Loungers: What do you think of this new business idea?

[mwb970]

Sad to say, I got laid off from my high-tech job in March 2004. I had been working as a Systems Analyst at a non-profit organization doing academic research in Library Science. I guess I just got too expensive for them. After all, I had worked there for 26 years.

During the year following the layoff I applied for a number of jobs (26, actually) in the IT field but I found that, at age 55, it is not easy to break back into the job market! Despite a professionally prepared resume and a custom, lovingly tweaked cover letter for each application, I got nowhere. And you know what? I'm not sure I actually wanted to get another "job" where I would be the new kid, with who knows who for a boss, one week of vacation, etc.

After a year, I decided this wasn't working. Somehow, I came up with the idea of starting my own on-location recording service. I have been a hobbyist musician for 35 years. I have my own basement studio and have recorded hundreds of my own tunes. My college degree is in electronics engineering, and I am a lifelong ham radio operator, so I know how electronic gear works. From my many hours recording in the studio and elsewhere I know how to get good sound under all kinds of conditions. From my computer experience, I know how to use music software, how to make CDs, etc. I have several friends, also music/audio hobbyists, who would like to help me out.

Here's what I'm picturing. We would offer to record concerts given by schools, churches, and other non-corporate community groups. We would mix and master the recordings and have CDs made, with on-CD printed labeling, jewel boxes, tray cards, booklets, shrink wrap - the works. We would list the individual musicians and put a picture of the group (or whatever else they want) on the cover. Then they collect order forms for the CDs along with checks ($10-$15 per CD) and we fulfill the orders by bringing the CDs to the school. The school gets to keep a certain amount for each CD sold.

The pricing would be structured so that there is no charge for the recording itself, and the buyers would write checks directly to us, so the school doesn't have to handle any money transfers nor budget for a recording cost.

This allows the school to leverage something it is doing already, turning it into a super fundraising opportunity that can keep bringing in money for months, while giving the kids something to remember from their school years. I am confident that this idea can work, because there are dozens of websites of companies doing this very thing. What I notice is, none of them are in my area (Columbus, Ohio)!

So. My questions are:
What do you think of this idea?
Have you ever heard of anyone doing this?
How should we market our service to schools and other groups?
What pitfalls am I not thinking of?
What suggestions do you have?

Thanks for bothering to read this long post and for any thoughts you may have.

[Mutley]

1. I think it's a great idea!

I know of three bands/groups in my neighborhood alone looking to make a demo CD. If you keep your prices reasonable you can be a place for new groups trying to make it. A good way to market would be to make some snazy looking flyers and post them at all of the colleges in your area and maybe even at High Schools if they will let you.

[seemunkee]

2. I had thought about this a couple of years ago

Most of the high schools around here already put out CDs of their band concerts and tapes/DVDs of their plays. Get a contact to some of the PTAs and see if they would go for it.

[flvegan]

3. Make sure that thse groups aren't singing/playing copyrighted

material. Selling it w/out the owner's consent might bring trouble. I can see the local high school band covering a Beatles song at a game, and the next thing you know, Michael Jackson is looking for a check.

[progressoid]

7. Yep, this is very important!!

n/t

[MuseRider]

4. Go for it.

I think it is a wonderful idea. Everybody has a CD made of everything they do these days. If you can stay small(local) and civic minded where schools, etc. are concerned you should be able to hold onto them as clients. Meanwhile you could do recording for small bands who want to sell their CD's at gigs and make a little more from them. If there are none in your area I would think you could do well, build clientele and end up with something really nice for yourself. Many of us would much rather do business with a local group.

[RagingInMiami]

5. It sounds like you really have thought this out

I say go for it.
You really will never until you actually do it, but this doesn't sound like something far-fetched and you obviously have the skills to make it happen, so take a chance.
And keep us posted. Good luck.

[warrens]

6. It's a terrific idea

My daughter was in a DePaul production of Carmina Burana and they were supposedly taping it so we could have CDs of it, but they botched it. Just about every parent wanted a copy and there were a LOT of kids in the children's chorus.

Her school has been trying to find someone who would do the same thing for their year-end concert, but most of the places wanted an upfront fee instead of making money by selling the discs. I think you could do well, particularly if you could travel so you'd have a few markets.

[Dora]

8. Brilliant idea

This could work beautifully for you. Yes, please keep aware of Rights & Permissions issues. It would be terrible if ASCAP actually went after you for royalties...

What an awesome demographic to target. What an idea!

[EC]

9. You could also do

IPod broadcasts for parents unable to attend their kids concerts etc.

[graywarrior]

10. It's a necessary idea

My husband is a hypnotherapist and needs CD's for his clients. He also does a lot of public speaking and created his own tv show in NH but he needed someone like you to do all the editing, etc.

Your service would be in demand at schools, Toastmaster groups, people involved with speaker bureaus, and believe it or not, MLM groups who do presentations about their products.

Write a business plan and determine every cost no matter how small. Keep track of mileage for every business realted errand, office supply you purchase, phone calls made, stamps, etc.

Most important, research competition and/or customer demand. Don't assume people will want your service or can afford your service in your immediate area. Investigate places beyond your immediate neighborhood.

Don't do it all yourself. Be open enough to pull others with different skills into your business. Offer apprenticship positions or on the job training. Contact community colleges to find a selection of willing students.

Make contacts with newspapers and mags in your area to run a story on what you are doing. Promote yourself to everyone: business cards, flyers, develope a 30 second sound bite on who and what you are.


Keep your price reasonable and you will do very well.

Good luck.

[mwb970]

11. Wow, thanks for all the support and great suggestions.

Now I am more enthusiastic than ever! I like the idea of expanding the geographic area of focus a bit. Something I have looked into is the copyright issue and the payment of "mechanical licenses" for songs not in the public domain. It turns out there is a website where you can pay a monthly fee to license songs for up to some number of thousands of CDs, more than I would be doing, in a convenient way. Most of the other recording companies include stern warnings to the customer that they have to take care of the licensing, but I would take the approach that "I'll do it so you don't have to worry about it".

Now I am considering whether it is better for the buyers to order the CDs directly from me, or whether the schools should buy a certain amount and sell them themselves. Pluses and minuses both ways.

The small business books all say to focus on one market segment (i.e. school fundraising) and hit it hard, but we would also like to do recordings for individual artists and performers - soloists, string quartets, ensembles, etc. Music students sometimes need recordings to serve as auditions for certain schools, as well as for competitions, or just to have a recording on hand. There might even be a few aiming for a commercial release.

Well, I must say that working on this is more fun than my last job ever was! And thanks again to everyone here for the input.