Online Session Drumming- What to Put on Website?

AJNystrom

Member
Hope everyone’s well. I’m finally ready to launch my website
and go live with my company. The idea is simple~ people e-mail, dropbox, or use
YouSendIt to send me audio files (mp3, full omf, whatever)- I record my drums
over them and send them back.

I’ve been doing this using the set up in my house with a
local production company with good results for a few smaller projects. My
question, before I put the money into launching the site and purchasing a
larger YouSendIt subscription, is what would YOU- personally, collectively- be
looking for on a website of an online session drummer that would sell you on
using them on your next project?

I will have videos of my playing, list of services offered,
pay scale, list of equipment/ plugins/ etc used, and examples of the studio
quality sound the client will receive when I’m finished. I’ll be working in
conjunction with the local company if the clients don’t have an engineer ready
to mix/master their files (thinking independent musicians like who I recorded
with during my time in Austin) or I could just send back the omf file with just
my drums cleaned up a bit (or replaced, depending on what the client wished).

Any and all input, questions, comments, and concern are
welcomed and encouraged. Thanks for your time.

A.J.
 
Hey A.J.,

First of all, cool idea. I bet a lot of singer/songwriters without full bands will find your service especially helpful (perhaps do some research and find if this is true and if it is try to market your services specifically to those types of musicians? just a thought).

A couple of things I would personally like to know would be the following:

1) What do you sound like? This includes your playing, drums, recording gear, etc. Provide samples of projects you have done through this medium so that the client knows exactly what to expect instead of posting a video of you playing live at a club.

2) What genres of music can you play? If I am a singer/songwriter who specializes in making Brazilian pop music, will you feel comfortable recording the tracks? What about bluegrass, jazz, funk, metal, etc.? List and provide samples of what you're really comfortable with and don't stretch the truth.

3) What are your rates?

4) If I don't like something you send me, what is your policy on re-recording a part?

5) What's your turn around time? How long will it take for you to have my project complete?


Again, just some things to think about. Hopefully they were helpful and good luck with your business!
 
Inspired Drummer- Thanks for your response!! I've done a fair amount of research and I've discovered that most of the drummers that do this are eventually able to make a decent living off of this medium. With that said, all of the suggestions you made are included in different sections of the website- except actual, specific genres that I play. I believe I wrote something to the fact that I am comfortable playing a wide range of styles and genre.

Most online session drummers charge per take after 3 takes (in upwards of $50 per take I found!!). For me, this is just a hobby and a side job so it's no problem for me to do as many takes as necessary to get the job done correctly. I take pride being able to learn a song quickly and reproduce what's in my head accurately and effectively the first time through. Thanks again for your time and any other suggestions are more than welcomed!

A.J.
 
Hey AJ

I've found that remarkably few clients care about gear/plugins etc - if you have a video demo front and centre on your site, that gives them all they need to know about your sound and skill.

The OSDs I work with and I also find that including testimonials, a page about the process and how OSD'ing works, and a page with more videos as well as downloadable high quality audio demos in the styles you want to be recording work well. Whether or not you include pricing info is up to you - I personally don't because I like to price each project according to the amount of work required as well as how big the project is, but I know that others like a fixed rate for the sake of ease or if they don't enjoy negotiating! I've found that once someone falls in love with your style, they'll pretty much pay what you ask, so better for your site to focus on the sweet tracks they'll be getting rather than encouraging them to go straight for the 'Pricing' page and make their decisions based on that. It takes you out of the position of being a commodity to be compared to other OSDs.

You could also use an email capture form to generate leads, or people who are interested in what you're doing. I've been running a 'special offer' for 3 years now where people get a free demo of their song so they can get a vibe for my tracks and sound etc, and I've found that it's rare not to get the gig once they hear their song with kick ass drumming on!! Doing this also means you have the email address of one more person who is interested in what you do, even if they're not ready to buy from you yet. This is so important!

You mentioned spending money on launching the site, what are you thinking of spending on? My clients and I use wordpress sites and find that it's really quick and easy to get good results that look professional and can be changed around easily - worth a look :)

All the best
Tim Kitchen
 
Easy way to know what should you have on your website is by thinking of yourself as a beginner. Think of all the options he would want. Also browse through other websites which will give a rough idea of what a website should look like and later you can modify it as required. Best of luck.
 
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