Recording Studio Etiquette: A Guide to the Dos and Don’t of Professionally Recording Your Music

For most artists who dream of making it big, it all starts with recording your first tracks. While playing in venues is important to make money and gain exposure, releasing your own music will help you reach a wider audience. This is especially true if you publish it on streaming platforms for people all over the world to listen to.

Recording your music can be a daunting prospect, especially if you’ve never done it before. While some artists prefer to record their music at home, finding a professional recording studio is usually more cost-effective and results in better sound quality. You can find options for recording studio Sydney online, and there are plenty of available studios you can use. In this guide, we’ll share some tips on how to successfully record your tracks without any issues.

Why Studio Etiquette is Important

While no one expects new artists to instantly know everything about recording studios the first time they’re recording, showing respect and a willingness to learn is important. The main reason for this is that in the music industry, opportunities often come about through reputation, and word on how people behave travels quickly.

If you show that you don’t respect equipment or staff, you may find you struggle to find opportunities for work later on in your career. Therefore, it’s important to always make sure you leave a good impression and treat others how you’d like to be treated.

The process of recording music in a studio is often collaborative, and you may want to share ideas as you work. As you do, make sure you’re always following the general rules of the studio while also showing respect and common sense. However, a lot of these rules are often unspoken, so we’ll cover them below.

Be Quiet While Recording is in Progress

The recording process can take a lot of time, and generally, there’s a lot of discussion during breaks about how to improve or refine a track. While discussion is good, it’s important to limit it to the breaks when the recording isn’t in progress. Even if your talking is quiet, it can be a distraction and feed into the recording, completely ruining a take.

Limit the Number of People in the Studio

Recording music is a collaborative process, and many people follow the idea that the more the merrier. However, you should ensure that you only invite people to the studio if they’re going to be actively involved in the recording. Whether they’re musicians, sound engineers, writers or anyone else, they should have a role and a purpose.

No Photography Unless Permitted

A lot of recording studios will have an unwritten rule banning photography while sessions are in progress. Taking pictures can be a distraction to those recording, and many studios also don’t like the idea of people posting photos of studio equipment online. This could become a security issue, and the same is true for some artists that may not want their location and photo posted online. If you do need to take some photos or videos of the process, it’s best to ask beforehand.

Leave the Studio As You Found It

However long you spend in the studio, it’s inevitable that you’ll leave some kind of trace that you were there. Whether it’s trash from the food you’ve eaten or the furniture being out of place, these are normal things, but it’s not normal to expect someone to clean up after you. Whenever you leave the studio, make sure it’s in exactly the same condition as how you found it.