Jun 1, 2010 4:46 PM, By Lisa Horan and Kevin Hill

DESIGN ADJUSTMENTS
However, having a larger space is only one part of the equation. It’s how the space is organized that can make or break a business. The 3,000-square-foot facility in which Jupiter operates its recording studio is, according to Callahan, a space in which every square foot counts. Everything on the first floor of the tall, thin building where the studio resides centers around a hallway that is flanked by active rooms. The first section is dedicated to corporate, voice-over and singer/songwriter work, and contains the studio’s media department, with a video production area, as well as Studio B, which contains a small vocal booth.

Farther down the hall is Studio A, which was designed for bands, hip-hop artists—clients who need multiple inputs. This section of the facility also contains an amp room and a live room. “We've set up our space in much the same way as our Website has been designed,” says Callahan. “The different divisions of the studio occupy different areas within the space, and that seems to flow and work really well.”

Sound Pure Studios' guitar shop

What has also worked well for Callahan is the space on the second floor, which is where his apartment is located. But he won't be there for too much longer. Once Club Jupiter opens, his top-floor living space will be transformed into a marketing center. An architectural feast for the eyes, Jupiter Studios was once occupied by a motorcycle repair shop. It’s the space’s urban style that Callahan believes makes up for its size. “We don't have huge studio space or mega video suites for our corporate clients, which made me a bit paranoid at first, but I'd like to think we have one of the coolest spaces in town. It’s comfortable and cozy, and it’s a place that clients like coming to.”

Yoder has gone to great lengths to make sure his space is not only a place where clients like to work, but also a place that clients—and anyone walking through it, for that matter—can fully experience. The 7,000-square-foot facility is designed so that visitors, whether they're students there to take a lesson or clients who are there to record, get a glimpse into all of the activity taking place. “Everyone who comes in for a lesson has to walk by the control room or, as we like to call it, the candy store, in addition to the live room that contains a grand piano, mics and other instruments,” says Yoder. “It's a promotional thing." And it doesn't stop there. The section in which bands record is separated by glass walls that enable musicians to see each other, as well as anyone walking down the hall that splits these spaces. According to Yoder, this setup creates an indescribable energy that is contagious. “It’s a showcase atmosphere that really seems to work well,” says Yoder.

Yoder’s eye for design hasn't been limited to his own endeavors. He has been called upon to design studios for celebrities like R Kelly, Last Laugh Productions and other midrange studios in Chicago.

As the industry has fluctuated and demands have changed, so too has the configuration of SoundPure Studios. “The video division of SoundPure has actually begun to get busier than the recording side of things,” says Atlas. As a result, he had to create a viable space to accommodate the two full-time video editors he hired. Ultimately, he transformed an office space into two editing suites. “Having video capabilities to complement our recording expertise is an edge that most studios don’t have yet, but it’s becoming more and more of a necessity as the industry continues to change. “Those clients who are still willing to pay what we refer to as ‘medium-sized studio dollars’—aka, real money for audio production—are usually open to the idea of paying additional money for video, and we expect that this will only increase over the next few years as YouTube continues to be a major marketing tool.”

ORGANIZATION CENTRAL
Of course, no amount of money can compensate for disorganization, no matter how sophisticated or accommodating an interior space may be. Callahan's secret weapon is a staff member: studio manager/receptionist Jodie Whitworth. It’s Whitworth’s strong organizational skills that help keep Callahan and other staff on track. “She coordinates and assigns all of the sessions that go on within the studio and lets staff and myself know where we need to be and what we need to do, which, in turn, makes us look good to our clients,” says Callahan.

Much the same, Atlas recognizes that he can't be the expert on everything his studio does now that it has several spin-offs, so he has surrounded himself with specialists. “The editors that are now on staff full time are doing things that I know I never could have done myself,” he admits. “The bottom line is that to do something well requires specialization, so I rely on other people who are great at what they do and that keeps things running efficiently.”

In addition, Jupiter Studios operates off of a strict billing policy that requires clients to pay 50 percent at the start of a project and provide 48 hours’ notice to cancel a session. “There was a time when it was taking nine months and then some for some of our clients to pay, and that just led to wasted time spent on following up,” says Callahan. The stricter policy has enabled them not only to keep costs down, but also to increase productivity. “When a client makes a financial investment upfront, they're much more apt to take things seriously, show up and be prepared, and then everyone benefits.”

Just as studio owners can no longer afford to be complacent when it comes to the services they offer, neither can they afford to be complacent about the space that their facilities occupy or how that space is used. “One-trick ponies just don’t pay anymore in our business,” says Atlas. “As studio owners, we've got to come to grips with the fact that we have to expand our portfolios and our offerings if we're going to compete, and that often means we have to get creative with the space we have to make that happen."

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