We were lucky to catch up with Eric Reid recently and have shared our conversation below.

Eric , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

Absolutely.,. The value of the music can not be measured by how much money or “buzz” it generates. This is a cancerious way to look at art in general . Creation can only be valued by the impact it makes on any amount of individuals and the ripple effect that it can have on other peoples lives. It can’t be measured. Especially in the amount of one life time because recorded audio can have an effect on people that are born far after the recording artist is dead and gone. I always remind artists to do music for themselves in the same way a painter gets an idea and needs to see it through on canvas. Make it for yourself . Maybe that’s how some other approach it also but most in the industry are only interested in statistics and trends.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Eric Reid. I have always been into music and taking things apart to see how they work. The more knobs the better! So now that I look back becoming an audio engineer was an obvious choice. I recorded many friends and myself for fun when I was younger. I had no idea it would be what I ended up doing for a living. I just wanted to be in a punk band and play music for a living. Honestly the thought of recording some random rock or pop band was probably appalling to me at the time. I ran sound and got comfortable with consoles because usually no one else in the band knew how. After touring and playing in a few bands, 2 vans and who knows how many gas station Ramen meal nights, I decided to pursue recoding and mixing audio for a living. Mixing rock, hip hop, punk, metal, country, pop, and many styles between these have become what I look forward to each day. I find passion in others passion now and it’s become most satisfying as a career.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Still to this day word of mouth is by far the most powerful tool I have for getting new clients. It’s something that’s just not able to be bought in terms of marketing for me. There are so many home studios and part time engineers that most musicians don’t know who to trust outside of the very expensive studios with very large price tags. But if someone they trust plays a song that I touched and they ask who worked on the record? I can about guarantee I will be getting a call when they want to do their next album or single.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I think in my industry if you haven’t gotten so disappointed that you’ve sold all your gear and hung up your guitars then the resilience is obvious and deserves a nod. I have 20 plus years experience in music and most don’t get as lucky as I have. There are so many disappointments in an artists career. From missed opportunities to clients that cancel when bills are due. It can get overwhelming. But I have absolutely no quit in me. The thought of it makes my stomach hurt. The one thing about failure is you still have a chance to overcome it if you never waive the white flag of surrender.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.TBMstudios.net
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