This year, let me help you play Santa for the studio owner in your life. Check out this quick article from About.com’s Home Recording guru:

Holiday Season 2009 Buying Guide: Top 5 Stocking Stuffers for Musicians & Recording Engineers

Here’s my recap of the list:

Anything you can do to save a musician/engineer’s hearing is a great gift idea. Face it, we spend our whole lives listening to music at ear-piercing volumes. By the time we hit 30, our hearing is already noticeably degraded. Show your love and give the gift of hearing protection. Earplugs and SPL meters are great gift ideas.

A handy microphone is also a great gift. Don’t worry if you don’t know much about mics. Most recording enthusiasts are excited to play around with any new mic they get there hands on. It’s a chance to create new sounds and add a new tool to the studio repertoire. If you’re really stumped, you can’t go wrong with a Shure SM57 microphone. Check out SM57 microphone reviews for more info. These can be used in just about any studio situation, and you can never have too many of them.

I especially like the idea of gifting a microphone sanitizer. This isn’t something that most studio owners think about, but how many germs are growing on those vocal microphones? Lots and lots. With H1N1 lurking around this season, don’t take any risks.

Hope that helps with your holiday shopping!

PS – Sometimes the best gift you can give to a studio owner is… a minute of your time. Listen to their latest mix and compliment them on their work. That’s the greatest joy a recording hobbyist can ever receive.

Want to give a gift they’ll really love? How about teaching your studio owner how to make money with a recording studio.

Register your business

After you set up a recording studio business, you need to visit your local government office in order to register your business. You should also first go through the official website of the internal revenue department (such as the IRS in the USA) in order to learn the amount of taxes you will be have to pay. Remember, the amount of tax will depend on the scale of your business. Registering your business in time will ensure that you will be taxed correctly. The good news is that for the first few months or years when your investments will outweigh your profit, you will get tax credits.

License requirements

You also have to learn if any sort of permit or license is required to run a recording studio business in your locality. If yes, then it will require a further investment. The local government office for small businesses will be able to guide you through this process. This is another important step to legalize your business. A business without proper licensing may not be eligible for tax credits or any other such facilities in the future.

Maintain financial records

One very important step of tax planning is maintaining your financial records in detail. This will include an account of your expenses as well as receipts or payment documents to support the record. Therefore, don’t throw away a single receipt or be careless about writing down a financial transaction, which took place while setting up or running your business. A well-kept financial record goes a long way to ensure you will be taxed correctly and will get the tax benefits for which you are eligible.

File tax returns

You will also need to file your tax returns in time. If possible, you can employ an accountant in order to take care of all these things. However, when your business is quite small, you can do all the tax preparations yourself after researching about it extensively on the Internet.

Paying your taxes is a pain, but it must be done correctly and on time. You really don’t want to risk losing your dream business to the tax man. And tax problems can set you back money-wise for years. Do the proper research and you will be just fine. Ignore your taxes, and Uncle Sam will come knocking.

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High demand

Professional sound recording and mixing engineers are always high in demand. There are many singers, musicians and other artists who would like to record their voices and create high quality CDs in order to sell/distribute them at their concerts, local music stores, etc. Therefore, there will be no dearth of work if you are able to market your business well.

High return on investment

Sound recording studios offer a good return on investment compared to many other home-based industries. Also, remember unlike many online home-based businesses, it is almost entirely risk-free. If you set up an excellent studio, you are bound to have customers and you can hike up the rates as your reputation increases, while also trying to improve the quality all the time.

No need to rent a place

If you have a room that is big enough to set up all the instruments and where a band can play without any inconvenience, you will not need to rent an additional place. A sound recording studio can even be set up in your attic or your basement. I am personally using a spare bedroom for my studio.

Easily available equipment

The equipment that you need to set up a recording studio is easily available. All you need are a computer, microphones, preamps and a recording interface. You can download sound editing software from the Internet (try Audacity, if you need something free). You can even buy good quality second-hand equipment if you don’t have much budget. Craigslist is an excellent place to find used gear. Studios often turn to Craigslist to get rid of old gear, or to liquidate a studio that is closing down.

Easy techniques

You don’t have to be an acoustic genius to be a professional sound recorder, as it is really quite easy to learn. However, it always helps if you have some prior knowledge. If not, find a friend who has sound knowledge of recording techniques and make him/her your business partner. But remember, the best way to learn recording is to get some hands-on experience. You just have to do it – for free, if necessary. That will get you quick experience, and you gain word of mouth exposure by helping a band for free.

Monetizing on a passion

If music is your passion, then making money by operating a sound recording studio will be really exciting for you. This way you will be able to monetize on your passion. Many people talk about getting their dream job – you can have it right now. The more you love what you do, the more successful you will become.

Easier to get financing

As setting up a sound recording studio is a profitable business venture, you will get financing from banks easily. You can even find an individual financer to provide the initial set up cost. But remember, most small studios won’t require any loans to get started. You can work with what you have, or simply save up a few hundred dollars to get a basic setup. As you gain more experience, and meet new clients, you can easily invest your profits in new equipment. Your studio can grow as your business and income grow.

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