Studios attuned to changing times
As the music industry struggles to cope with lagging sales, the impact of digital technology, and the lingering effects of corporate consolidation and layoffs, recording studios have had to adapt, as well, to a shifting landscape and uncertain future.
By some estimates recording budgets at labels have been slashed in half in the last decade, and the proliferation of home studios continues to bite into the commercial studio business. Many have closed their doors in recent years -- among them such legendary destinations as the Record Plant and the Hit Factory in New York and Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Alabama.
So how are Boston's recording studios faring? Mike Denneen, co-owner of Q Division studios, is cautiously optimistic.
He moved Q Division's operations from the South End to its current, larger Davis Square location in 2000 -- prophetically, just prior to the industry crash. The idea was to have two studios under one roof running simultaneously: a more expensive room that would cater to major label projects (James Taylor, Franz Ferdinand, Fountains of Wayne, and Destiny's Child have all recorded there) and a smaller, more affordable room where local artists could work.
''There are busy times and slow times but it's worked out really well," says Denneen. ''The major labels pay the bills, so we can afford to maintain a place where young bands can come up. Sadly, we're charging the same daily rates as we were in 1994, but that's what the market will bear."
Shrinking recording budgets at the record companies have, as it turns out, been a boon for regional studios such as Q Division, which was founded in 1986 and is pulling in more major-label dollars than it did 10 years ago.
''In the '90s I had to convince major labels to let us do stuff here," says Denneen, who is also a record producer. ''But labels want to spend less money now, so they're much more open to bands recording stuff in their own hometowns because it's cheaper. That tips the scales for us."
Like Denneen, Paul Q. Kolderie is both studio owner and record producer, as well as an engineer. A cofounder of the legendary Fort
Today the recording studio is just one part of a larger puzzle Kolderie has pieced together to make a living.
''The boom days are over," says Kolderie, who with his partner Sean Slade produced Hole's ''Live Through This" and Radiohead's ''Pablo Honey" in the '90s. Both ''Pablo Honey" and ''The Bends," Radiohead's 1995 breakthrough, were mixed at Fort Apache. ''We rode a wave, [bottomed] out around 2000, and now we're riding forward again. I'm back to where I started."
There's much less high-end work, according to Kolderie, who rents out studio time to friends who are producers and who has developed a fruitful relationship with Rounder Records, his landlord here. Irma Thomas, who's on Rounder, is coming in to mix her album. But Kolderie doesn't rely on the studio for his livelihood.
''I own it to have a place to work," he says. ''I make my money from production and engineering fees."
Kolderie, whose recent projects include the Dresden Dolls (he and Slade produced both the duo's debut and new release) and up-and-coming local rockers the Unbusted, says that one key advantage of operating a studio in Boston as opposed to LA or New York is customer loyalty.
''Studios here are like hair salons; you get your clients and they like you and you do a good job for them and they stick with you. I've been working with Tanya Donelly for 20 years. Dennis Brennan, Billy Beard, these people are longstanding colleagues and friends."
As far as the digital revolution and the rise of home recording is concerned, Denneen believes that new technology like Pro Tools has an important, but limited, role in the big picture.
''This is a technology business, and the answer is to adapt, not fight it," Denneen says. ''I've been encouraging people to come and do what you need to do here and then go home and do what it makes sense to do at home. Setting up a whole band with five mikes and a few inputs on a digital console in your living room won't get you a great quality recording. But you don't need to do tambourine overdubs in the studio."
