This is going to be an odd month, because we’re not going to talk about sound. Not directly anyways.
There’s a broad range of topics that are often neglected in discussions of our craft, and that’s the business side of things. Media production programs in Colleges and Universities are practically a dime a dozen now…though they certainly don’t cost a little more than a dime. How many of them bother to teach anything relating to the business skills one might need to survive in such a competitive industry? I know mine didn’t, and that was a Master’s program.
It’s probably obvious, but we can’t teach even a tenth of what one might need to know with regards to this topic. None of us studied business. You do pick up a few things along the way though, and maybe we can help a few of you avoid some hard lessons. And maybe a few of you can help us avoid some we haven’t encountered yet.
Care to share?
If you haven’t seen this usual blurb in italics before, we ALWAYS encourage contributions from the community. It doesn’t matter to us who you are, or where you’re at in your career. If you’re interested in contributing to this month’s theme, next month’s (…will be “restriction” by the way), or going completely off-topic…contact shaun {at} this website.
I am really looking forward to see what comes of this subject. I recently took a couple of business classes related to audio, but they seem to be very vague, outdated, and directed toward studio engineers working with musicians. Also, can anybody recommend any options for post production internships in southern California? Post or Game audio?
It took me entering and exiting college, becoming an intern promoted to a sound designer, THEN having my boss comfortable enough with me to hear about how the financial apsect of post audio works… And there’s a lot of intracacies regarding sound contracts that I feel like people should know!
They don’t teach stuff like this in college, and I feel that it’s especially important for freelancers to not get taken advantage of. Also, it’s vital to understand how much you’re worth as a creative individual.
Excited to hear how this subject progresses.
Beau
One of the things I’ve always noticed with a lot of audio engineers is that they don’t seem to realise how important it is to document EVERYTHING via e-mail.
ALL important conversations regarding client specification and charging must be clarified via a traceable e-mail chain. That way there are no arguments later about who said what and agreed to what, and if there are you can pull up and reference the exact time and date where they agreed. It might seem basic, but I’ve seen audio guys confirm things via phone or vocally, only to have issues further on down the line when everybody’s forgotten what was said.
I’ll always ask clients to confirm things via e-mail, even when it seems trivial. It can become immensely important later.