| Cymbal Man Freq. 2005-01-31, 10:38 am |
| Music studios reeling from changes
By Evan Pondel
Staff Writer
Sunday, January 30, 2005 - Changes in technology and dwindling record sales have
left Los Angeles' recording industry reeling, forcing nearly a dozen top-level
studios to close or change hands in the past 18 months.
"It's not as much fun anymore," said Larry Cummins, who owns and operates Can-Am
Recorders, a Tarzana studio that recently recorded The Donnas and Maroon 5. "In
order to survive, we've had to make such great deals that a lot of times we have
to beg people for money."
The constant evolution of digital recording equipment and waning demand for
studio dates have cut deep in an industry once famous for drawn-out, high-priced
recording sessions.
After 27 years, Cummins is leaving the business and abandoning his
10,000-square-foot studio. Booking rates have plummeted and artists no longer
need to record for more than a few weeks at a time.
"I've got to pay the bills and I'll probably go into home theater installation.
It's become a natural progression for me."
In many ways, helping people like Cummins has been a natural progression for
Ellis Sorkin, who runs Studio Referral Service in Calabasas. Known as the eyes
and ears for producers in need of a place to record, Sorkin's role has become
less studio booker and more of a real estate agent.
The engineer by trade said nearly a fourth of his business is helping people buy
and lease recording studios. "That's only happened in the last year or so as
more people are leaving the business."
Sorkin, who got his start two decades ago working as an engineer for A&M
Records, said more artists are recording at home these days on software known as
ProTools, the same software available to any consumer at home electronic stores.
The system is easily installed on most computers, but "that doesn't mean the
sound is professional grade. I can tell immediately when someone who doesn't
know what they're doing records on ProTools at home," Sorkin said.
For top-line professional equipment, "a lot of recording studios are in need of
upgrades. And many prospective owners are discouraged from buying these studios
because they are nothing more than money pits."
It costs about $100,000 a year for a top studio to keep its equipment up to
date. Like landlords renting apartments, studio heads seek out long-term tenants
to help support their budget needs.
Many studios recently went through a wave of refinancing, attempting to keep
their monthly payments down, said Jeff Greenberg, chief executive officer of The
Village, a West Los Angeles recording studio where bands like the Grateful Dead
and Red Hot Chili Peppers have played. "It's been a real challenge for anyone to
stay in this business with rising costs and all."
Studios sell for anywhere between $200 to $300 a square foot and sellers often
include equipment in the overall price. "But the equipment can be so out of date
at times that it turns the buyer off. So you have to keep your options open,"
said Stacy Vierheilig, a senior managing director with Charles Dunn Real Estate
in Studio City.
Instead of selling music studios "as is," Vierheilig said, many people are
converting their spaces into post-production facilities. "As those conversions
go down, it looks as if the traditional music studio is going obsolete."
Eric Bettelli, publisher of Music Connection, a Studio City-based bi-weekly
trade publication, said it may be premature to write off the industry as a
whole.
One bright note for musicians, he says, is "more studios will probably offer
competitive recording rates to keep their businesses from going bust." Another
hope is that older technology actually draws increased interest. The last of the
major manufacturers of high-quality audiotape filed for bankruptcy protection
two weeks ago and tight supplies may push artists who like the "warmer" sound
back into recording studios.
"I think there has already been a (renewed interest) for the more affluent
artists," said Nicole Mihalka of GVA DAUM Worldwide Real Estate Solutions in
Woodland Hills. "Many studio buyers I work with are tired of traipsing around
their homes. And more producers, artists and record labels are once again seeing
the value of owning a studio."
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