ZIMMERMANN : The pandemic has shown me that certain aspects of the production and recording process can indeed be done remotely . For remote sessions to work and ensure the outcome is what you expect out of it , clear and proper communication is definitely key , especially if a live video call is not possible .
On the other hand , the pandemic has shown me that there is a certain element that just can ’ t be replaced . For some music , the remote recording process just doesn ’ t work – for example , a bluegrass band that I had to record recently . There is still lots of music out there that benefits from musicians getting into the same room and having that magic moment where everything just fits and that can ’ t be done without the presence of everyone in the same room .
CM : What ’ s the biggest lesson ( s ) you ’ ve learned through this experience , whether it ’ s on the business or creative end , that you think will carry over into the post-COVID world when things are eventually “ back to normal ”?
DUFOUR : I think the biggest thing I learned through all this is the importance of being able to deliver a top-notch product with whatever you have , wherever you are ! Yeah , it ’ s nice being in a proper studio with great acoustics and very accurate monitoring , but the reality of this pandemic has shown that you have to adjust and be able to work mobile , too , and still get the same sonic results .
My brain started thinking about this a couple years ago . I was en route to Europe for a vacation with my partner but I was still finishing up some mixes for The Trews ’ last album . I brought a small portable mix rig with me and finished mixing the album while on trains to our next destination and in hotel rooms ! It was nominated for Rock Album of the Year at the 2019 Junos and had multiple radio-charting singles on it !
MOORE : I think the biggest lesson is to always try to be one step ahead of whatever you ’ re on . Before this happened , I never would ’ ve thought about actually streaming audio and working remotely on a live session . I think it was Crew Studios in Vancouver that told me about an event they had where they were working on this program to stream live sound in high quality and record everything . I thought it was pretty cool but didn ’ t think much of it until the pandemic hit , and then I was like , ‘ Whoa , maybe I should ’ ve been looking more into that technology !” So , I think once you stay one step ahead of the game , whether it ’ s technology or creativity or in business , you ’ ll still stumble but you ’ ll always be able to catch your balance quickly .
WORSLEY : The biggest thing I ’ ve noticed and learned from this is the importance of running a lean recording business with as little overhead as possible . If you stretch yourself too thin and you run into a situation like this , there ’ s a lot of studios that just can ’ t handle the strain financially , and so they can ’ t make it work .
ZIMMERMANN : I definitely learned that the music industry is known to change through tough times and the recording process will have to change with it . Being able to work through this tough time has been a real blessing and the ability to go with the flow is something that will carry over once things are “ back to normal .”
CM : How do you feel about the foreseeable future for the recording studio business ? What impact do you think it will feel in the short and long terms ?
DUFOUR : I feel this pandemic has really changed things moving forward . Creative ways of working , the way we interact with each other , protocols at studios , etc . It has definitely changed my outlook on the way I work . I am currently setting up a more permanent mix studio at our new house and will continue to always have a great space to work out of at home , even when I start working out of a commercial studio again full-time . Sure , I love working out of a commercial space , interacting with other creatives and having clients by for some listens and a hang , but the reality of it is something like this could happen again and I want to make sure I ’ m more prepared to hunker down for the long haul if need be .
MOORE : To be honest , even prepandemic , I personally started to feel a huge paradigm shift in the way clients work in the studio . A lot of them were starting to move more towards recording themselves and then finding an engineer to finalize their project and do their mixing and things like that . I feel like this pandemic sped up the process and a lot of people got home setups once they were in lockdown so they could record as many songs as they could . Then , a lot of people out of the blue started hitting me up and trying to find out if I ’ d mix some tracks remotely . I feel like that ’ s where it ’ s headed now .
WORSLEY : I mean , there ’ s no doubt that it ’ s going to be tough and it ’ s going to continue to get more competitive , I think . But we ’ re really lucky to live in Canada where we have access to so many different streams of grant funding .
I definitely think it ’ ll accelerate the trend [ of artists recording at home and hiring engineers and studios to mix and finalize a project ]. In a lot of ways , it ’ s become a necessity for them to do some form of recording and production on their own . I also think it ’ s probably going to shift the industry even more from a genre perspective because it will create more bedroom-based recordings , which people are already getting very used to . It ’ s almost a genre in itself , these sort of lo-fi pop recordings . Depending on what genre you ’ re working in , too – like indie rock and metal and stuff like that – it ’ s been more difficult for those artists because it ’ s a lot harder to do those sorts of things on your own . Those are the genres that still really do need studios to get it done the way they really want it to .
ZIMMERMANN : So far , I have seen a big increase in recording sessions as musicians need to find a way to bring their music out with live shows not happening at the moment . Aside from the increase in studio time demand , I also noticed that more sessions get filmed to have another way of bringing the music close to the fans with either livestreaming or in-studio footage .
Personally , I have a feeling that recording studios will stay busy for a long time as there is no known timeline of this pandemic that could describe when things go “ back to normal .” Having professional recording studios that can help artists stay busy creating and performing is a relief to many session musicians . It keeps their income going and a way for the artist themselves to produce content in the form of music and videos .
Michael Raine is the Editor-in-Chief of Canadian Musician .
Ð CANADIAN MUSICIAN 11