Call it a case of one hand washing the other. When Brian Banks, president/chief composer of the Santa Monica-based music/sound design house Ear to Ear, was talking with Lisa Vitrelli, a producer at Foote, Cone & Belding in Chicago, about "Mice," a spot for Kraft Parmesan cheese, he also mentioned his sister company, AudioBanks.
"The Foote, Cone team was not aware of AudioBanks," he recalls. "I told them that it was an audio post facility that we had set up that specialized in audio post, sound effects, and sound design. I said if they didn’t have another facility lined up while they were here, they should check us out."
Vitrelli was apparently pleased with what she saw because the :15 and :30 "Mice" spots were scored at Ear to Ear and then posted at Audio- Banks. And it was a job the latter facility might not have gotten if not for the familial relationship.
"There is a lot of hand-washing that goes on," Banks admits. "A lot has to do with reputation. Because of my work with Ear to Ear, I had a strong reputation with the advertising industry. So when I put together a new audio facility, that [history] lent instant credibility. I turn on a lot of my music clients to AudioBanks."
If it sounds simple, there’s a further twist: AudioBanks also solicits business from other music companies besides its parent. "We’ve worked with Primal Scream [Santa Monica], Elias [bicoastal], Machine Head [Venice]," Banks notes. "We’ve done jobs for pretty much everybody."
This arrangement is all part of a new phenomenon that is cropping up out west among successful music and sound design houses: the creation of their own audio post facilities. For instance, after several years composing music for television, Chris Bell founded Chris Bell Music & Sound Design in ’91 in an apartment/studio in Los Angeles. He developed a strong clientele, which included such advertisers as Apple, Lexus, and Southwest Bell. In June ’96, his burgeoning operation moved to its present 7,000 square foot location in West Los Angeles-and Bell decided to open Mike Recording Services.
There are a number of reasons why these music companies are opening their own audio divisions. The first reason is because they can. "The changes in technology in the last six or seven years have made it possible for us to do this," observes Robert Feist, co-owner/mixer at RavensWork, Venice. "Seven years ago, we would mix, edit, and cut from 35mm magnetic film tracks. Mag film units had to be brought into the audio house and the technology to run that was very expensive. I couldn’t have opened RavensWork in ’91, but in ’96, it made total sense. Because of digital technology, I don’t need to have 24 mag dubbers hanging around. I just have a Fairlight hard disk work station."
RavensWork shares an owner but is not owned by Machine Head. "Stephen Dewey [principal in Machine Head] is my partner in RavensWork," explains Feist, "but I have no formal business connection with Machine Head."
There are economies of scale which make dual operations practical. Although these audio and music houses are developed as separate business entities, there is still a crossover in equipment and personnel that helps cut costs. "When you walk in here, it’s hard to tell where one company ends and the other begins," observes Howard Dubin, CFO/general manager at Mike Recording Services. "We have combined resources, combined accounting, and shared employees."
Such set-ups also allow for what Dubin refers to as "economies of equipment." Dubin says that between the two operations, Chris Bell Music and Mike Recording have more than enough gear for any situation. "If we have to lay back music masters for the agency, we can because we have digi-Beta machines and D2 machines in the audio facility. Normally, a music company would have no need for those and would have to go outside the operation to get that work done. But now we can offer that service."
Stop And Go
From the agency and editorial house point of view, such shops appeal to out-of-town clients, who may factor in the convenience of working in one location. "When we set up AudioBanks," explains Sarah Banks, general manager of both Ear to Ear and AudioBanks, "we were driven by certain needs. We wanted to keep everything in-house. We wanted the clients to feel they could go from the beginning of the creative process with the concepts all the way through to the music mix if they wanted. Music and audio are very related."
On "Mice," for instance, there were changes in the direction of the commercial as the job progressed which were made possible because both the musical and audio facilities were located in the same building. "There were new musical concepts being devised as the job changed," recalls Brian Banks. "They wanted a different approach to the music and then a different approach to the voices. So we’d be working on demo-ing new music while they had actors doing new voiceovers down the hall. I was kicking out demos for music while they were recutting dialogue for the new direction."
If the audio had been done elsewhere, Brian Banks says, the quick changes would have been more difficult and time-consuming. "There would have been a lot of driving [between locations]. Instead, I could do a quick idea in 10 minutes and check it out with the client without missing a beat. When there’s a time crunch, the location makes a difference."
Indeed, one-stop shopping at two-in-one companies seems to be the biggest impetus behind such operations. "Normally, what happens is that when a job is finished, all the elements go to an editorial facility and then they’re brought into an audio facility," says Dubin. "You have to load up all the elements on DATs [digital audio tapes]; sometimes the composer/sound designer is at the mix facility to supervise, sometimes he’s not. But, in our case, the composer is always just a door away. If a client wants to change or augment something, the composer can be brought in then. He may be working on another job but he can take 10 or 20 minutes to go into the mix. That would be less likely to happen if he’s a 35-minute drive away."
"Someone can come and do music composition and sound design at Machine Head and then mix at RavensWork," notes Feist. "If there are any changes as they’re mixing, if they need anything, it’s really easy to accommodate changes because we’re right next door to each other."
Double Income No Kids
Although the newer companies initially depended on their parents for references, some are finding that the process is now working in reverse. "Early on," recalls Dubin, "jobs for the audio facility were generated primarily from clientele of the music and sound company. Now every editorial house in town has used us, regardless of where they did the music."
"Our initial concern was that we would only get work generated by Ear to Ear," admits Sarah Banks. "But now Audio Banks gets clients who have never heard of Ear to Ear-and sometimes refers clients back to Ear to Ear."
All argue that while a reference may open doors, it is the quality of the work that keeps bringing them back. That is also a reason why "competitors" come to them for jobs. "I’ll be frank," notes Brian Banks. "There is no way one music house generates enough business to keep my postproduction facility busy. I absolutely rely on outside music houses."
"It is not a question of [music house] competitors giving or not giving us work," Dubin explains. "It is the editorial companies that dictate the choice, not the music companies. Music companies can recommend mixing houses, but it is the editorial house or the agency which makes the call."
For the future, many see this familial trend continuing. "It is inevitable," predicts Brian Banks. "We’re all tied up in the sound game; it is the next logical extension. If a music house adds an audio post facility, it is a good way to capture the market share."
Adds Sarah Banks: "Music houses see a definite benefit to themselves and clients by being able to offer a mix of services. It can help modify the cyclical economic vagaries of the business. It makes sense."x
