[ddots-l] Re: Employment versus Self-Employment: Options for the Blind Audio Producer
- From: "Shawn Brock" <shawn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2011 20:00:46 -0700
Hi Chelsea
,
Oh my, where can I start. I guess the first thing I'll say is that you should
always think positively. As I write the next few statements, I don't want you
to get gloomy on me!
Music is what I have done for my hole life almost. From the age of 10 I
started making money playing music. I just celebrated my 30th birthday this
past month, and can tell you that during my working life, I have had to ware
many different hats.
My career has been spent as a sideman for different acts, as a solo artist with
a few songs which have even made it to Billboard, as a studio owner and audio
engineer, as hosted of a radio show, as a sound designer for television, a
session musician, and last but not least, as a piano technician. BTW, a piano
technician is a person who tunes, repairs, and rebuilds pianos.
It has taken a combination of all of these things for me to make a living, and
still, I don't feel that I'm where I should be when it comes to money..
All I can say is its hard at times, and it seemed that more good paying
sessions and gigs came in years ago than they do now.
Just be ready to be under paid, over worked, and stay strong. Its not easy,
but it can happen.
Best, .
Shawn Brock
----- Original Message -----
From: Chelsea Dye
To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sunday, August 28, 2011 1:59 PM
Subject: [ddots-l] Re: Employment versus Self-Employment: Options for the
Blind Audio Producer
Hi list,
I've just read an interesting thread on linkedIn about how to get in to the
radio industry, and it wasn't very encouraging. Firstly, there were multiple
people telling this guy a bunch of different things. Some said contact someone
at the station, someone else said to create a podcast. Another one said you
need to be well-rounded and do a lot of different things--new media, web
design, sales, etc. I didn't get my degree in that. I sacrificed 4 years of my
life to work in audio, not be a salesperson or create web pages for a radio
station. I know what I can do, what I'm good at, and I intend to stick with it.
Another bit of advice I saw was to do an internship and learn what you can
about the station. But in the same light, a lot of smaller stations are being
swallowed up by corporations, therefore making this harder to do.
So, whether I work for the radio industry or doing audio for other media, it
seems like going freelance might be the best option. The only downside to that
I foresee would be not having a steady income.
Sorry for the rambling, guys. A lot of this is just me thinking out loud and
trying to figure out what the heck I'm supposed to be doing. I'm hoping that
between you guys, the Audio Buffs Google group and the NFB Jobs list, I can
figure something out.
Thanks for your patience,
Chelsea
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: D!J!X! <megamansuperior@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: August 28, 2011 2:51 PM
To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ddots-l] Re: Employment versus Self-Employment: Options for the
Blind Audio Producer
Reaper is a freeware sequencer, very good from what I've heard, I haven't
personally used it. But it has support for vst and such and good midi
implementation. It also does audio.
HTH, D!J!X!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Chelsea Dye
Sent: Sunday, August 28, 2011 1:13 AM
To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ddots-l] Re: Employment versus Self-Employment: Options for the
Blind Audio Producer
Hi Bill,
I might also emphasize that I'm not a performer at all. I have no musical
knowledge--I just want to make things sound their best--editing podcasts,
mixing audio for clients, etc.
Slightly off-topic, I've subscribed to another list for networking and
information-gathering purposes, and someone is raving about an audio editor
called Reaper. I've never heard of it. Have any of you?
I might also add that in addition to audio editing, I also plan to be a
Braille transcriptionist. I figure if I can do one or the other of those things
freelance and the other full-time, that would be ideal. Now if I can just
convince BVR of my plan.
All the best,
Chelsea
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Bill <billlist1@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: August 27, 2011 9:35 AM
To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ddots-l] Employment versus Self-Employment: Options for the Blind
Audio Producer
Dear All,
Chelsea and I have been in contact off-list. I suggested that she post here
and start a thread about options for the blind audio producer in the current
marketplace. From our perspective, virtually all of the customers we have who
make some or even all of their living from recording themselves or others do so
as self-employed professionals. Let's talk about it.
In general, blind people have to deal with the same changing dynamics of the
audio production business that effect everyone else. That is, decades ago
there were big studios where artists went to record. The equipment there was
generally so expensive that it was far out of the reach of most of us. Studio
owners could charge clients lots of money and use that income to hire engineers
and pay off their investment in all that expensive recording gear. Over the
past decade or so, software like SONAR and Pro Tools has put affordable digital
audio production into our hands. Much of the audio we hear on the radio and TV
was produced in somebody's home studio at a relatively low cost. The "big
studio jobs" are gone or nearly gone.
Here are some questions to get things going:
If you get paid for your services to produce audio, do you work for yourself
or for an employer. If you produce your own tracks and sell them, I consider
that self-employment. By working for an employer, I mean, do you receive a
regular paycheck or some kind of retainer to work on staff at a recording
facility. If you are hired and paid hourly as a consultant, that is
significant but that would still be considered self-employment. That is, your
employer sends you a 1099 form at the end of the tax year. In other words, if
your employer does not withhold your taxes or offer you any benefits aside from
compensation for your professional services, you are still a self-employed
consultant who runs your own business.
Again, if you get paid to produce audio, what other kind of work do you need
to do to put together a living? For example, I know that many of you play gigs
at restaurants, churches, clubs, etc. Some of you teach music privately or
through a school. I call this approach the "portfolio" approach to making a
living as a musician/audio producer.
If you are self-employed, how do you promote your business? How do you find
and retain clients? What kind of high-tech and low-tech marketing tools do you
use? These questions are really general questions that anyone who runs any
kind of business has to contend with.
But what issues come up for you because you are blind? For example, a
customer once told me a very sad story of how he was recording some clients who
left his studio carrying away a laptop and some other gear which he never saw
again. He learned the hard way that he needed to have a trusted sighted person
around during sessions with strangers.
How much work have any of you done to edit video and audio simultaneously?
What strategies have you employed to get that kind of job done?
I hope that the questions above will stimulate a lively exchange here.
Bill McCann
Founder and President of Dancing Dots since 1992
www.DancingDots.com
Tel: [001] 610-783-6692
From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Chelsea
Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2011 4:47 PM
To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ddots-l] Reintroduction
Hi list,
I'm back. I left for awhile, because I couldn't follow the discussions--too
technical for me! LOL
I'm going to be getting my diploma next month, and I'm trying to network with
blind audio producers/mixers/DJs, etc. To learn the tricks of the trade. And I
have a question as well: do those of you that are producers, DJs, etc. Work in
your own home studeo or do you work in someone else's? I know Nashville seems
to be a hot bed for music studeos. Do any of you have experience there?
Another option I've thought of is working in film/TV doing their audio things.
It sounds like, from what I've observed, that i'll have to create a couple
home-based businesses--one for audio and one for Braille.
At the moment, I have no equipment whatsoever, just the Pac Mate I'm using to
write this message. And as far as material goes, it's not my best. I know if I
have JAWS and Goldwave or JAWS and Sonar/CT, a good computer system with a midi
controller, etc., I'll be able to put together a much better portfolio of my
abilities. The only problem is that BVR won't fund equipment if they don't
think I can get a job. And I don't know if home-based businesses count because
they're not constant gainful employment. Or are they?
Any thoughts, suggestions?
Chelsea
Other related posts:
