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Get More Work as a Live Sound Engineer by Doing What No One Else Will

By Nathan Lively

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There is a simple way you can get more work as a live sound engineer, which is by doing what no one else is willing to do.

Two words: cat circus! (Just kidding…mostly.)

Key Takeaways

  1. Be the go-to guy by continuing to build relationships with clients and referral sources outside of work.
  2. You can do this through systematic followup in 1 hour/week.
  3. Challenge yourself to build a list of 150 business contacts over the next 6 months.

Get the Valuable Contacts Spreadsheet

I don’t need an explanation, just take me to the challenge.

As an example, let’s look at two live sound engineers and their shared client.

Live sound engineer A and B are both great at what they do. They care about delivering excellent service and client C feels good about working with both of them. Every time client C works with A or B, she thinks, “I really like them. I hope I get to hire them in the future.” Cool!

Fast forward to the future

Client C has an important event coming up and needs to hire the right sound engineer. In an ideal world, she would compare all potential service providers and choose the best one for the job based on a barrage of highly accurate criteria. As we all know, that isn’t often how it happens in the real world.

In the real world, Client C is going to call sound engineer B because sound engineer B is the last person she talked to. For better or worse, the audio industry is based on personal referral. And personal referral is a fickle mistress.

You might be thinking, “I guess sound engineer B just got lucky.” Maybe they did and maybe they didn’t. Maybe sound engineer B was the last person client C hired, so they’re fresh in her mind. Or maybe sound engineer B understands that personal referral is a fickle mistress and can only be wooed through repeated memorable interactions, so they put a reminder in their calendar to follow up with Client C one month after the event. At that point she will likely still remember working together, but may have otherwise forgotten B‘s name and the project they worked on together.

Imagine if sound engineer B does that for every client they work with. What if they also do that for every colleague they meet and anyone who refers them for work? Over the next 6 months, B’s network would grow exponentially and they would create enough demand for their services that they can start saying no to some of the work they don’t like and yes to more of the work they do like.

Meanwhile…

Sound engineer A continues to do great work, but hasn’t moved beyond the twice a month gig at a local concert venue while continuing their part-time retail job. Here’s a surprising thing about sound engineer A: they feel like they’re hustling. They have been sending their resume all over town and applying for entry level positions at production houses and posting on Facebook: Hey everyone, I’m available if you hear about any gigs.

This is what one of my students recently referred to as the Baby Boomer Strategy. Think about your parents. When they were your age it may have been enough to simply drop your resume on a few desks and your phone would start ringing. You could get picked up for a tour because you were at the laundromat at the right time (yes, this really happened).

Back then supply was low and demand was high. As the industry continued to grow, so did the supply. Now there are lots of live sound engineers who want the same job. I really feel for sound engineer A. I think it sucks for someone to work hard to develop a valuable skill and not be able to use it.

What can you do to stand out?

If supply and demand have changed and it’s no longer enough to just send your resume around, what can we do? You could focus on improving your service delivery. That’s the first thing most people think of. Maybe you disinfect every vocal mike before putting it in front of a performer. Maybe you are super enthusiastic about helping musicians have a great time. Or maybe you do something more like sound engineer B. Something that no one else has thought of or been willing to commit to.

I’m talking about making repeated, memorable interactions outside of the gig. We all know this works inside the gig. With clients that we see often the relationship grows naturally and we are top of mind with that person. But there is a systematic way for you to become more like sound engineer B, using only one hour each week, and I can guarantee it will get you more of the work that you want.

You already know doing the work that other people aren’t willing to do is a good way to distinguish yourself. If you are willing to push boxes, hang lights, gaff cables, stay late, arrive early, and get coffee, you’ll get more work.

Here are some real world examples:

  • Mike did this by working all night techno parties that no one else would.
  • Aleš did this by doing the first gig for free to test the relationship and generate good will.
  • Mauricio Ramirez did this by showing up early to test the polarity of every driver in the sound system before sound check.

Maybe you are doing something like this already, and that’s a great start. Now think about all of the time that you are not at work. If you are not seeing Client C regularly, they will forget about you. Why? Because you can only really manage 150 social relationships at a time.

Dunbars number

Have you heard of Dunbar’s number? Robin Dunbar is an anthropologist that has done research into the cognitive limit on relationships that humans can effectively manage. In short, you may have 1,500 “friends” on Facebook, but there are really only 150 humans whose names and qualities you have memorized and will come to mind quickly when you need them.

You need Client C to be one of your 150 social relationships and vice versa. You might think it’s magic, but it’s not. It’s a numbers game. The more meaningful contact you have with someone, the more likely you are to enter their top 150. You might still think it’s all luck, and I’m not going to fight you about it. I’m simply going to suggest that you do whatever it takes to expand your luck surface area. And one way you can do this is by putting in a little more work on the business side.

The two step process

  1. Create a list of 150 of your most valuable contacts.
  2. Make sure that your latest contact is never more than two months.

Let’s look at a couple of quick case studies.

  • Anthony M. dreamed of being on tour but he was stuck in a warehouse sorting cables. Starting in the fall of 2016 we embarked on a systematic process of research and relationship building, and six months later he was on tour with Cirque du Soleil.
  • Freyja L. was doing some pretty big one-off gigs hanging sound systems for tours coming through London, but she wanted to take it to the next level and be on tour herself. She had built a great network, but was waiting for the phone to ring (and hustling like sound engineer A). Through our work together she started following up with the people in her network in a systematic manner. One of the first people she reached out to offered her a gig, and this summer she’ll be on an international tour with Pearl Jam.

Building your list

Our industry is flooded with a lot of wanna-be rock stars. I’m going to suggest that you adopt a more pragmatic view of your career and go after what you really want. Maybe get excited about being a kick-ass entrepreneur instead.

Whatever you decided to pursue, you can do it by setting aside an hour a week to work on your list. That’s it. You’re not going to build a thriving business overnight.

Start by going over all of the events you worked on during the past 4 years and highlight the ones that you truly enjoyed. Identify who hired you for the events, who referred you to that person, and any colleagues, artists, and management you met along the way. If your answer is “I don’t know,” find out. Then reach out.

Up until now you have relied on chance to bring you together with these people again, but I want you to have more agency over the opportunities coming your way. I’ve been helping people adapt this system to their own business for a few years now and I can tell you this: when you start getting close to 150 contacts, things change. Not only do more opportunities start coming your way, but you start to really understand how the whole machine works. You’ll have created a system that you can tweak over time until it delivers results that matter.

The Challenge

Build a list of 150 valuable business contacts over the next 6 months.

Let’s review our assumptions:

  1. The audio industry is based on personal referral (for better or worse).
  2. If everyone in the world knew about you and your great work, you’d be booked solid.
  3. You can increase your likelihood of getting rehired and referred by continuing to build relationships outside of work.

You’ve already been doing this on accident your entire life. Now all you need to do is figure out a way to repeat it regularly. I’m not talking about turning into a robot. Don’t waste your time with fancy automation solutions and CRM software. Just set reminders so that you no longer rely on happenstance to bring you together with your most valuable contacts.

Choose your own adventure

Now you have a choice to make. You can either set out on your own, or I can help you. You have all the tools you need to go it alone. You’re smart. You know how to make a spreadsheet. You know how to pick up the phone. You don’t need me for that.

Here’s the entire plan laid out for you: over the next 24 weeks, once a week, spend 1 hour adding another 7 people to your list and following up with anyone you haven’t connected with in 2 months. You might write out a schedule for yourself like this:

  • Week 1 – On Sunday March 14 at 11am add contacts 1-7 (past clients) and follow up.
  • Week 2 – On Sunday March 14 at 11am add contacts 8-14 (colleagues) and follow up.
  • Week 3 – etc.

If you are going to go it alone, you can go ahead and get started and I will be happy to hear about your progress by commenting on this post.

But if you’d like a little help getting started, you can download the valuable contacts spreadsheet here.

This Marketer Will Make You Look at Your Career Totally Differently

By Nathan Lively

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Subscribe on iTunes, SoundCloud, Google Play or Stitcher.

Support Sound Design Live on Patreon.

In this episode of Sound Design Live, I’m joined by the world leader in marketing education for freelancers and consultants, Kai Davis. We discuss the biggest mistakes new freelancers make, how to start your first outreach campaign, a simple process to conduct market research, and the Outreach Blueprint.

sound-design-live-podcast-episode-103-marketer-will-make-you-change-how-you-look-freelance-audio-career-kai-davis-headshotThe most impactful marketing tool is repeated direct personal contact.

Notes

  1. All music in this episode by The Riot Professor.
  2. Books:
    1. Outreach Blueprint
    2. The Positioning Manual
    3. Start with No
  3. Two of the best decisions Davis made to get more of the work he really loves:
    1. Being clear with himself about who his ideal client is (industry, field, problem, solution).
    2. Being ruthless about letting go of projects that are not a good fit.
  4. Biggest freelancer mistake: You are undifferentiated from your competitors.
    1. You need to specialize. “I have 5 years of experience solving this issue.” This will help make the value clear for your clients. Can you narrow the market so that you are one of the top service providers just by shrinking the pool of people you are marketing to? Try to specialize until it feels a little uncomfortable. You can always adjust from there. When we reach that level of specialization, ideas start coming to us. You’ll know when you are starting to have the right positioning when someone responds positively with understanding and action ideas.
  5. Outreach: Any mode of communication that helps us stimulate a conversation and build a relationship with a prospect or a past client or referral source in our target market. Alert them that you are available and here to help.
  6. For the price of lunch you can set up a market research interview with someone who is in charge of hiring people exactly like you.
    1. Can I take you out for lunch or coffee near your office and just learn more about the events you’re producing?
    2. What sort of events are coming up over the next 6 months?
    3. What technologies or equipment are you looking for people to specialize in?
    4. Where do you hire consultants? Where do you need help coming up?
    5. Now you’ll be able to reach out and continue that conversation in the future.
  7. Steps you can take now
    1. Make a list – Start small so you can experiment in a confined area. Past clients, colleagues, and industry contacts.
    2. Use a schedule – When will you reach out?
    3. Plan what you will say – Assume that people will not respond to your first email. What will you say in your second, third, and fourth email?
    4. Repeat. Change the list of people.
  8. Quotes
    1. Email humans to start conversations with them about their business, their pains, and their problems.
    2. Outreach to maintain your relationships doesn’t have to be hard. You need a list of people, a schedule, and to know what to say.
    3. I discovered Seth Godin’s blog and read the entire archive twice.
    4. Every time I become more clear on who my ideal client is, I’m able to get more of the work that I really love.
    5. Clean your client list and over time you are able to move from where you are today to where you want to be in the future.
    6. Just by having that metaphorical shingle out there that says, “I work with this specific kind of client to get the best results,” people would start approaching me and I would start getting more referrals.
    7. The people who emailed me once and never followed up, that signals to me that this isn’t really a priority on their side.
    8. If someone isn’t responding, it’s not because they hate me. It’s because they are busy. So let me find a way to follow up that finds value.
    9. Continue following up until you get a yes or a no. Otherwise, we don’t have any data with which to move forward. No response is not a no.
    10. If it’s a coin flip, what are ways I can use a weighted coin? What are things we can do to maximize our luck surface area?
    11. Asking for the No lets us get to the objection. Once we understand that objection we can refine our marketing to better address it.
    12. I credit a large majority of my success over the last four years to mastermind groups that I have joined.
    13. Working with a business coach is an incredibly valuable experience to help you set goals, understand what you want to achieve, and move towards that as a destination.
    14. Nobody accomplished it on their own. The truth is, everyone is a little bit broken and that’s ok.

How Much Do Live Sound Engineers Make?

By Nathan Lively

sound-design-live-how-much-do-live-sound-engineers-make-email

So, how much money do live sound engineers make?

As you can imagine, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Instead, I’d like to show you a few profiles that represent a cross-section of the industry. Keep in mind that the numbers included below are very specific to one location and person.

Before we get started, please take 30 seconds to fill out an anonymous salary survey and I’ll share all the results with you at the end.

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PROFILE 1: San Francisco Bay Area

Nathan Lively – Sound Engineer/Designer (That’s me!)

Presently I split my time like this: 90% education through Sound Design Live (that’s this site!), 10% corporate events. I have lived in 8 different cities across 3 different countries over the last 20 years, though, so these numbers have evolved over time. For most jobs, I’m paid as follows:

  • $550/day working on corporate events. These are mostly subcontracting situations where I receive a percentage of the total labor charges.
  • $180/day working on concerts. I was usually hired directly by the venue.
  • $80,000/year touring with the Ringling Bros. Circus. This is the most I ever made.

I have also worked as a theatrical sound designer and contracts ranged from $500 to $2,500. It was fun and could potentially have resulted in more money, but it was hard to put together a workable schedule. Rehearsals and meetings would conflict and I would have months of down time. On my first theatrical tour mixing FOH I earned $550/week ($2,200/month).

In Slovakia I made €75/day ($93) subcontracting. In Portugal I earned €150/day ($186) working for the band O’QueStrada. The first sound engineering job I ever had in Portugal paid €35/day ($44), and I was just happy to be able to stay in the country. After that first show I went to the bar down the street that was so small that you could only squeeze in, order your drink, and walk back into the street. I spent half my money on two caipirinhas and felt great.

Here’s an overview of my business income and expenses in 2015:

2015 Income

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2015 Deductions

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Here’s an overview of my business income and expenses in 2013:

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PROFILE 2: Prague (Czech Republic)

Steve Smith – Sound Engineer & Musician

Prague rates look like this:

  • 50€ to do live sound for one concert in a small club using their gear.
  • 75€ to be soundman for one night at a club with two stages, two bands, and one DJ crew.
  • 250€ to do sound for a show where you bring mics and an FX rack.
  • 200-400€ for a wedding gig where you bring the sound system and DJ.
  • 50€ per musician for a band.

For a more in-depth look at Steve’s work experience, check out Making A Living As A Sound Engineer, Part One: How To Get Paid and Make A Living As A Sound Engineer, Part Two: How To Get Played.

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PROFILE 3: Bratislava (Slovakia)

Michal – Sound Engineer & Musician

  • 60€ as a helper for local gigs, but €100 for a corporate party.
  • 700€/month as a broadcast sound engineer (rate has held steady for the past 15 years).
  • 100€ for composing and recording 72 different sounds for an iPad app.
  • I also do technical support for the most famous band in our country. For one gig I get 180€,  but it takes three days of my life: one day to pick up all of the equipment, one day for the gig, and one day to return it all.

Bonus: Download this article as a PDF.

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PROFILE 4: Athens (Greece)

Dimitris Sotiropoulos – Sound Engineer/Designer

The live work I take offers anywhere from 100€ το 400€ depending on how large the “pie” is to cut. For the past three summers I have been doing monitors for a well known Greek duo, which pays 300€/event at the moment. Most live gigs during the winter take place in bars or small cafes, which involves more work setting up, running cables, and doing both FOH and Monitors for 3-4 people. Negotiated fees can range anywhere from 100-250€/event.

I try to take any audio related project at present, since we’ve been in free fall — the economy that is — these past years. Here are some examples of summer projects and their negotiated fees:

  • 1,500€ for renting out some of my studio equipment to set up a remote recording location in a country house for an album’s pre-production sessions.
  • 150€/day to rewire a studio, which reminded me how challenging it can be to get the normaling right on the patchbays, keeping cable lengths to a minimum, and satisfying my OCD with regard to having everything as neat as possible. It took me ten days to get it up and running to minimum prerequisites; then again, it was only me and a soldering iron. Need a week or so to wrap it up with no more downtime.
  • 600€ for a sound design project for a cosmetics company’s social media video campaign.
  • 350€/day (negotiated) as a backup recording engineer at a three-day festival in Athens (suntan lotion was not provided).
  • 300€ plus expenses for the following: organizing and assembling a complex stage plot and rider for a concert on an island in the Ionian Sea, with limited resources other than those packed and shipped on time by the rental company; programming four shows for both Avid Venue Consoles (FOH-Monitors) for the two acts that night on the boat trip there and the night before into the early morning; and recording the first act via direct outs from the monitors console to my HD Rig (32ch). A nightmare of timing and organization.
  • 1,500€ for booking a lockout recording session next month for a week.

Read more about Dimitris’ work experience at The State Of Sound Engineering In Greece.

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PROFILE 5: Stockholm (Sweden)

Unne Liljeblad – Music Producer & Mix Engineer

My income comes from a lot of different activities.

  • 3,200-10,000 SEK ($390-1,200)/song for mixing: That includes everything from start to finish: revisions, adjustments, instrumental/a-cappella/TV-Mix versions, and so on, as well as basic mastering. The client gets both the 16-bit “mastered” mix and the 24-bit mix without limiting on the stereo bus so that they have the option of mastering elsewhere.
  • 4,000 SEK ($500) for vocal recording with a professional coach: I do this together with my business partner who is a song coach. We spend about four hours recording vocals (that’s how long a singer lasts when performing at the top of their capabilities) as well as the many hours it takes us to comp all the best pieces, use melodyne to manually tweak timing and pitch as well all the FX processing needed. Usually this takes another five or six hours. Since it’s split between two people it’s not very profitable, but we have had many great singers as clients and have been working to build up our vocalist casting service, so we’re hoping for some return on that investment in the future.
  • 25,000-200,000 SEK ($3,000-25,000) for music production for commercials: The cost can vary quite a lot. We’re two people working on these projects and we often have to pay musicians and singers out of that same budget. Most of the songs are between half a minute and one minute ten seconds long. We write and produce everything from scratch. Since we license our work and don’t sell it outright, we have the potential to make more money from the same music in the future. We’re currently in the process of getting our music included in many licensing companies’ catalogs.
  • 6,000-7,000 SEK per month ($900-1,000) for vocal classes: We run a small vocalist program out of our studio. For this we hire two additional vocal coaches and someone who helps us administrate everything. After all the expenses and with with our employees, this basically covers our expenses for the studio.
  • Finally, we also run a small record label with three signed acts, one of which we are both a part of. This currently only costs us money, but we have high hopes for the future.

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PROFILE 6: London (England)

Darryn de la Soul – Found of Soul Sound

Having last done a live mix in 2010, these are the wages I received. To my knowledge, nothing has changed since then! Wages have been pretty much static for the 15 years I’ve been involved in audio.

  • £150-200 ($232-309) for a nightClub.
  • £180 ($278) as the house engineer for live bands.
  • Anywhere between 2 beers and £200 ($309) as a the band engineer for a live band depending on how much I liked the band and their financial means.
  • £150-250 ($232-386) for up to 12 hours for Corporate events.
  • £160-230 ($247-355) on festivals for whatever length day.

Learn more about Darryn’s work in my interview with her: Learn from the Sound Engineers for Tori Amos, Prodigy, and The White Stripes Online.

As musicians and audio professionals, there can never be enough sources of income.

Get Started Today!

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Find a Live Sound Engineer Anywhere in the World

By Nathan Lively

find-a-live-sound-engineer-anywhere-in-the-worldThis article appears on LinkedIn. You can read it here.

Do you want a job as a touring FOH sound engineer? You need to hear this.

By Nathan Lively

sound-design-live-touring-foh-sound-engineer-job-featured

Subscribe on iTunes, SoundCloud, Google Play or Stitcher.

Support Sound Design Live on Patreon.

In this episode of the Sound Design Live podcast, I talk to Dave Swallow, Merlijn van Veen, Bob McCarthy, Darryn de la Soul, and Michelle Pettinato about their best tips to find a touring FOH sound engineer job.

  • With whom should I build relationships to get international touring gigs?
  • Should I work for free to get my foot in the door?
  • Who are the best people to cold call to find touring jobs?
  • Should I approach bands who are on tour about working with them?
  • Should I work for free to get experience?
  • Where is the best place to work to get picked up for a tour?
  • How do I get my name out there for a touring FOH sound engineer job?

Show notes:

  1. All music in this episode by Steve Knots.

sound-design-live-touring-foh-sound-engineer-job-dave-swallowDave Swallow

The less money you charge, the more work you have to do.

  • Find out which local bands are touring internationally and reach out to their management.
  • Don’t poach gigs/clients.
  • Be friendly with sound engineers, tour managers, and production managers. Keep up regular email correspondence. You have to be able to stick in their minds. But if you are cold calling, go through management.
  • Don’t work for free. Instead, do multiple jobs (driver + tour manager + merchandise).

sound-design-live-touring-foh-sound-engineer-job-Merlijn_van_VeenMerlijn Van Veen

There’s no way to tell if it will do you any good, but if you never try, you can be sure it won’t do you any good.

  • Get involved with local production companies that do international tours.
  • Last minute calls on FB groups.
  • There’s no harm in making yourself known. The worst thing they can do is say no.
  • If an artist or client says something positive about your work, ask if you can put it on your website.

sound-design-live-bob-mccarthy-headshotBob McCarthy

The number one thing [the artist] wants is trust. That this person can listen to them and interpret their music to the people. They’re much more looking for that than super hot shot technical chops.

  • Get a job on an international music festival.
  • Knock on the door of a big international touring company.

sound-design-live-touring-foh-sound-engineer-job-darryn-de-la-soulDarryn De La Soul

  1. Don’t poach gigs/clients.
  2. Work with a rental company. Get on a small tour. Help the supporting bands that don’t have a sound engineer of their own.

sound-design-live-touring-foh-sound-engineer-job-michelle-sabolchick-pettinatoMichelle Pettinato

The people who succeed are the ones who are trying to tap out every single avenue they can think of.

  • Meet production managers and tour managers. They do the hiring.
  • Work anywhere where touring bands come through, and give your contact information to everyone. You have to make a personal connection and build a connection. Check in with them a week later. Do that on a regular basis. Ask for more connections. “I’m just trying to build my contact base. Can you introduce me to someone on this tour?”
  • Research the trade magazines to learn the names of production managers and tour managers. Use LinkedIn to find contact info.
  • Tell everyone that you meet what you want and what your goals are. You never know where that connection is going to come from.

sound-design-live-touring-foh-sound-engineer-job-networking-twitter

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