162 replies to this topic

[Mark Shaw]

Rhythmboy, what is the state of the recording industry in Australia at the moment? Is it as bad as they say it is Stateside?

[ryanedward85]

Can't be any worse than it is here. Can it?

[Mark Shaw]

From what I hear it can't be worse anywhere.

[Mark Shaw]

rhythmboy, on 18 September 2010 - 08:19 PM, said:

There's an irony that good teaching and learning in any area should invite healthy debate and a diversity of views, yet when discussing education itself, people get belligerent, opinionated and refuse to accept differences - especially on forums.

It mostly comes from people who got burned or disappointed by their own experience - they then expect that their own misery should be the same for everyone else. Although when the SAmE school keeps getting SlAmmEd, you have to StArt wondEring...

Me being a dumb ass didn't notice the block capitals.

[Mark Shaw]

So tell me about this SAE school? Is it good or bad?

[Mark Shaw]

Does anyone have any opinions about SAE or mentoring in general?

[ryanedward85]

Only that it seems to be working for me.

[ryanedward85]

It's like what everyone keeps saying. It boils down to whether you really want to succeed. You have to work your ass off. You also need to have a mentor that is prepared to go the extra mile (1.62km) for you, introducing you to his/ her contacts and spreading the word.

[rhythmboy]

Mark Shaw, on 06 October 2010 - 05:26 PM, said:

Rhythmboy, what is the state of the recording industry in Australia at the moment? Is it as bad as they say it is Stateside?

Hi Mark, sorry for the late reply...

15-20 years go when the DIY home studio became popular, I guess Australia suffered the same as most other countries - most of the large studios went out of business, traditional engineering jobs were slashed, bigger bands realised they could rent some ADATs or a Pro Tools rig and record at home or by the beach or whatever. There would always be a need for a commercial studio with a great room and big SSL mixer, but not everyone wanted it or was prepared to pay for it. Basically required a wholesale shift in the way the industry operates.

These days the situation is pretty stable, but our industry is much smaller than in the US and our people have had to adapt. We were one of the lucky countries to not go into recession when the GFC hit us a couple of years ago, not a lot of people lost their jobs. That being said, overwhelmingly our audio industry is made up of self-employed small operators rather than waged staff. If you want a job in audio, you often start your own business rather than get hired.

The other big difference is that in the US, you may have a whole team of people working on a session - producer, engineer, editor, mixer, DAW operator, assistant, drum tech, guitar tech, MIDI tech, etc. In Australia it's likely one dude will do everything and the band do their own backline tech. Similar to our film industry - crew are expected to perform more than one job.


Speaking of film - the Free Trade agreement between the US and Aust has resulted in some jobs from Hollywood being lost to Australia as more US movies are being made here. You can thank Warner Bros for that, they built the studios

[Mark Shaw]

Well at least then the band have complete control over their recording. There's no one to blame but themselves. I believe the very first film was Matrix, am I right? It started the whole Village Roadshow thing in Australia.
Thanks for your response. Nice to hear a view from some one who is not stateside.

[rhythmboy]

^ Yes Matrix was one of the first, at least of the real big films. Hey, we've been viewing a lot of US-made content on our TV's and cinema screens for decades, the best and the worst of it - The Sopranos and John Stewart at one end and Two and a Half Men at the other I suppose the fact that content is made across international borders these days is no surprise.

Thanks for the thanks, great to have some non-Aussies on the site, we welcome peeps from all lands

Speaking of, several of us regulars have been to America, my recent trip in June to Boston and New York is essayed here:

http://www.soundpunk...i-got-was-this/

Loved it there - itching to go back sometime!

[Mark Shaw]

Looks like a fun trip. I bet that MIT sweater is your favorite right now. Love the cow bell, my kitten would go mental over that thing. I'm thinking of doing things the other way round. Have an uncle near Adelaide, so am thinking I would like to see him and his family.

[ryanedward85]

Did you do a big tour of the US, or did you just visit Boston? How long were you there for? Where can I get one of those Cow Bells?

[rhythmboy]

^^ Cheers guys, yeah MIT blew my mind... the Media Lab was awesome, pushed my way in a bit and pestered some of the researchers about their robots and stuff

Just Boston and NY on this trip, only two weeks, presenting a paper at a conference at Harvard NY was little holiday side-trip, but should have spent much longer there, not enough time to see it all

The cowbell I picked in a store called Newbury Comics - don't know if they're a local or chain store. It was on a rack with a bunch of other SNL merch, so maybe available at any comic/novelty store stocking SNL stuff.

Adelaide eh Mark? Nice small city, not a lot of action tho - if you make it here then Melbourne and Sydney are where it's at

[Mark Shaw]

You think Adelaide is quiet, apparently the most exciting thing to do in his town is scraping the dead Roos off the road and picking his lemons.

[Cheyne]

hahah .. thats pretty quiet ..

[Mark Shaw]

Cue Crickets. chirp chirp, chirp chirp. All fun at Windy Plains

[Spectrum]

Expecting Adelaide to put on a great show for us as we drag our horse and cart through there in a few weeks...

Actually, I'm really looking forward to checking out the sights, sinking some Coopers, getting amongst the sand and sea @ Glenelg, visiting the Allans (and now + Billy Hydes too) crew who my wife used to fly-in/fly-out training for once a month, maybe even a detour up to the Wilpena Pound (Flinders Rangers)...

[Mark Shaw]

That picture is gorgeous. That landscape is mind blowingly beautiful.

[ryanedward85]

Was that photo as is or were filters used to get that effect? It looks stunning. RhythmBoy are you a music teacher? What is your field may I ask?