Starting a new business can send your head in a spin. Running an audio business has its own unique set of challenges. Whilst the following mistakes are not exclusive to our industry, in the audio production world they can cost you time, money, and reputation.
Mistake One - You Don’t Get Things In Writing
As an audio professional, it's essential to have clear and concise written agreements in place for all business transactions. Getting business terms in writing ensures that both parties understand the scope, expectations, responsibilities, and goals of the project.
It also provides a point of reference should any disputes arise. Whether you are creating a contract, an invoice, or a simple email agreement, it's important to document the terms of the transaction, including payment terms, deadlines, and deliverables. By having everything in writing, you create a foundation for a successful and transparent business relationship. Remember, verbal agreements can be easily forgotten or misinterpreted, but written agreements hold both parties accountable.
Things to include in the agreement;
Scope of work: The client agreement should include a clear description of the services you will provide. This can include things like recording, mixing, mastering, or producing audio content.
Payment terms: The client agreement should outline the payment terms, including the total cost, any deposit required, and the payment schedule.
Timeline: The agreement should also specify the timeline for the project, including the start and end date, and any milestones or deadlines.
Intellectual property: The client agreement should specify who owns the intellectual property rights to the finished product, and how those rights will be transferred.
Revisions: The agreement should outline how many revisions are included in the price and what the process will be for additional revisions.
Confidentiality: If the client needs to provide you with sensitive or confidential information, the agreement should include a confidentiality clause.
Termination: The agreement should specify the circumstances under which either party can terminate the agreement, and what the consequences of termination will be.
Liability: The agreement should outline the limits of liability for both parties in the event of any issues or disputes.
Governing law: The agreement should specify which state or country's laws will govern the agreement. Always try and make it the country you live in.
Signatures: Finally, the agreement should be signed by both parties to indicate their agreement to the terms outlined in the document.
Mistake Two - You Don’t Get A Deposit
As an audio professional, it is important to protect yourself and your business by getting a deposit before starting work on a project. This deposit not only serves as a commitment from your client, after all, if someone isn’t serious, then a deposit soon flushes them out. A deposit also provides you with a sense of security knowing that you won't be left without any payment at all for your services, should the worst happen.
Setting a fair deposit amount and outlining the terms of your working agreement in a contract will ensure that both parties are on the same page and prevent any misunderstandings down the line. How large should the deposit be? That’s not a hard and fast rule, but generally try and get 50% up front. If the project requires you to hire in extra team, rent space, or buy additional gear, then the deposit needs to at least cover the outlay for these items. You need to decide what you feel comfortable accepting as the minium deposit.
Ultimately, requiring a deposit before starting work as an audio professional is a necessary step towards building a successful and sustainable business. A word of caution, don’t accept a deposit if you don’t intend to start work soon after receiving the monies. If you take money and then delay the project, that creates bad will from the outset.
Mistake Three - You Deliver Content Before Being Paid
Of all three mistakes, this is perhaps the most deadly.
Often a client will be all over you before the project starts and even more so as they see their work is going to be delivered on deadline and on budget. However, with some, that stalker mentality soon turns into amnesia once you want paying. If they have want they wanted then they have no reason to pay you, it’s as simple as that, and too many people have found out about this the hard way.
There’s a number of ways to deliver a mix to a client for approval without giving them the master.
You can watermark the audio with an audio watermark.
You can deliver a low res version of the project.
You can use a service like HitSend. HitSend is a web-based application created to solve the common approval and payment problems faced by professional mixing and mastering engineers. With HitSend Audio professionals get a set of comprehensive project approval and payment tools that streamline the entire process to keep clients happy and get invoices paid fast.
HitSend has been developed over the last 3 years with the collaboration of some of the top names in the professional audio production world. Put simply, HitSend is so comprehensive that it is destined to become the industry standard mix and master approvals solution.
Whatever method you choose, do not release masters to any client before payment. Make sure it is part of the agreement they sign before you commence any work.
It is important to establish a clear agreement with your clients about payment and deliverables. It can be tempting to deliver work before receiving payment, especially if you feel confident in your abilities and trust that the client will follow through on their part of the agreement. However, this approach can lead to frustration and even financial loss. If a client does not pay after work has been completed, it can be difficult to recover the time and resources invested. It is better to establish clear boundaries and only deliver work after payment has been made. This will ensure that both parties are committed to the project and that expectations are met fairly.