ION INDIE MAGAZINE September 2015, Volume 16 | Page 97

ERIC LABROSSE and his CHERRY PIT STUDIOS won both the 2015 “Best Engineer” and “Best Recording Studio” awards…a double WAMI! These achievements are not without merit. I know what you’re thinking--”Yeah...Wisconsin. 17 cheese-heads from 8 bands and about 13 dairy cows get together and drink beer, watch a Packers game and dish out awards to each other in some cute little ceremony.” Um, yeah...NO! I'll be first to admit that, of course, Wisconsin is most definitely not Nashville or L.A. or NYC or Austin or--and this is like acid in my mouth-not even Chicago (I love Chicago…this tiny jab is merely an inside joke about the ever-loving relationship between us northerners and our wonderful FISH and FIB brothers and sisters to the south...um, don’t ask). But I'll tell you what--as all of you musicians around the world already know: music is life, life is everywhere; music is everywhere. While Wisconsin isn't the first place to reveal itself on the world musical map, it harbors dedicated professionals, innovators and entrepreneurs--like Eric LaBrosse (pronounced: La-Brah-ss, as in, “Hey, Brah, what’s happening?” Not like, “Yo, Bro, what’s up?”)--who are making people take notice of the “land of over 14,000 lakes”; aka Wisconsin. (Take that Minnesota! Yeah, that’s right! Wisconsin has more lakes than the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” Look it up!) Eric provides an exceptional service and value with the traditional functions of what one would expect of a recording studio. The quality and value of the finished product, the music and songs, have earned him a large and loyal following of over 100 local, regional and national bands. Let’s put it this way: how good of a product would it take for you to fly your producer and his gear from Milwaukee, WI, to Wasilla, Alaska, put him up for up to a month, record an album or two, pay all of his fees AND do that 2 or 3 times? Seriously...to FRICKING ALASKA! For weeks on end...multiple times? Just ask TISH MEEKS and her band 3 KISSES, because they did that very thing. Shit, I just asked her FOR you and here is what she had to say regarding Eric and his work: "I have been recording with Eric since 2008. I've done close to a hundred songs with him. I fly him to wherever I am in the world because there is no one else I'd rather work with." Either way, I’m guessing that your producer would have to be pretty damn spectacular to consider that level of expense and commitment. I'd bet that if doing so resulted in one or more of your songs--your art, your babies, your hearts, your bare souls-being licensed and used all over television, or video games, or sporting events, or motion pictures…or as in 3 Kisses' case-a national HOT WHEELS commercial (only one example of 3 Kisses' many song placements), that YOU would be even more inclined to consider such an EPIC adventure. This is the niche that Eric has carved out for himself and his Cherry Pit Studios in the music-recording industry. Music licensing and song placements; aka publishing. By combining years of experience, research, hard work, recording and engineering skills--along with a growing and extensive knowledge of the licensing process--Eric has gained numerous placements of hundreds of songs for a high percentage of the bands he has worked with. And by numerous, I mean thousands of placements. Not only is this great exposure and resume builders for the bands that work with Eric and record at Cherry Pit Studios, it puts THOUSANDS of dollars into the pockets of some of his top bands. Many more bands have had their recording costs recouped many times over. When combined with what is arguably one of the absolute best pound-for-pound and dollar-for-dollar deals that you can find anywhere in the region for recording-costs-to-quality-of-product ratio, it becomes very apparent why bands that record with Eric become fierce loyalist to “The Pit”. To put a “Cherry” on that pile of sweet whipped cream, guess how much Eric charges for this service that he provides to his stable of artist? Zero, Nada, Zip. The process with Eric involves signing a one-year-termed contract--and costs you absolutely nothing; but, in exchange for this service, the contract provides a very reasonable split of the royalties between the artists and Eric. The split greatly favors the artist and is an extremely fair agreement--a small portion of the earnings that you wouldn’t have made alone in the first place-especially if you never even heard of it! You have to do nothing more than sign with Eric and he does all of the work involved. Hear one of your songs on a nationally televised program and then tell me what it is worth to you? Shit…I would have paid to hear it, much less, get paid for it...it’s a no-brainer. As I have become more aware of the licensing aspect over the past few years, I began to ask other artists, as a matter of course in my interview process, if they have had any luck with their producers, licensing and placements. Most are exactly like I was a few years ago--they have never even heard of such a thing. And I’m not talking about garage bands down the street--I’m