I Thought Being Good at Audio Would Be Enough
When I first started working in audio, I thought the formula for building a career was pretty simple.
Get good.
Learn how to record.
Learn how to mix.
Understand microphones, signal flow, EQ, compression, and all the other things that go into making great-sounding records.
Keep getting better, and eventually people will hear what you can do and hire you.
It made perfect sense to me.
There was just one problem.
I was wrong.
Now, don't misunderstand me. Being good at what you do absolutely matters. If you want people to pay you to record, mix, master, produce, or do any other kind of audio work, you need to be able to deliver professional results.
But after more than 40 years in this business, I've learned that being good at audio is only part of what it takes to actually make a living doing it.
I've seen incredibly talented engineers struggle to find work.
I've also seen engineers who weren't necessarily the most technically gifted people in the room build long, successful careers.
So what's the difference?
Being Good Gets You in the Door
You need the skills.
You need to understand your craft.
You need to know how to solve problems when something goes wrong.
And you need to be able to give your client something they're happy to put their name on.
But here's something I wish I had understood much earlier:
Getting good at audio might get you into the room. Everything else is what keeps you there.
And "everything else" is the part we don't spend nearly enough time teaching audio engineers.
Nobody Knows How Good You Are If Nobody Knows You Exist
This was one of my biggest misconceptions when I was younger.
I thought good work would somehow speak for itself.
And sometimes it does.
A great record can certainly lead to another opportunity.
But somebody has to hear that record first.
Somebody has to know who you are.
You have to meet people.
You have to tell people what you do.
You have to stay in touch with previous clients.
You have to follow up with people who showed interest.
Sometimes you have to actually ask for the gig.
You can't spend all your time sitting in your studio getting better and expect the phone to magically start ringing.
At some point, you have to let people know you're available.
The Best Engineer Doesn't Always Get the Gig
I've watched this happen throughout my entire career.
The most talented engineer doesn't always get called back.
Why?
Maybe they showed up late.
Maybe they were difficult to work with.
Maybe they didn't communicate.
Maybe they spent the entire session trying to prove how much they knew.
Maybe they made the artist uncomfortable.
Maybe they took three weeks to deliver something they promised in three days.
Meanwhile, somebody else keeps getting hired.
Are they a better engineer?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
But people trust them.
And trust is incredibly valuable in this business.
Clients Aren't Hiring Your Plugins
Audio people love talking about gear.
We love microphones, compressors, preamps, plugins, converters, consoles, speakers, and all the other toys that come with what we do.
Your clients usually don't care.
They're not sitting there wondering which compressor you put on their vocal.
They're wondering:
Does it sound good?
Do you understand what I'm trying to accomplish?
Can I trust you?
Are you going to deliver when you said you would?
And maybe most importantly:
Do I want to work with this person again?
That's the business we're actually in.
Being Easy to Work With Is a Skill
This doesn't get talked about enough.
Knowing how to work with people is a professional skill.
Make people comfortable.
Listen to what they're telling you.
Don't make a client feel stupid because they don't know the technical terminology.
Don't turn every creative decision into an argument.
Solve problems instead of creating new ones.
Know when your experience can help the project.
And know when to shut up and let the artist make their record.
I've never had somebody call me back because I won an argument about a snare drum.
The job isn't to prove you're the smartest person in the studio.
The job is to help the client accomplish what they came there to accomplish.
Reliability Beats Talent More Often Than We'd Like to Admit
If you tell somebody:
"I'll have the mix ready Tuesday."
Have the mix ready Tuesday.
If the session starts at 10:00, don't walk through the door at 10:00.
Be ready to work at 10:00.
If something goes wrong, communicate with the client.
If you make a mistake, own it and fix it.
None of that has anything to do with EQ, compression, or microphones.
It's professionalism.
And you'd be surprised how far simply being dependable can take you.
Relationships Build Careers
Most of my career didn't come from complete strangers suddenly discovering me.
It came from relationships.
One person introduced me to somebody else.
One project led to another project.
A client came back.
Somebody I worked with recommended me to someone they knew.
That person recommended me to somebody else.
That's how a career starts to build.
Your reputation can walk into a room long before you do.
That's also why I tell newer engineers not to overlook the people they already know when they're trying to find their first clients.
Your first paying client may be much closer than you think.
Then Somebody Asks, "How Much Do You Charge?"
Here's where things get interesting.
We spend years learning things like:
EQ
Compression
Microphones
Signal flow
Pro Tools
Recording
Mixing
Mastering
Then somebody finally wants to hire us and asks:
"How much do you charge?"
Uh...
Then they ask:
"How do I book you?"
"Do you need a deposit?"
"Can you send me an invoice?"
"How many revisions do I get?"
"When will the mix be finished?"
Suddenly you realize something.
You're not just an audio engineer anymore.
You're running a business.
And if you want to make your living doing this, you have to learn that side of the job too.
Don't Stop Getting Better
None of this means your audio skills don't matter.
They absolutely do.
You can't build a long career doing bad work.
I'm still learning.
I'm still trying things.
I'm still trying to become better at what I do after more than 40 years.
I hope I never stop.
But while you're learning audio, learn the other things too.
Learn people.
Learn communication.
Learn how to build relationships.
Learn how to follow up.
Learn how to price your services.
Learn how to sell what you do without feeling like you're begging people for work.
Learn how to run a simple business.
Those aren't things you do instead of becoming a better audio engineer.
They're part of becoming a professional.
Talent Isn't a Business Plan
That's probably the simplest way I can put it.
Talent matters.
But talent alone isn't a business plan.
Great mixes don't automatically create clients.
Expensive gear doesn't create relationships.
Another plugin isn't going to teach you how to communicate with someone who's paying you.
And being the most technically knowledgeable engineer in the room doesn't guarantee anybody is going to call you tomorrow.
You need both sides.
The craft and the business.
Get Good. Then Keep Going.
If you're early in your career, absolutely concentrate on getting good.
Learn your craft.
Make mistakes.
Record as much as you can.
Mix as much as you can.
Ask questions.
Learn from people who have done it before you.
But don't make the mistake of believing that's where the work ends.
Because if you want to make your living making music happen, eventually you need to take those skills and become someone people:
Know.
Trust.
Recommend.
And want to work with again.
That's when being good at audio starts turning into a career.
Getting good might get you into the room. Everything else is what keeps you there.
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