203: Here's How We Help Our Students, How The Free Calls Work And Why You Have To Apply If You Want To Work With Us

Here are three next steps for you to take:

1. Get our free video training & checklist, "Standout Mixes - The DIY Musician's Guide To Exciting Mixes That Stand Out And Connect":
theselfrecordingband.com/standoutmixes
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2. Apply for The Self-Recording Syndicate, our personalized coaching program!

It all starts with a free clarity call where we talk about your music, give you feedback and a step-by-step roadmap that you can then implement on your own, or together with us.

Best case: We end up working together and completely transform the sound of your music forever.
Worst case: You get an hour of free coaching, feedback and recommendations for what to do next.

Sounds fair? Cool. Apply now and book your free clarity call:
theselfrecordingband.com/call
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3. Join the free Facebook Group ("The Self-Recording Band Community"):
theselfrecordingband.com/community
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Episode show notes:

We get dozens of applications every week now and many of you reaching out have asked us these things. So here are your answers!

Your questions:

• What is The Self-Recording Syndicate (our coaching program)? Is it an online course?
• How much does it cost?
• Why is there no price on the website?
• Why do I have to apply?
• Why do you offer a free first call and why are you asking for a budget, when the call is free?
  
  

Also, even before applying and booking their free clarity call, some people are afraid to even give it a shot because they assume it's gonna cost an arm and a leg to work with us.


So I wanted to record this episode (and write a blog post along with it) to give you all the answers.

Of course, we're doing our best to make things crystal clear on our website, the application form, etc. but I also realize that "coaching" is not something that people are very familiar with in our industry.

It's completely normal in other industries. And entrepreneurs, freelancers or businesses of all sizes use consulting or coaching of some sort to make sure they achieve their goals.

But I totally get that most people outside of that don't really know what it means and how the process works.

I'm all about transparency and I'm also about overdelivering and giving way more value than what you'd expect for the price that you're paying. So let me break it down for you in this episode.

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For links to everything we've mentioned in this episode, as well as full show notes go to: https://theselfrecordingband.com/203

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: podcast@theselfrecordingband.com

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

We create a custom plan together in the beginning, identify and address your weak spots and knowledge gaps, and then make sure you stay on track so that you will actually get the results you want, which most likely are a finished and released piece of art that you are insanely proud of, right? So we make sure you actually achieve that. This is what we do here. Again, I'm doing this episode because I feel like we've done a good job explaining it everywhere, but still there seems to be confusion, and it's totally not your fault. It's up to us to explain that properly. We don't expect you to know all this, so here is a specific episode for all of you on the fence, you know, thinking about applying, thinking about taking us up on the free clarity call, thinking about joining our program, and here is, like, all the details, right, this is the Self-Recording Band Podcast, the show where we help you make exciting records on your own wherever you are DIY style. Let's go. Hello and welcome to the Self-Recording Band Podcast. I am your host, benedikt Hein. If you are new to the show, welcome. So glad to have you. If you are already a listener, thank you for coming back and joining us again. We really appreciate you.

Speaker 1: 1:10

Today, we are doing something a little bit different, and here's why. Lately, we are getting dozens of applications every single week now for our coaching program the Self-Recording Syndicate and many of those of you reaching out have asked us these following things what is the Self-Recording Syndicate? What is this actually right? Our coaching program Is it an online course? How does it work? How much does it cost? Why is there no price on the website? Why do I have to apply for it and why can't I just buy it? Why do you offer a free first call and why are you asking for a budget in the application when the call is actually free? So I totally get this. And even before applying and booking their free clarity call, some people are afraid to even give it a shot because they don't fully get it or they assume it's going to cost an arm and a leg to work with us.

Speaker 1: 2:05

So I wanted to record this episode to give you all the answers. Of course, we're always doing our best to make things crystal clear on our website, on the application form, et cetera, but I also realize that coaching is not something that people are very familiar with in our industry. It is completely normal in other industries and entrepreneurs, freelancers, businesses of all sizes use consulting or coaching of some sort to make sure they achieve their goals, but I totally get that most people outside of that don't really know what it means and how the process works. So I'm all about transparency, and I'm also about over-delivering and giving away more value than what you'd expect from us, from the podcast, but also for the price that you're paying for any of our programs. So let me break it down for you. This episode is, as always, on YouTube and on your favorite podcast platform. By the way.

Speaker 1: 2:59

The only difference is that this time, you're not going to find a video on YouTube, you're just going to find the audio. And also, you might have noticed already that it sounds a little different, and the reason for those two things are that I am on my extended holiday break over Christmas and the new year, where I'm doing a lot of planning for the new year. I'm spending family time. I reflect on the past year. We improve our products, our service, our content, everything. So this is always a little bit of a quiet time but, at the same time, pretty busy time for me, and I'm not at the studio right now, so I'm recording this straight into my laptop and this is why it sounds a little different and this is why you don't find you know the good looking video that you're used to if you're watching our stuff on YouTube. Also, I'm doing it by myself. Malcolm is not joining me for this. Hope that's okay. So, yeah, let's dive into it, right.

Speaker 1: 3:50

So what is the self-recording syndicate, our coaching program, and is this an online course? Well, the syndicate and our other coaching options are not online courses. It is personalized coaching. You're hiring a mentor, giving you advice, exercises, feedback, accountability as well. So you can think of it as like just going to the gym and trying it on your own, versus buying a training plan, versus hiring a personal trainer. So just going to the gym and figuring that out on your own if you want to get in shape would be the equivalent of, you know, watching YouTube, reading blog posts, reading books, maybe buying courses, whatever. Not so much courses, but like doing the free stuff, trying to figure it out on your own. That's when you just go to the gym or work out at home and just try to hit your goals. That way, buying a training plan would be more like buying a good online course, a system that someone put together for you that you can follow. So now you've increased the chances of actually getting results, but you still don't have coaching, personal guidance.

Speaker 1: 4:54

The coaching program is like hiring a personal trainer. This is where someone is gonna not only put the plan together, but it's making sure that the plan is actually designed specifically for you and your goals and your situation. They also make sure you actually stick to it. They hold you accountable and they give you feedback on whether or not you're implementing it the right way, and they can change the plan whenever your life changes, your situation changes. The whole plan is kind of flexible and can be adapted. So this is how you can think about YouTube courses and coaching.

Speaker 1: 5:28

This is the difference, and our self-recording syndicate is a coaching program. So we are like a personal trainer. We are your recording buddies. We are by your side all the time guiding you through it. So it's not an online course very different. We create a custom plan together in the beginning, identify and address your weak spots and knowledge gaps, and then make sure you stay on track so that you will actually get the results you want, which most likely are a finished and released piece of art that you are insanely proud of right, so we make sure you actually achieve that. This is what we do here and again.

Speaker 1: 6:02

I'm doing this episode because I feel like we've done a good job explaining it everywhere, but still there seems to be confusion, and it's totally not your fault. It's up to us to explain that properly. We don't expect you to know all this, so here is a specific episode for all of you on the fence thinking about applying, thinking about taking us up on the free clarity call, thinking about joining our program, and here is like all the details, right. So next question how much does it cost?

Speaker 1: 6:31

This depends on which package or program you end up choosing, right, and that's what we will figure out together on the free clarity call. It can be a very small amount for just an online video course to get started before you're actually ready for coaching. It can also be our full program, the self-recording syndicate, which is by far the best value for most artists, which costs more than a typical online course but still way less than producing a record at a professional studio. And in some cases it can be a smaller coaching package, which will be somewhere in between. So a smaller package could be an online course, plus a couple of calls, plus feedback and homework in between.

Speaker 1: 7:08

Maybe, you know, depending on you, know a few things and we need to figure out which solution is the best for you. So some people definitely need the full program, some people definitely don't need the program and they will just start with like a simple online course or something, and some people need something in between. So the goal of the clarity call is to figure that out. So there's different tiers and this is why there's not just one price, right, of course, all these products have their price and I'll get to that, and so in some cases, it can be none of the above, because what we offer might not be a great fit for you at all, and my recommendation might then be to hire professionals or just give it some more time before you know, before you're ready. Could also be the case it might be, that I don't even offer any of our solutions to you. So, yeah, hard to tell what the cost is, and I'm going to give you, you know an idea later, but I can't really give you numbers. Honestly. I can give you a broad range or like a feel for what it costs, but there's so many different options and I'm going to explain to you in a second also why it's not a good idea to put some prices out publicly and just have fixed prices that are on a website, you know, letting you make that decision on your own.

Speaker 1: 8:18

So this leads me to the next question. Why is there no price on the website? Because I don't want you to self-subotage. That's the main reason, right? People don't know what they don't know. I've been told that so often from our students, by our listeners, by many people, and it's kind of it makes sense, right? You don't know what you don't know, and most artists are not aware of their actual problems or the real cause for those problems. So if we just gave you all of our rates and let you decide before ever talking to you, first of all, you would be overwhelmed because you would see a list of things with different prices.

Speaker 1: 8:48

You wouldn't know what to choose, and then you would probably be making a decision purely based on price, with very incomplete information. You might not see the investment and think about it purely as a cost, and you will definitely not go through pages and pages and pages of descriptions of what every single product is and does and works, and all of that. You won't do that, so you will have incomplete information. There will be so many questions you have that nobody will answer and you might make the decision purely based on price, and I don't want you to do that. You might not know the alternatives or some of the consequences of that decision. You know you don't have anything to compare it to, other than other online courses, but you don't know the real alternatives and the best solutions for your problem, because there's always multiple solutions right, or you might end up choosing something that is way too much for what you actually need right now and is more of a distraction when in reality, you might just need a few pointers in the right direction.

Speaker 1: 9:45

So it's not about making sure that everyone buys the most expensive thing. Not at all. It's about offering you the perfect solution, even if it means it's none of our solutions, even if it means it's not a paid solution at all. But I only know that after talking to you, and you only know that after getting your questions answered and also after receiving the right questions, that let you think differently about your situation and maybe come up with some of the answers yourself. This is what good coaching is it's asking a lot of questions and let the student be the one answering their questions. You know, and thinking about it differently. So that's why there's no prices.

Speaker 1: 10:20

To sum it up, most people wouldn't make the right decision and pick what's best for them, and my job as the coach and the expert with years and years of experience, is to help you make a good decision, not to sell you something you don't need, and, of course, it's also not to overwhelm you, right? There's no point in giving you this list of items and different solutions. You know, and then it's up to you, with like good luck, choosing what's right for you, right? So next question why do I have to apply? Well, because of all the reasons above, we can only work with people who are truly great, fit for what we offer, because if we can't really help you, there is no point in hiring us and spending money with us, and it doesn't make sense for you to be wasting your time on a clarity call with us in that case, right? So this isn't just about budget.

Speaker 1: 11:07

By the way, the application tells us if we are actually experts in your genre and understand your music, and it tells us if you are coachable. So we also won't accept people who have a budget and great music but are in a genre that we just don't understand super well, we won't take your money in that case. Or if you tell us that you won't listen to us anyway and we'll just keep doing what you think is right, regardless of our advice. You know mindset is very important there and, believe it or not, many people put that on the application form. They say, well, I want to hear your thoughts, but honestly, I think I'm just going to do what I've been doing anyways, because I think I already know what I'm doing. In that case, there's no point in coaching, right? So you got to be coachable, you got to have a mindset. You got the right mindset. You got to have a growth mindset, you got to be open, and we might need to make sure that we're talking to people who are actually coachable. And if your ego is getting in the way, there's nothing we can do, right, and in that case we won't take your money either.

Speaker 1: 12:04

And then, of course, there's only limited time available each day a week. You know this is our job. This is not just something we're dabbling with on the side. This is our job. It's a real business that means the world to us. Our goal is to have the biggest impact possible on the DIY musicians' community worldwide and to help as many artists as possible, and, yes, we absolutely love it. But it also means it is our job and we need to serve our students super well. We use our responsibility and we need to create free content consistently to help as many people as possible, regardless of their budget.

Speaker 1: 12:38

And, of course, we are working on real professional records all the time as well in the studio, because we only teach what we truly know and what we are real experts at, which means also, at the end, that we need to avoid spending our time on countless calls with artists who definitely are not a great fit for what we offer or who would never hire us anyway, no matter how great our offer was. It's way better for those people if this is you it's way better for you to just keep listening or watching our free content instead of seeking personal advice that you can't or won't implement anyway, right? So, as you probably know by now, we do our best to serve you well, even if you have zero money to invest in yourself or simply don't want to, and this is why we create this free content. But it's not our responsibility to jump on a call with every single person just looking for free advice when we already create 200 plus podcast episodes and YouTube videos and free downloads and all this free advice that you can take and go through and implement. If you did that, you would be busy implementing that, so there's no point in giving you another free thing that has taken up our time and takes away time from being able to serve our students and being able to mix records and get better at our craft and learn and build what we're building here. So I'm sure you understand the limits here in terms of time. So we only spend time on those calls with people who are coachable, who are in a genre that we understand and understand really well and our experts in, who have a goal that we can help them achieve and who have problems that we can actually solve and who are actually interested in working with us if we presented them a solution. That is a perfect fit, right. So why do you offer?

Speaker 1: 14:24

Next question why do you offer a free first call and why are you asking for a budget when the call is free? So that free first call, it's really free, by the way, it's really free. We don't accept everybody, but it is free for those that we accept and there's no strings attached. You don't have to buy anything. It's just a free call.

Speaker 1: 14:42

We call it clarity call, and it is necessary, like I said, to figure out where you are, where you want to be and what exactly you need in order to achieve your goals as a recording artist. We need to ask a ton of questions to uncover the truth, find the real problems, identify your strengths and weaknesses and then come up with a great plan for you that will actually make your record sound 10 times better. So this is our goal we need to be able to come up with a plan for you that really helps you improve your recordings big time. Now you can then approve this plan and decide to hire us so we can help you implement it, or you can take it and run with it, trying to do it on your own. Both are completely fine. Or that plan might not even include hiring us, because we might have a different recommendation for you that makes more sense. Again, the goal is not to sell you something, but to find the perfect solution for you and to make sure you're not self sabotaging. That's why it's absolutely necessary to talk to you first.

Speaker 1: 15:40

When it comes to something as subjective, personal and emotional as creating art, there is no cookie cutter solution. There is no one size fits all. It has to be a perfect fit professionally and personally. Otherwise it won't work and we won't take your money if it doesn't work and if it's not a perfect fit period. Now, the reason why we ask for a budget on the application form are one if it's crystal clear that you are definitely not going to spend money on anything, we simply can't recommend most things that would actually help you, and the call is not. It's going to be a waste of time for both of us. Right? It always takes some kind of investment to turn your dreams into reality, and none of your favorite records have been made without some sort of investment.

Speaker 1: 16:26

So if it's crystal clear that you won't be able to do it on your own, especially not quickly or anytime soon, and you need help in the form of, like hiring a pro or getting coaching, or buying a course, getting the right information, whatever, getting feedback, whatever the solution is for you, if it's crystal clear that none of these solutions will work because you won't spend money anyway, then there's no point in doing this call, because my recommendation will definitely not be just try YouTube again like good luck. You're already doing that and it didn't give you the results you wanted. That's why you're considering applying for coaching. So you already tried the free content thing and it certainly got you some results, but it's not what I'm going to recommend for you as the next step for you, obviously. So if you don't have any money to spend, or don't want to spend any money, even a small amount, then there's nothing I could recommend to you in these calls, and so the application won't be approved.

Speaker 1: 17:26

If you give us at least a broad budget range this is like another reason here. If you give us at least a broad budget range, we can think about possible solutions for you. We don't just know that you're willing to invest something, but we know what could be options that might work. Is full coaching even an option? Is that even an option? Is it like way outside of what you can spend anyways? Is it within your budget? Or will a smaller package work better if that smaller package also makes sense otherwise? Or maybe an online course is all that you can do right now, but at least it's a start and it will definitely help you more than just YouTube.

Speaker 1: 18:01

So a broad range tells us a lot about what we can actually offer or what we can actually recommend. Also, if our honest recommendation is just go to studio, just book studio time with professional producers, engineers, whatever, or maybe get session musicians and all that, that quickly adds up and we will only recommend that if it is something you can actually do. If that is our recommendation but you don't have the budget for it, again it doesn't make sense. Then, finally, your budget range plus the time you have available to work on your music tells us something about your expectations versus what you think it takes to achieve that. So if there is a mismatch, it's my job on the call to call that out and to tell you the truth Full transparency always.

Speaker 1: 18:47

I will never promise unrealistic results for almost no money, like so many people do in the online education space, as you know right. So I won't promise the world for almost no investment or like for free. If you want to sound like your favorite artists, it's probably a good idea to know what your favorite artists actually did to sound like that and, by the way, I'm not judging. It's not your job to know those things and I don't expect you to know those things. It's my job to provide the education and the guidance so you can make better decisions, and it's my job to tell you when there is a mismatch between your expectations and what you're trying to achieve and what you think it takes to achieve that. Does that make sense?

Speaker 1: 19:27

So a lot of times people will tell me I want, you know, we want to get signed and we want to tour and play these big festivals and therefore we need a record that sounds just as good as record X, y, z. But just so you know, we definitely won't spend money on anything. And then I'm like do you think any of those bands on that festival poster, or do you think that any of those bands on that label went into making the record with the mindset of we're definitely not going to spend anything? You bet they invested in something Either a team of professionals or themselves, or maybe someone in the band is the producer who definitely has invested in their career. So you know, sometimes there's just this big mismatch. And again, I'm not judging. You don't have to know what, like what studio rates actually look like, what it takes to make a professional record. That's not your job to know, but if I identify a mismatch like that, it's my job, on the clarity call or even before that, during the application process, to tell you the truth there and to make sure that we're on the same page in terms of expectations and what it takes right Now.

Speaker 1: 20:30

Here's the thing. Please know that whatever you end up choosing, an investment in yourself through any of our programs or recommendations or courses or coaching, whatever will always be more affordable than to hire pros and go to a studio instead. I'm not saying it's a bad idea to hire pros I'm a professional myself and I love when people hire me, of course, and I'm booked up months in advance, so they still do. But I know that it's not the perfect solution for everybody and I know that if I offer an alternative that requires you doing the work yourself, it has to be more affordable than hiring pros and going to a studio, because otherwise you could just go and hire a pro and go to the studio. There's other reasons, like outside of money, that they play a role here as well, such as scheduling, finding the right person and all of that, but in general, you can be sure that an investment in yourself through any of our programs or courses will always be more affordable than to do the same thing by hiring pros and going to studios instead, especially in the long run, because you can use that knowledge over and over again instead of having to go to studios and hire people over and over again and paying over and over again. Right, so the hierarchy is done for you.

Speaker 1: 21:39

Hire pros, go to studios, pay for whatever you need, hire session musicians all of that, like pay people to do it for you, maybe with the exception of writing and playing, of course, but even there you can hire co-writers, you can hire session musicians, whatever. So done for you is the top tier. That is always the most likely to get you results Not always, but in most cases if you find the right people, if you find the time to do that and all of that. So a lot of things have to be in place for that to work, but if you can do all those things, then this is the best professional option, of course, and it's also the most expensive one. Then, once you're below is done with you.

Speaker 1: 22:20

This is coaching, this is you do the work, but you hire someone to tell you exactly what to do every step along the way Complete hand-holding, feedback, guidance, exercises, education, whatever you need. You do it. You do the work, but there's someone with you like a remote producer, guiding you and making sure you're doing the right things and you stay on track and you actually achieve your goals. This is done with you. This is more affordable than done for you, but still costs definitely more than just an online course and it's definitely not free. And then there's do it yourself, which could mean do it yourself with a little bit of help, like an online course and like a training plan. And then it could be do it yourself without anything and just free education on YouTube and you know books and podcasts and blogs and whatnot. So done for you, done with you, do it yourself.

Speaker 1: 23:07

These are the three tiers and, by the way, if you go back to the last week's episode where I talked about, or we talked about, the three ways to make an outstanding record, it's exactly that right. So I just want you to know again that if you think it's costing an arm and a leg or a full long-term coaching program, like that is not possible for you, consider the alternatives and just know that it's always going to be more affordable than hiring pros. And I'm not talking about the studio down the street or your buddy who started recording last week. I'm talking about really professionals, and the studio down the street might be professional like I'm not judging, I don't know but there's so many quote unquote studios out there who actually don't know what they're doing. That's just the truth. So I'm not talking about those people. I'm talking about real pros who have a proven track record, proven credits and who actually make good sounding records, day in, day out. All right, hope.

Speaker 1: 23:59

This makes things a lot clearer now. To sum it up, we offer A full coaching program. This is perfect for people who have big goals, who want to make the best record possible with minimum trial and error. They want the full thing. They want to learn everything. They want to use this knowledge over and over again. It might not be the last record you're working on, or that record is so important to you that you want to get it right. No compromise. This is like the closest to actually being in the studio with pros. This is the full coaching program. It takes some time. It's not a super quick thing. It requires an investment, but it's definitely gonna get you the results you want, and it's the least amount of headache because you have someone by your side making sure you always know what to work on.

Speaker 1: 24:42

Next, then we have smaller coaching packages, which is for those people who are almost there, but there's a couple of things they're missing. They just want the final touches and the fresh pair of ears on their work and some feedback, and maybe they get a few things right, but others not so much, and so maybe a couple of sessions, some feedback and homework in between, plus an online course on a specific topic is what they need and that will get them results. To be honest, not many people are in that situation, because most people really need the foundation, the basics and all of that. But if that is you, if you're already into it for a while and you just need that final push to get it really, really good sounding, then a smaller coaching package might be good for you.

Speaker 1: 25:25

Then we have online courses. This is for people just starting out who are not really sure if that is something that they actually want to pursue, so you can dive into your course. Like that, you can do it all. You can implement the stuff, hopefully, implement what you learn. It will get you very far. It's awesome, but there's no accountability. It's like your responsibility to actually implement it and do what you learn. There's no feedback, you don't know if you're doing it right, and it's like it's a low risk option. I mean, there's no risk with the other things as well, because we have guarantees in place and like we don't take money if it doesn't help you.

Speaker 1: 25:56

But the lowest perceived risk or the lowest upfront investment is, of course, an online course, and it's good for people who want to figure out if the whole DIY thing is actually what they want to do. And then also it might be good for people who have just a knowledge gap in a very narrow area and just need expertise or advice in that specific part of the process. Then a specific online course might be good for them. Or something like our mixed ready course, which is for people who don't want to mix themselves and just want to record and make sure that they get the recordings up to a level where they can be then mixed professionally. Again, gotta make sure that you actually implement the stuff, but then you can take a course like that that doesn't even include mixing. It's just about getting the songs right, getting the production right, the engineering, the source tones, all of that and then hand off the mixing to someone else. In that case, it makes sense to buy the mixed ready course and then hire someone to mix the songs, for example. So yeah, different solutions for different situations. That's why this is so important.

Speaker 1: 26:52

And then, of course, we have the free content 200 episodes plus now of this podcast, a lot of free downloads, free resources, free guides, articles, youtube videos, all of that. And so if you're just starting out and you know you wanna experiment for the first time with all this whole audio thing, you're setting up your system, your rig and you wanna dive into this and get your feet wet a little bit, then the free content is obviously amazing. And even for the experienced ones, the regular content and just building a habit around educating yourself, listening to stuff like this, being inspired, is very, very helpful and valuable. I listen to podcasts every single day on audio, on business things, on other things in life, running my hobbies, like anything I wanna get better at or anything I really enjoy. I educate myself on those things. I read books, I take courses, I take coaching, I listen to podcasts, I watch videos, all of that. So free content, very valuable, all the other things very valuable as well.

Speaker 1: 27:47

So what we actually charge? This is the question that we get asked a lot, and I think by now it might make sense to you that we don't put out like actual numbers for dozens of like hundreds of different possible solutions. But it all starts at about, let's say, a hundred bucks for our most affordable online course, and it goes up to whatever makes sense for your situation and budget, of course. So if you tell us, for example, that you want the full coaching because you really want to learn it, maybe you even want to turn it into your own business, you wanna start a studio and work for others, whatever, you need the whole thing, including advice on like how to run a studio, business advice, stuff like that, and then, of course, the whole audio education. So if you want the full thing there, plus, you might not want to mix your next record and you might want to wait until you get there, and so for now, you also need someone to mix that next album for you. And then you might also need session musicians or someone to program like post-production elements for you, and then maybe you need to hire an orchestra for one song or whatever you see. Like it all adds up and you can spend like enormous amounts of money, of course, on making a record and all of that. So the sky is the limit. So it all starts with a hundred bucks for, like, the most affordable online course and goes up to whatever makes sense for your situation and budget. I won't give you specific numbers for all those reasons, because, again, I don't know what you really need before talking to you, and also, prices can go up over time and if you're listening to this, a year from now, things might not be the same anymore, so I don't want you to be disappointed then. This is another reason here. We always adapt things, we update things, we add new modules to our courses, we expand the team, we bring in new coaches. Things change all the time. This is another thing. And then also, again, just be sure that our guidance and programs are always gonna be worth way more than what you pay and it's always gonna be less expensive than the professional studio options, especially long-term, if you use this knowledge over and over again.

Speaker 1: 29:44

Now, what are you actually applying for when you apply for coaching? You are applying for working with us inside our coaching program and getting a clear, step-by-step roadmap that might include alternative solutions if the program is not a great fit, or it might include our program. Actually, that is the main reason you apply right. You are not applying for a free call. You're applying for our coaching and our guidance. You are not applying for a free call. Again, this is not the goal. The call is valuable and you're getting feedback there. You're getting a roadmap, you're getting a crystal clear way forward, a crystal clear path forward that will help you achieve your goals. But then the work actually starts. You have to then take action and implement this roadmap. So the call is super valuable, but only for those who are willing to then implement it, like implement what they learn, take the next steps either with us or without us. But those who already know that they're only looking for quick, free advice they don't even know if they're gonna show up to the call on time. You're not gonna spend money on anything anyways. It's not for this type of person. So the free clarity calls are not for people who are not coachable, who are in a genre that's way outside of what we specialize in.

Speaker 1: 30:57

So, just for context, we specialize in rock, guitar music, band music, like anything that can be played and performed in like a band arrangement, band setting. You know, we don't work with electronic music producers, edm, artists, anything like that. So if your music is purely electronic, like house, edm, techno, stuff like that, we don't work with artists like that because that is just not our expertise. This is not what we do in the studio every single day. We work on rock music, on heavy music, on indie music, on pop, but also that kind of pop that uses like real instruments or you know, not even real but like. You know what I mean. Not like dance music, edm, purely electronic stuff. It's not that we don't like that, but it's just we are not the best experts for that. There are other experts who are better at that than we are. So we specialize in anything sort of guitar music, band music, indie, heavy classic rock, all that alternative, everything like singer-songwriter, also anything like that.

Speaker 1: 31:55

And finally, the free clarity calls are not for people who won't ever invest in their education, even if the program was a great fit for them. So again, if that is you, this is not for you. These calls are for artists who are truly interested in working with us and getting an honest recommendation and step-by-step plan. These calls are, however, 100% free. Just to make that clear again. There's no pressure. There's no payment required.

Speaker 1: 32:19

The budget that I'm asking for is not because of that call. It's because I want to know what I can actually offer you on the call. But there's no pressure. The call is 100% free and if I can't offer you anything truly helpful, despite the application process and the call and all of that, then it's not your fault. It's not required to buy anything on that call, right? So if you go through the application, I approve it, we jump on a call and we talk to each other and I ask a bunch of questions and if I then still can't recommend you anything, if I can't present you a great solution that would really help you, then of course you don't have to buy anything, right? It's only an offer, it's only my help, a recommendation, a roadmap, but it's up to you to make a decision if you actually want that and you're not required to buy anything on that call. But if I can present you the perfect solution and you agree 100%, you will probably hopefully at least take me up on it, which will lead to a great collaboration and outcome. So this is the full breakdown. I hope this helps you.

Speaker 1: 33:21

And if you're now thinking, well, who are you to offer that? And like I don't know you, I've just come across this podcast and like why would I listen to you anyway and why would I hire someone like you to be my coach? Well, I know I'm not a Grammy-winning, multi-platinum, a-list mixer producer because there's only a handful of those out there. But if you Google me, if you Google my website, if you go to my studio page, if you go to Spotify and Google my Spotify playlist, then I'm going to put it in the show notes as well. It's called Mixed by Benedictine Then you'll see that I've helped hundreds, if not thousands, of artists.

Speaker 1: 33:54

At this point, I've been a professional mixer and producer for, I think, 12, 13 years at this point, definitely more than a decade. I've helped my artists that I've worked with in the studio gather millions of streams and I've proved for that as well and my credits. You can look them up. There are countless bands who got played on the radio, got signed, toured, all these things. I've worked on major label records, tons of indie label records and even more completely independent artists, and all of that is like. You can look that up.

Speaker 1: 34:24

You also don't have to take my word for it. You can look up our Google reviews. You can ask any of the artists you'll find on my playlist about their experience working with me and, of course, you can just listen to my work at the playlist and form an opinion yourself. Just know that I'm working in a niche and that that is not like the big mainstream stuff. I'm working with indie bands, I'm working with independent artists of different genres, but still it's most of that is like niche stuff and so I probably never win the Grammy I mean, who knows? But I definitely know what I'm talking about. I can say with confidence that I can help you because I've done it over and over and over again.

Speaker 1: 35:01

We have many students in our coaching program already who are excited about it. You can listen to the case study episodes that we have on the podcast here. We've interviewed some of our most successful students and asked them for their honest opinion on the on the program, so we've published these as podcast episodes. You can reach out to any of the artists that I've worked with. You can listen to my portfolio. You can hire me to mix a song and then make a decision and see if it's. You know if I know what I'm doing, all of that.

Speaker 1: 35:27

So I hope that this is not about me, of course, but I hope that this gives you trust in my ability to coach you and guide you, and I hope that not only you don't trust myself, but also you know my team here. I have wonderful people working with me. I have a great network. If you listen to the podcast episodes that we've already done in the past with guests on our show, you'll probably recognize a few of those names. So we are very well connected in the industry as well and, believe me, those people wouldn't jump on a podcast with someone who is just you know, who just pretends to be able to do what they do.

Speaker 1: 36:03

And so, yeah, I this is all I can say in terms of credibility. I know there's proof. I can speak with full confidence that I can help you if what we offer is a great fit. I can speak with confidence that I can definitely produce songs and mix songs to sound competitive and to make sure that the artist actually you know their vision actually comes through and that what they want to do actually comes out of the speakers. And I can say with full confidence that I can not only do that myself, I can also teach it to you so you can do it yourself. So that's enough about me. Back to you.

Speaker 1: 36:39

If you now have a better understanding of what we're actually offering, how it all works, what is required, how the free calls work and all of that, please go to the self recording mancom slash call, fill out that quick application form, look at the questions there, hopefully finish it all, then apply for coaching, and if I accept it, I will jump on a free clarity call with you and work through all those things that I just mentioned here on this episode. I will create a roadmap for you or with you, and you can then approve this roadmap and we implemented together. Or you can take it and run with it, or you can say no, I don't want that, and then that's it. There's no risk, there's no strings attached. Just know that I don't accept everyone. In fact, we only accept. You know, for right now, if I look at my numbers, we accept about 30% of all applications, and then on the calls, we offer our solutions to about 80% of the people. So, yeah, that's that's it. It's not for everyone. Chances are pretty high, though, that you get accepted unless you're just, you know, a tire kicker and want to get quick, free advice and that's it. But if you're serious, if you want to implement it, if you have realistic expectations, chances are really high that we accept it. And then I'd love to meet you and talk to you and then we will figure out if our stuff is actually good for you or not.

Speaker 1: 37:53

Hope this helped and I hope you keep listening to this podcast. I promise we'll be back with like regular episodes or regular content starting next week, and hopefully you know here's to more, 200, more episodes or even more than that in the future. We will keep releasing one every single week. We will be back to a standard audio podcast starting next week. Malcolm will join me again as well, and now I just wish you a wonderful start into 2024. And happy new year, and I hope you are crushing your goals this year. And I can already tell you, as always, there's going to be two kinds of artists this year. There's the artists who wish that they could finally make their dream record, and then there's the ones who actually ask for advice and then take action and give it a shot. All right, hope to talk to you soon. Again, theselfrecordingbandcom slash call. Have a good one. See you next week. Thank you for listening. Bye.