How Much Does It Cost to Record at a Recording Studio?
How much does it cost to record at a recording studio? This really can vary drastically depending on many factors. Wether it’s a home studio or a commercial studio, even home studios can vary from basic bedroom type setups to an almost commercial like setup. When shopping around at different recording studios and trying to find the best place to record your music for the money, I think there are a few things to consider. The experience and reputation of the people/person you’ll be working with, the quality of the build of the facility, and finally the gear and quality of gear available. These are probably the top three things to consider in shopping around for a studio and the different level quality of each usually factory into differing rates. Lets break some things down below, looking at these three points between home studios and commercial studios.
HOME STUDIOS
Home studios can vary a bit. Some are very basic setups. Sometimes it’s just a friend with a computer, a very basic interface, and minimal mics offering to record your music. Usually you’re just recording in a house with no sound treatment, you’re going to deal with outside noise, the gear available will be pretty minimal, and the experience of the who you’re working with will most likely be lacking. In this situation you could likely be getting your recording done for anywhere from $15-$25 per hour or even for free. This isn’t a bad way to go if you’re just starting on your musical journey and don’t have much of a budget to work with.
Some home studios have quite elaborate setups and even rival some commercial studios. These home studios typically have dedicated spaces in the home for recording with sound treated rooms and even ways to keep outside noise from interfering with recording. Usually they’ve invested in good quality gear, microphones, and instruments to help produce a good quality recording. And typically whoever you’re working with has a good deal of experience in producing quality projects. Booking a home studio like this will most likely cost in the range of $35-$100 per hour. A lot of times though places will book at project rates rather than hourly rates. For example $1,000-$1,500 per song might be what to expect rather than an hourly rate. These rates might seem pretty wide, but it all really depends on the quality of the facility, gear, and experience of the people you’re working with. It’s really up to you to factor in all these elements and decide the best value you’ll receive from a particular studio.
COMMERCIAL STUDIOS
Commercial studios can vary in cost and value as well. In my experience it really comes down to how the facility is managed and maintained. You could have a big studio with several recording and mixing rooms with lot’s of great gear, but if the gear isn’t maintained and bookings aren’t managed well, your time will be wasted and your money will not be well spent. Sometimes the smaller single room facilities with a smaller good selection of gear offer some of the best value. Typically these facilities offer a selection of producers or engineers to work with at a bundled rate, or you can work with your own preferred engineer/producer. The value in booking a commercial facility is that most of the time you are getting a specifically built space for the purpose of recording, usually there is a great selection of gear, microphones, and instruments, and you have access to high quality professionals. You should expect to pay anywhere from $45-$150 per hour for a commercial studio. In a lot of cases commercial studios will book by the day and charge a day rate. Typical day rates could be in the $300-$900 per day range.
CONCLUSION
You can see that these rates vary pretty drastically. It’s hard to give a direct answer to the question, “How much does it cost to record at a recording studio” because the factors vary so widely. Really it’s up to you to do the research and visit several places and decide where you would receive the most value for your project. These rates aren’t hard and fast either, these are just my thoughts on what I’ve observed through my journey of working as an engineer/producer over the last several years. Good luck on your journey!