We get dozens of applications every week now and many of you reaching out have asked us these things. So here are your answers!

Your questions:

• What is The Self-Recording Syndicate (our coaching program)? Is it an online course?
• How much does it cost?
• Why is there no price on the website?
• Why do I have to apply?
• Why do you offer a free first call and why are you asking for a budget, when the call is free?

Also, even before applying and booking their free clarity call, some people are afraid to even give it a shot because they assume it's gonna cost an arm and a leg to work with us. 

So I wanted to record this episode And Write This Post To Give You All The Answers. 

Of course, we're doing our best to make things crystal clear on our website, the application form, etc. but I also realize that "coaching" is not something that people are very familiar with in our industry.

It's completely normal in other industries. And entrepreneurs, freelancers or businesses of all sizes use consulting or coaching of some sort to make sure they achieve their goals.

But I totally get that most people outside of that don't really know what it means and how the process works.

I'm all about transparency and I'm also about overdelivering and giving way more value than what you'd expect for the price that you're paying. So let me break it down for you.

What is The Self-Recording Syndicate (our coaching program)? And Is it an online course?

• The Syndicate and our other coaching options are not online courses.
• It is personalized coaching. You're hiring a mentor to give you advice, exercises, feedback and accountability.
• Think: just going to the gym on your own (YouTube and trial and error) vs. buying a training plan (buying online courses) vs hiring a personal trainer (coaching)

In our coaching program we create a custom plan together, identify and address your weak spots and knowledge gaps, give you all the feedback, knowledge and advice you need and make sure you stay on track, so that you will actually get the result you want.

Which is most likely a finished and released piece of art that you are insanely proud of.

How much does it cost?

This depends on which package or program you choose. And that's what we will figure out together on the free clarity call.

It can be a very small amount for just an online video course to get started before you're actually ready for coaching. 

It can be our full program, The Self-Recording Syndicate (by far the best value for most artists), which costs more than a typical online course, but still way less than producing a record a professional studio.

In some cases it can be a smaller coaching package.

And in some cases it can be none of the above because what we offer might just not be a great fit for you, at all. And my recommendation might then be to hire professionals to do it for you or just give it some more time first before you're ready.

Why is there no price on the website?

Because I don't want you to self-sabotage.

People don't know what they don't know. And most artists are not aware of their actual problems or the real cause for those problems. 

So if we just gave you all of our rates and let you decide before ever talking to you, you would probably be making that decision purely based on price with very incomplete information.

You might not see the return on investment but think about it purely as a cost. You might not know the alternatives or some of the consequences of that decision.

Or, you might end up choosing something that is way too much for what you actually need right now and is more of a distraction, when in reality you just need a few pointers in the right direction.

To sum it up, most people wouldn't make the right decision and pick what's the best fit for them. My job as the coach and the expert with years and years of experience is to help you make a good decision. Not to sell you something you don't need.

Why do I have to apply?

Well, because of all these reasons above.

We can only work with people who are truly a great fit for what we offer. Because if we can't really help you, there's no point in hiring us and spending money with us. And it doesn't make sense for you to be wasting your time on a clarity call with us.

This isn't just about budget, by the way. The application tells us if we are actually experts in your genre and understand your music, and it tells us if you are coachable.

So, we also won't accept people who have a budget and great music, but are in a genre that we don't understand super well.

Or if they tell us that they won't listen to us anyway and will just keep doing what they think is right. Mindset is important. If your ego is getting in the way, there is nothing we can do. And in that case, we won't take your money.

And then of course, there's only limited time available each day or week. This is our job. It's a real business that means the world to us. Our goal is to have the biggest impact possible on the DIY musicians community and help as many artists as possible.

And yes, we absolutely love it, but it means we need to serve our students super well and we need to create free content consistently to help as many people as possible, regardless of their budget.

And of course we are working on real, professional records all the time at the studio, because we only teach what we truly know and are real experts at. 

Which means we need to avoid spending our time on calls with artists who are definitely not a great fit for what we offer or who would never hire us anyway, no matter how great our offer was.

It's way better for those people to keep listening or watching our free content, instead of seeking personal advice that they can't or won't implement anyway.

And as you probably know by now, we do our best to serve you well, even if you have zero money to invest in yourself or simply don't want to.

Why do you offer a free first call and why are you asking for a budget, when the call is free?

So that free first call, we call it clarity call, is necessary to figure out where you are, where you want to be and what exactly you need in order to achieve your goals as a recording artist.

We need to ask a ton of questions to uncover the truth, find the real problems, identify your strengths and weaknesses and come up with a great plan for you that will actually make your records sound 10x better.

You can then approve this plan and decide to hire us, so we can help you implement it. Or you you can take it and run with it, trying to do it on your own.

Or, the plan might not even include hiring us, because we might have a different recommendation for you that makes more sense.

Again, the goal is not to sell you something, but to find the perfect solution for you. And to make sure you're not self-sabotaging. That's why it is absolutely necessary to talk to you first when it comes to something as subjective, personal and emotional as creating art.

It HAS to be a great fit. Professionally and personally. Otherwise it won't work.

The reasons why we ask for a budget on the application form are:

If it's crystal clear that you are definitely not gonna spend money on anything, we can't recommend most things that would help you and the call is gonna be a waste of time for both of us.

It always takes some kind of investment to turn your dreams into a reality. And none of your favorite records have been made without some sort of investment.

If you give us at least a broad budget range, we can think about possible solutions for you.

• Is full coaching even an option?
• Will a smaller package work better (if it also makes sense otherwise)?
• Maybe an online course is all you can do right now, but at least it's a start and it will definitely help you more than just YouTube.

And then finally, your budget range (plus the time you have available to work on your music) tells us something about your expectations vs what you think it takes to achieve that.

If there's a mismatch, it's my job on the call to call that out and tell you the truth. Full transparency, always.

I will never promise unrealistic results for almost no money, like so many people do.

Want to sound like your favorite artists? Probably a good idea to know what your favorite artists actually did in order to sound like that.

And by the way, I'm not judging. It's not your job to know those things and I don't expect you to know those things. It's my job to provide the education and guidance, so you can make better decisions. And it's my job to tell you when there's a mismatch.

Now here's the thing: Please know that whatever you end up choosing, an investment in yourself through any of our programs or courses will always be more affordable than to hire pros and go to a studio instead. If not, we won't take your money.

The hierarchy is:

1. Done for you (hire pros -> most expensive)
2. Done with you (hire coaches and do it yourself -> more expensive than online courses, but way cheaper than hiring professionals at a studio)
3. Do it yourself (buy courses and give it a shot without guidance or feedback -> most affordable)

I hope this makes things a lot clearer now. To sum it up:

We offer:

• A full coaching program
• Smaller coaching packages
• Online courses
• Free content

What we charge:

It all starts at about a hundred bucks for our most affordable online course and goes up to whatever makes sense for your situation and budget.

I won't give you specific numbers, because again, I don't know what you really need before talking to you and also, prices can go up over time and if you're reading this a year from now, things might not be the same anymore.

Just be sure that our guidance and programs are always gonna be worth way more than what you pay and it's always gonna be less expensive than the professional studio options. Especially long-term.

What you're applying for:

You're applying for working with us inside our coaching program and getting a clear step-by-step roadmap, that might include alternative solutions, if the program is not a great fit.

You're not applying for a just free call, you're applying for our coaching and guidance. 

The free clarity calls are not for artists... 

• ...who are not coachable
• ...who are in a genre that's way outside of what we specialize in. (We work with artists who make any kind of rock, indie, heavy music, guitar music, "band music", etc. Also some kinds of indie pop or pop in general, but it depends. We don't work with electronic music producers, EDM artists, etc.)
• ...who won't ever invest in their education, even if the program was a great fit for them.

The free clarity calls are for artists who are truly interested in working with us and in getting an honest recommendation and step-by-step plan.

These calls are 100% free and there's no pressure.

If I can't offer you anything truly helpful, despite the application process and the call, then I won't try and sell you anything. And even if I have something to offer, it's of course not required to buy anything on that call.

But if I can present you the perfect solution, and you agree 100% that it's a great fit, you will probably / hopefully take me up on it, which will lead to a great collaboration and outcome.

Listen to this episode now for even more details and a deep dive into what exactly we offer and how it all works. Let's go!

Mentioned On The Episode:

The Self-Recording Syndicate - Apply now!

Spotify Playlist: Mixed By Benedikt Hain

Some of my credits as a producer / mixer

Related Episodes:

202: The Three Ways To Make An Outstanding Record

116: Your Audio Knowledge Could Be The Reason Why Your Records Don’t Sound Great

188: Songwriter Dewi Thompson on Leveling Up His Audio Skills in The Self Recording Syndicate (Case Study)

#177: Wayne Coulson On Producing Unique Alt Rock & Indie Pop Records (Case Study)

94: The Problem(s) With YouTube Channels, Blogs And Podcasts On Recording Music

Related Articles:

The Biggest Problem With DIY-Recording (And What It Has To Do With Movie Directors)

Don’t Go It Alone

TSRB Free Facebook Community:

Outback Recordings (Benedikt's Mixing Studio and personal website)

Benedikt's Instagram

Outback Recordings Podcast - Benedikt's other podcast

Malcom's Youtube Channel

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: podcast@theselfrecordingband.com