So after building the new studio and running it full time for 6 months, I realized that I will need to raise my rates if I want be able to keep up my payments AND have a life of any kind.

Raising rates is a very hard thing to do. I have kept my rates DIRT cheap for over 6 years. And after building a huge first-class studio this summer and making over 40,000 dollars in equipment upgrades alone, I only raised my rate by $50/day. But this is now my bread and butter... and keeping my rates so low means that I can barely survive, even though i'm working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week!

Based on my experiences in other studios, and from the feedback I have received from my clients, I can say with confidence that my work as an engineer and my new recording facility are worth significantly more than what I charge, even after the rate increase. But I still want to keep it as affordable as possible to local bands and artists on limited budgets. I hope that my current and future clients understand that they are still receiving top quality service in a studio where absolutely no corners were cut in the design, construction or equipment choices, at a rate that is still half of what it could be. Other professional studios of this size and caliber typically go for anywhere between $600 to $2000/day, often times without an engineer.

The new studio rate with me as the engineer for a full 10-12 hour day (which does include breaks!) will be as follows:

Tracking/Mixing
$450/day (1-4 days)
$400/day (5 or more days)
$50/hr (hourly rate with 2 hr minimum)

Mastering:
$6/ Minute of Audio

This new rate will take effect on June 21st of this year. Any sessions booked before this date, regardless of when the session will take place, will be booked at the current rate of $300/day. So even if you want to book a session for July, as long as you book and confirm the session before June 21st, you will still receive the current rate.

Thanks for understanding. As usual, please get in touch with any questions or concerns.

best wishes,
mike