The Results of Our Production, Mixing & Mastering Survey
Posted by Justin Boland on Apr 02, 2011 | 12 comments
Back in October 2010, we started the Production, Mixing & Mastering Survey and today, I’m finally posting the results. I’d like to give a special thanks to K. Murdock, Amir Sa’id and NASA Labs for helping to get the word out and send a lot of responses our way. All in all, we got 212 responses, almost entirely from self-identified rappers and producers. The results were a pleasant surprise for anyone who is interested in building a sustainable career in hip hop…
THE RESULTS GO A LITTLE SOMETHING LIKE THIS…
12 Comments
1 Infinitez says...
Who expects to pay less than $300 for mastering? Wow.
Otherwise, I agree, this was surprising and encouraging. Glad artists still value quality, post Gucci Mane.
Posted at 5:47 p.m. on April 2, 2011
2 Parabola Entertainment says...
Fascinating stuff. I do wish you'd ask more questions next time. A precise breakdown on WHO was answering the question would also be appreciated (social sciences major here) !!
Posted at 6:13 p.m. on April 2, 2011
3 DJ SQUID says...
This tells me it's time to up my rates. Seriously, who needs mastering anymore? Get that Izotope plug-in that does it all for you and you're done before you even started learning about what mastering was. Technology is LULZ!!!!
Also, everyone in Gary Indiana is broke, how do I charge them for beats when they waste all their money on food and rent??? An article on this topic is important.
Posted at 6:22 p.m. on April 2, 2011
4 juiceboxjackson says...
@Parabola since it took them this long to have the time to compile the data and release it, I seriously doubt they have the time to do those other things you asked...perhaps if you volunteered a bit of your time and apparent expertise, AH might be able to satisfy your request.
This data is certainly surprising and hopeful. Now, it's just a matter of connecting with the real people behind those percentages and blow them away with service and quality.
I'm not interested in meeting 10 people who pay $50 for a beat...I'm interested in meeting 1 who will pay $500. I'm betting it's the 1 who will pay $500 for a beat that takes his/her craft seriously and has an ear and desire for consistent quality throughout every aspect of their career. I guess I'm in it to make quality music and a little paper on the side, not a stack of money, quality aside.
Posted at 12:01 p.m. on April 3, 2011
5 Justin Boland says...
Truth be told, we did a terrible job designing this survey from a demographics / sociology perspective.
Just the same, I figured that the survey was self-selecting -- nobody would care enough to fill it out who wasn't involved in the biz. Plus, the goal wasn't white papers or $6000 PDF reports for Forrester Research or some other high-end bullshit factory...just getting some real world feedback for producers and engineers. Hopefully this is useful in that capacity.
Posted at 12:36 p.m. on April 3, 2011
6 IV the Polymath says...
"I'm not interested in meeting 10 people who pay $50 for a beat...I'm interested in meeting 1 who will pay $500. I'm betting it's the 1 who will pay $500 for a beat that takes his/her craft seriously and has an ear and desire for consistent quality throughout every aspect of their career. I guess I'm in it to make quality music and a little paper on the side, not a stack of money, quality aside."
My feelings exactly.
Posted at 4:16 p.m. on April 3, 2011
7 DJ SQUID says...
Shit, my goal is just to get head backstage at a Freddie Gibbs concert or something. Obviously, haven't thought this "goals" thing through all that much. Maybe I should consult Oprah on this one.
Posted at 11:30 p.m. on April 3, 2011
8 Dustin Porchia says...
Thanks for posting the results from the survey Justin! I enjoyed participating in it and providing my answers. It seems like we alot of us were on the same page based on the percentages for each question.
@IV the Polymath - I agree with your logic on selling beats, I come across people all the time that either want beats for free or won't pay no more than $50 for a beat and they want Exclusive rights too.
@Justin - I read some of you comments on MTT (Music Think Tank) and didn't know you were a web dev. If you ever need a extra dev on future projects feel free to contact me. I'm great at HTML/CSS and have been part of some great projects.
Posted at 3:38 a.m. on April 5, 2011
9 Justin Boland says...
Actually, Audible Hype is run on a custom Django CMS built by my friend and biz partner Charles Blingus, and it was designed by the Detroit monster Gomar2. All I do is interview people and write shitty little articles.
Props on having a broad skillset, though, that's a total necessity in 2011.
Posted at 6:44 p.m. on April 5, 2011
10 IV the Polymath says...
@Dustin Porchia - I feel you man. I get a lot of people wanting to "lease" beats haha. I tell them that leasing is for cars & apartments, not music. Unless they are cookie cutter beats then they should be treated as art. That's how I see it anyway. And don't even get me started on people stealing beats!
Posted at 7:45 p.m. on April 5, 2011
11 Dustin Porchia says...
@Justin - Thanks for the quick response. I'm not familiar with Django (googling it now) but thats great man. BTW...you're articles are not shitty at all (I'm sure you were joking). I actually keep track of your postings here on AH and always look for your comments when someone writes a post on MTT because I value your opinions (not trying to flatter you at all).
@IV the Polymath...its ironic because I'm actually putting the finishing touches on my new website for my team of producers/beatmakers and we plan on putting beats on there for "leasing". There is the litte voice in the back of my mind that says "this way of selling beats is dead". Maybe I should listen to that voice huh?
Oh...btw...I'm about to read your post on here tonight...I'm sure you're going to have to valuable info for people like me.
Thanks guys for a great no-nonsense approach and view of the hip-hop business!
Posted at 10:20 p.m. on April 5, 2011
12 Justin Boland says...
Not that anyone will read this, but math majors can stop emailing me about the "errors" on the last question. It was multiple choice, hence the percentages adding up to more than 100%. You're welcome.
Posted at 6:16 p.m. on April 7, 2011