We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chris Sangster a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Chris thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about how you got your first non-friend, non-family client. Paint the picture for us so we can feel the same excitement you felt on that day.

My first client was introduced to me through a mutual friend. I had made this friend, Casey, while working as an engineer at a recording studio in Eagle Rock. When I made the decision to go freelance I put a post on Facebook asking if anyone knew anybody that needed mixing or recording and Casey reached out and connected me with his friend Brad, who went on to be my first client. This ended up being a full on production and mixing gig that gave me my first taste of what it is like to guide an artist through the entire process of creating a project. I learned so many lessons through that process and am very grateful to Casey for the connection. For anyone aspiring to start their own business, I would recommend reaching out to your friend group first. You never know who may come your way as a result of asking those close to you for a little help.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am Chris Sangster I run Sangster Sounds where I focus on helping independent artists and composers realize the full potential of their creative vision through a combination of production, mixing, mastering and education. I have been into music for as long as I can remember, some of my earliest memories are listening to Frank Sinatra in the car with my mom and my love and passion for music has been growing ever since. I studied music technology and vocal performance at Virginia Tech before moving to Los Angeles to pursue my professional career. I started as many others do as an intern in a recording studio before becoming an assistant engineer. In 2016 I took the leap to embark on my freelance journey founding my company Sangster Sounds and I have been growing that every since. I mainly work with pop, rock and film music but have had the pleasure of producing and mixing in just about every genre there is. As a producer my philosophy is to always serve the artist and the song. Whatever the song needs to fulfill the artist’s vision for it that is what I am there to help with. I operate a small recording studio in my home in Encino and I welcome any potential production or mixing clients to reach out for a chat about your project!

How did you build your audience on social media?

Although I am still in the micro-space in terms of social media following, I feel like I have finally found my footing with it this year after years of trying. My biggest advice would be to clearly define your target audience and find out where they are. Not every audience type is on every social media platform. For example, I spent years floundering trying to build an audience on Instagram, and then this year I started posting the same content on TikTok and surpassed my Instagram numbers in 3 months. Once you know what kind of content you want to make try it out on all the social platforms and monitor the response. The market will tell you where your audience is if you pay attention.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think the biggest thing that separates those who thrive in creative fields and those who don’t is learning to embrace instability and the unknown. There is just an inherent up and down nature to life when you choose to live it at the intersection of art and commerce. If you want to have long term success in this space you have to embrace that. That does not mean that you cannot attain financial stability, quite the opposite in fact. It means that you have to be willing to think outside the box, and to pivot quickly. You have to be attuned to what your customers want and find ways to give them that and more. I truly believe the key is service. Find a way to serve your audience and improve their lives.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sangstersounds.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sangstersounds/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sangstersounds
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sangstersounds
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@sangstersounds https://linktr.ee/sangstersounds/

Image Credits
Camron Hatef