and hour out. Hell you could see by trying to book at their site. They have night access that they don't oversee I think. They have trusted clients for sure. Full kit, half marshall stack, fender twin reverb, pa, and bass amp with mics in each room. Seems a chill gig. Open it, advertise well and work hard I'm sure good things will happen for you. Being honest imo, more money is in opening 20 of them with a huge money back. I would pay 10 an hour to jam with you! Its 10 per hour for room total not pp.
 
Friends becoming business partners doesn't always ruin the friendship. Write out expectations and responsibilities, investments and profit shares, etc. separate biz from friendship. A handful of non-musicians could use recording space and editing services for voiceover projects. I know, anyone with a Mac and a mike can get pretty good results, but some places just aren't quite enough.

Good luck with your career.
 
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