Rehearsal Space

[DTB]

A friend of mine was quizzing me about rehearsal studios. 
Reading between the lines I think he is looking at a business opportunity. 
I couldn’t really answer his questions as the last time I was in a proper rehearsal space was in Putney or Waterloo in 2005. 
Are rehearsal studios still a thing? Do bands still use them or is it all done over zoom now?

 

[Happy Jack]

I've looked at the economics of running a rehearsal room setup several times, and I can't for the life of me work out how anyone ever manages to make a profit.

 

For context, I was Finance Director for a large & successful firm for 30 years. I'm not just some guy down the pub.

 

😉

[Waddo Soqable]

All done on zoom? ... Jeesus I hope not !! 

Rehearsal studios are certainly a thing, but as above, you'd never make much money out of it.. 

[asingardenof]

2 hours ago, DTB said:

Are rehearsal studios still a thing? Do bands still use them or is it all done over zoom now?

Definitely still a thing, I don't think my band would cope if someone suggested we do a rehearsal over Zoom.

[TheGreek]

If that's the case,  how does that bode for the future?

 

Getting harder to find venues to play,  going to be more difficult to find places to rehearse. 

 

Might as well give up now. 

[asingardenof]

2 hours ago, Happy Jack said:

I've looked at the economics of running a rehearsal room setup several times, and I can't for the life of me work out how anyone ever manages to make a profit.

 

For context, I was Finance Director for a large & successful firm for 30 years. I'm not just some guy down the pub.

 

😉

Yeah, we pay £33 for three hours when we rehearse, and the place has nine rehearsal rooms. I don't think there's ever been more than three or four bands in there at a time when we have been there, so I dread to think how long they might be open for. I know another band who pay for their own rehearsal space, but they have to practice a lot to make it cost effective.

Edited April 8, 2023 by asingardenof

[petebassist]

Unstaffed studios with online booking and code entry seems to be the only rehearsal places available near me. E.g. Pirate Studios, who operate in Europe & the US. You couldn’t do 24/7 any other way I guess.

Edited April 8, 2023 by petebassist

[Aidan63]

A friend of mine has an old industrial building in Bradford which has rehearsal rooms as well as venue space, office space, workshop space and living space, and studio apace; a couple of the rehearsal rooms are rented full time by long established bands so storage as well as creative space. When old buildings were cheap and dividing up the space was also pretty cheap and building regs were less onerous it was a viable income stream but rarely the prime one. 

[itsmedunc]

3 hours ago, Happy Jack said:

I've looked at the economics of running a rehearsal room setup several times, and I can't for the life of me work out how anyone ever manages to make a profit.

 

For context, I was Finance Director for a large & successful firm for 30 years. I'm not just some guy down the pub.

 

😉

I once run a rehearsal room. It cost more for the business rates than it did for the rent of the building. Water rates and electric charges were a joke too. A somewhat labour of love I suppose.

This is where I found out that nearly every band on earth has at least 3 butt holes. They’d book in and literally turn up with no money to pay and expect to rehearse and owe the money. No amps,drums, leads and not so much as a plectrum between them. They were like scavengers. 

Every band had at least one member who was ok though so it wasn’t all bad. That was about 15 years ago and I still get a bit of bad press for being a twot and a snob over some of the stuff that went on 😂 In the end, I wouldn’t let them rehearse without money up front. So, they called me a twot. When I replied “I wouldn’t waste your money because you’re crepe anyway”, I became a snob 😂😂
 

A horrible thankless, poverty stricken business that I hope I never get involved with again.

[paul_5]

19 minutes ago, itsmedunc said:

A horrible thankless, poverty stricken business that I hope I never get involved with again.

Thank you for your service. 😉

[DTB]

Right, I’ll let him know then. 
Thanks all. 

[DTB]

Back when I was in London the band leader would struggle to get a rehearsal space due to them being so busy and would alternate between Putney and Waterloo, Putney being under the arches and Waterloo just around the corner from the station, or I may have that around the wrong way. Either way they were scruffy run down spaces with very well worn gear if you didn’t have your own. 
I do not miss lugging a bass around the underground. 
The standard of musicianship was on the other hand excellent and I was rather surprised when I had the decision of what drummer we went with after auditioning 3 or 4. 
Playing in London definitely brought my own game up several notches. 

[Waddo Soqable]

Scabby, under the railway arches, type rehearsal rooms are traditional ! 

"Backstreet" off Holloway Rd was like that, played there many times, but I think shut in the early 2000s. Allan Gordon's in Leyton was another going back to the 70s.

[TheGreek]

Members with a better memory than me will remember the username of one of our members who owns the rehearsal space in Welwyn Garden City, The Farm Factory. 

I'm sure that he could give us some insight into what it takes to have such a facility. 

[lidl e]

We've been using pirate for the last few months. 

 

I think its great. Good gear, easy access, if you leave stuff behind they put it away for you.

 

But the bathrooms are so manky, the girl in our band put her foot down and made us find another place.

[tauzero]

Given the nature and location of many rehearsal studios, it may partly be a way of holding on to land until someone wants it for residential development and then selling it at a vast profit. For instance, https://goo.gl/maps/xwzpyK6dDXH5DGab9 - on the left is Robanna's studios (also does PA hire and recording, which are further revenue streams), on the right are new apartments which used to be industrial premises the same as Robanna's.

[Burns-bass]

8 hours ago, tauzero said:

Given the nature and location of many rehearsal studios, it may partly be a way of holding on to land until someone wants it for residential development and then selling it at a vast profit. For instance, https://goo.gl/maps/xwzpyK6dDXH5DGab9 - on the left is Robanna's studios (also does PA hire and recording, which are further revenue streams), on the right are new apartments which used to be industrial premises the same as Robanna's.

That’s exactly the model used in Bristol. The fit outs are cheap and the studios are effectively custodians of the place to stop them falling into disrepair, be looted or damaged.

 

I had considered investing in a studios once but the reality is that it would never make little cash.

[Beedster]

Some guys I know who do it use the space for their bands and rent it out the rest of the time, they make a loss. For a couple of others it’s a labour of love, giving back to the music community, they also make a loss. Most around here have closed now 😕

[Jackroadkill]

I'm very lucky in that the farmer I work for build his own recording studio in his yard.  It's self-contained and fully acoustically engineered and pretty well equipped.  Each room is separated from the others by two sets of double-glazed patio doors, and in addition to the control room there's a vocal (or "dead") room, a wood-panelled room and a big, reverb-y live room, usually used for recording drums etc.  I've been rehearsing there for years, in one band or another.  I get to keep most of my gear there and it's ten quid an hour (we had to persuade him that £5 an hour wasn't enough!) to rehearse in the live room, with all the tea and coffee you can drink.  It's getting a bit run-down in a place or two but it's a great space, and I suppose it became my musical home pretty much the first time I played there.

[Burns-bass]

3 hours ago, Beedster said:

Some guys I know who do it use the space for their bands and rent it out the rest of the time, they make a loss. For a couple of others it’s a labour of love, giving back to the music community, they also make a loss. Most around here have closed now 😕

The economic reality of music is that we make a loss. Wouldn’t have it any other way… :/)

[Waddo Soqable]

1 hour ago, Jackroadkill said:

I'm very lucky in that the farmer I work for build his own recording studio in his yard.  

Cool, did he used to be in the Worzels? 

[Jackroadkill]

38 minutes ago, Waddo Soqable said:

Cool, did he used to be in the Worzels? 

 

No, but to look at him you might think he was.  It's actually a sad story; he was the second son but his older brother (who would have had the farm if he'd survived) died in infancy.  He inherited the farm when he was 18 because his dad died suddenly, having not wanted to be a farmer at all.  He'd been playing music since his early teens and wanted to be a professional musician.  His first studio was an old tape machine in one of the drier farm buildings.  Eventually he decided that having a farm might have been hard work but it also meant that he could build a real studio on it, so he did.

Edited April 9, 2023 by Jackroadkill

[jezzaboy]

I have used Berkley  in Glasgow for years. It`s been £35 for 3 hours for ages now and I`m quite surprised that Steve the owner hasn`t put up his prices yet. There is 13 studios and the guys that work in there are cool and most have been there for years.

 

For us it beats all the other places hands down apart form the parking which can be a pain.

[nilorius]

If the rehearsal studio has a plenty of rooms and quality eq. this can work. Also, it is very important thing where it is located and should have a good car parking.

[ezbass]

Yes, rehearsal spaces are still a thing and, with a few notable exceptions, are still fairly crap. Musty old rooms, with cheap backline and PA.