Be Your Own Boss
The Sound Of Success
They may be small, they may be underground, but band rehearsal studios seem to be enjoying a booming business
Text and photos by Heidi R. Pascual
Kamikazee, Bamboo, Hale, Urbandub-the popularity of these bands and others like them is inspiring many young musicians to likewise make a successful breakthrough. And perhaps nowhere can the intensity of their desire to make good be felt stronger than in a band rehearsal studio.
The typical band rehearsal studio, rented on an hourly basis at P150 or thereabouts, is a small room surrounded by soundproofed walls and furnished with musical instruments, amplifiers, and microphones. Most of them remain small, underground businesses. You won't really see a listing of these establishments in the yellow pages, but every aspiring young musician can tell you precisely where they can be found.
Although these studios are still used by many established bands for their rehearsals, it is actually the high school and college bands-young people who dream of making it big in the music scene someday-that provide the current bulk of the band rehearsal studio business. And if you think there aren't many of these aspiring young musicians, think again. A survey of three band rehearsal studios around Quezon City alone reveals that they all cater to the same market, each doing a sizable business and looking forward to even more.
The owners of these three studios-namely MRS, 9 Mile, and The Blue Room-have a strikingly similar story as to how they got into the business. Before putting up his studio, each had a previous connection to the music business whether as band manager, band member, or record label employee. For each of them, love for music was the common denominator in going into the business.
Consider space
The maximum revenue that the band rehearsal studio business can generate is generally fixed, so those who wish to put up one absolutely must think of ways to keep initial costs down. That income figure would be in the region of P45,000 monthly, assuming that the rental fee is the usual P150 per hour and the business is open 10 hours a day, seven days a week. In practice, however, that figure should be lower to account for the slow days in the business.
In the case of Iņigo and Gani Simpliciano of MRS Studio and Archie Simangan of 9 Mile, they managed to lower their start-up capital requirement by avoiding rent altogether. The Simplicianos used a spare room in their own house, while Simangan converted a family-owned space that used to house his brother's boarded-up Internet café. This way, both the MRS and the 9 Mile band rehearsal studios required an initial capital of only about P150,000 each. In contrast, because he had to set it up in a rented apartment, Rafael Tan's The Blue Room needed initial capital of about P300,000.
Soundproofing
Soundproofing the band rehearsal studio is a must, but in this aspect of putting up the business, a little DIY-as many of the studio owners call the "do it yourself spirit"-goes a long way. One need not hire an architect for this, they say; it would suffice to research the subject on the Internet. The materials needed, particularly foam and carpeting, are generally available in construction supplies stores and they can be installed by an experienced carpenter.
Instrument play
The basic musical instruments and tools required by a band rehearsal studio are a drum set, guitars, cables, microphones, and amplifiers. Resist the temptation to buy them brand new, the studio owners are one in saying. They are best sourced second-hand to keep your initial capital requirements down, and you usually can pick the brains of musicians for insider secrets on where to find them cheap.
Ups and downs
MRS, 9 Mile, and The Blue Room all had a slow start because their owners had to rely solely on word of mouth to let people know about their services. Once word got around, however, their businesses became steadier. In the case of The Blue Room, in particular, it helped tremendously that it was situated right beside two high school campuses.
Since it depends largely on student activity, the band rehearsal studio business is largely seasonal. What provides The Blue Room brisk business, for instance, is the annual rock fest in the school adjoining it. But for all of the three studios surveyed, the school vacation months are generally low-income months, with students either without allowance or are off to their respective provinces.
Room for growth
While MRS does only studio rentals, The Blue Room and 9 Mile offer additional services to supplement their revenues. In particular, The Blue Room is equipped with basic recording equipment that can adequately provide both live recording and multi-track sound recording-a very helpful feature for bands that need to produce demo CDs for auditions. On the other hand, 9 Mile gets supplemental income by renting out musical equipment to individuals, bars, and restaurants-a service that can sometimes generate up to P10,000 a month.
The owners of the three band rehearsal studios find that there's still room for growth in their businesses. Thus, Simangan has put up an additional room in his studio, Tan has put up a coffee shop below his studio, and the Simplicianos will soon set up another rehearsal room beside their existing one.
Different strokes
The owners of the three studios report satisfactory returns on their investment, considering that the startup cost for a studio is minimal. Although each of them runs the business differently, all three were able to recover their investment in less than one-and-a-half years.
Among the three, however, Rafael Tan is the most businesslike in running the business. His studio, The Blue Room, is the only one among the three that requires bands to confirm their reservations with an advance payment; otherwise, the slot a band has reserved can go to a walk-in client. Tan says that this requirement fosters professionalism among his client musicians.
In contrast, the Simplicianos are more laid back in their approach. They see their studio as a place that should foster a sense of community, one where musicians can meet and relax with a few beers.
No matter how the three owners run their band rehearsal studios, however, it is evident that financial returns are only secondary to the creative gratification they get from running the studio. For each of them, in fact, being in the business all boils down to love for music and to making it as good as it can be.
The typical band rehearsal studio, rented on an hourly basis at P150 or thereabouts, is a small room surrounded by soundproofed walls and furnished with musical instruments, amplifiers, and microphones. Most of them remain small, underground businesses. You won't really see a listing of these establishments in the yellow pages, but every aspiring young musician can tell you precisely where they can be found.
Although these studios are still used by many established bands for their rehearsals, it is actually the high school and college bands-young people who dream of making it big in the music scene someday-that provide the current bulk of the band rehearsal studio business. And if you think there aren't many of these aspiring young musicians, think again. A survey of three band rehearsal studios around Quezon City alone reveals that they all cater to the same market, each doing a sizable business and looking forward to even more.
The owners of these three studios-namely MRS, 9 Mile, and The Blue Room-have a strikingly similar story as to how they got into the business. Before putting up his studio, each had a previous connection to the music business whether as band manager, band member, or record label employee. For each of them, love for music was the common denominator in going into the business.
Consider space
The maximum revenue that the band rehearsal studio business can generate is generally fixed, so those who wish to put up one absolutely must think of ways to keep initial costs down. That income figure would be in the region of P45,000 monthly, assuming that the rental fee is the usual P150 per hour and the business is open 10 hours a day, seven days a week. In practice, however, that figure should be lower to account for the slow days in the business.
In the case of Iņigo and Gani Simpliciano of MRS Studio and Archie Simangan of 9 Mile, they managed to lower their start-up capital requirement by avoiding rent altogether. The Simplicianos used a spare room in their own house, while Simangan converted a family-owned space that used to house his brother's boarded-up Internet café. This way, both the MRS and the 9 Mile band rehearsal studios required an initial capital of only about P150,000 each. In contrast, because he had to set it up in a rented apartment, Rafael Tan's The Blue Room needed initial capital of about P300,000.
Soundproofing
Soundproofing the band rehearsal studio is a must, but in this aspect of putting up the business, a little DIY-as many of the studio owners call the "do it yourself spirit"-goes a long way. One need not hire an architect for this, they say; it would suffice to research the subject on the Internet. The materials needed, particularly foam and carpeting, are generally available in construction supplies stores and they can be installed by an experienced carpenter.
Instrument play
The basic musical instruments and tools required by a band rehearsal studio are a drum set, guitars, cables, microphones, and amplifiers. Resist the temptation to buy them brand new, the studio owners are one in saying. They are best sourced second-hand to keep your initial capital requirements down, and you usually can pick the brains of musicians for insider secrets on where to find them cheap.
Ups and downs
MRS, 9 Mile, and The Blue Room all had a slow start because their owners had to rely solely on word of mouth to let people know about their services. Once word got around, however, their businesses became steadier. In the case of The Blue Room, in particular, it helped tremendously that it was situated right beside two high school campuses.
Since it depends largely on student activity, the band rehearsal studio business is largely seasonal. What provides The Blue Room brisk business, for instance, is the annual rock fest in the school adjoining it. But for all of the three studios surveyed, the school vacation months are generally low-income months, with students either without allowance or are off to their respective provinces.
Room for growth
While MRS does only studio rentals, The Blue Room and 9 Mile offer additional services to supplement their revenues. In particular, The Blue Room is equipped with basic recording equipment that can adequately provide both live recording and multi-track sound recording-a very helpful feature for bands that need to produce demo CDs for auditions. On the other hand, 9 Mile gets supplemental income by renting out musical equipment to individuals, bars, and restaurants-a service that can sometimes generate up to P10,000 a month.
The owners of the three band rehearsal studios find that there's still room for growth in their businesses. Thus, Simangan has put up an additional room in his studio, Tan has put up a coffee shop below his studio, and the Simplicianos will soon set up another rehearsal room beside their existing one.
Different strokes
The owners of the three studios report satisfactory returns on their investment, considering that the startup cost for a studio is minimal. Although each of them runs the business differently, all three were able to recover their investment in less than one-and-a-half years.
Among the three, however, Rafael Tan is the most businesslike in running the business. His studio, The Blue Room, is the only one among the three that requires bands to confirm their reservations with an advance payment; otherwise, the slot a band has reserved can go to a walk-in client. Tan says that this requirement fosters professionalism among his client musicians.
In contrast, the Simplicianos are more laid back in their approach. They see their studio as a place that should foster a sense of community, one where musicians can meet and relax with a few beers.
No matter how the three owners run their band rehearsal studios, however, it is evident that financial returns are only secondary to the creative gratification they get from running the studio. For each of them, in fact, being in the business all boils down to love for music and to making it as good as it can be.
