Our CORE EXPECTATIONS

Unlabeled is looking for individuals who possess the following personal and professional attributes. Recording studio jobs can be tough, so we’ve included scenarios that provide context and what these attributes mean in our work environment.c

• Accountability

You own all of your decisions, good, bad, or ugly. You own your musical knowledge and abilities wherever you are in your professional journey. You own your interaction with customers and your growth as an engineer.

• Punctuality

You arrive on time, for every session or meeting without fail. In a scenario where you need to follow up with a customer, send them new mixes, track outs, or anything else, you complete the task as soon as possible.

• Advanced Problem Solving Abilities

You exhaust all possible options in moments where you are having difficulty either in a session in real-time with a customer, working on bettering your mixing/producing/tracking skills, or just doing basic tasks in our business. In a scenario where you are having audio issues or recording issues, you are able to do deductive reasoning to identify the problem, remedy it, and continue your session. This is paramount to your success in this industry.

• Highly Motivated

You and your pursuit of becoming a music professional is the reason you get out of bed in the morning. Your pursuit of income, knowledge, or your dreams keeps you focused on doing everything you can to ensure you advance your skills daily, build relationships with your customers, and grow your personal brand. An example of this is your willingness to build a book of business and a customer list that you nurture, grow, and maintain for the rest of your time as a music professional. It isn’t enough to come into work and clock out. We do not hire these kinds of individuals.

WHAT YOU ACTUALLY DO

• The Myth

Often times the music business is glamorized on TV and social media. The allure of working in a multi-million dollar studio with tons of classic outboard gear, big sound rooms, with even bigger named artists is huge. Even more so when those artists are constantly making ultra-high quality music while smoking, drinking, and partying. This may be enough to make any person marginally interested in making a career out of music think deeply about pursuing this profession.

• The Reality

Unfortunately, for the vast majority, this is not what it is like to work in a music studio. Working in a modern recording studio today in a non-industry city is a job that requires grit, perseverance, and the ability to have thick skin. The typical recording studio job has sessions that last one to two hours, is focused 80% on hip-hop music, and is primarily a tracking session for musicians who just love to make music and want their music to sound great! Engineers are typically not spending any more than 1 hour mixing at a given time because the customer expects multiple songs to be tracked and lightly mixed in 1 to 2-hour timeframes. This leaves little room for the finesse you may have been taught in music school, or the fun you have mixing your own music at home.

• The Reward

In time, you begin to build relationships with certain individual clients that offer you a more rewarding experience because they trust you and your personal vision of their music. This is where the love comes back into play and where you can really learn to enjoy what you do and make a living from it. This all comes with time and tons of effort.

A Simple OVERVIEW

• Three bare minimum requirements of unlabeled engineers

1. Must be able to identify the key of a song without the help of a key-finder or program. This can be accomplished by understanding basic piano, guitar, or similar acoustic or electric keyboard instruments.
2. Must have rhythm and the ability to keep and stay on beat with a general knowledge of note lengths and their relationship to the music.
3. Must know their way around Mac Computers.

• The experienced engineer with a verifiable work history in a music studio

This individual has been through it, understands the grind, and is looking for consistency, efficiency, and brand name to help them advance their career. They need a new music home to record their existing book of business without the hassle of trying to build their own studio or manage one.

• The first-time musician out of music school or a self-taught engineer

This individual has the abilities and know-how to get moving quickly, get some wind under their wings, and is ready to work hard to grow their skills and book of business. They are looking for a job in the music industry and are ready to learn more.

Full-Transparency

• Earn $2300+ Per Month as a Music Professional

Being able to work 30 hours a week, eventually make your own hours, and pay all of your bills doing something you love is an incredibly rare opportunity for anyone and a lifestyle that is out of reach for most. All of our engineers start their employment at $15/HR. Our expectation is that you either bring 10 hours a week of your own business, or we provide you with 10 hours a week of business. The minimum output per month is 40 hours. The hours are NOT set and must be picked up. The majority of our work happens between 6-11PM, every day of the week as people do not usually come to the studio during the day because they work.

A full-time employee is capable of earning the below numbers by retaining their clients and constantly gathering new business.

Full-Time Employee: $25.00/HR who worked 60 hours between March 1st-15th:

• Gross Pay: $1500.00
• Taxes Taken Out: $323.75
• You Get Paid: $1176.25 or $2352.50 per month

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN (UNPAID TRAINING)

PROFESSIONAL FuLL-TIME MUSICIAN DANIEL SANDAGE

With well over a decade of professional music experience, Daniel Sandage, who’s better known by his stage and production mantra Danny X has been an integral part of the Unlabeled Music brand from the beginning. His music journey began in bands and as a solo musician before he transitioned into becoming an accomplished audio engineer and music producer. As a musician, Danny X has had a multitude of opportunities to both produce and play live and has been a prolific presence in Kansas City Music for quite some time. Danny is a master operator and front-end manager that exceeds in all the things he puts his mind to. He’s spent years in hospitality management and understands the importance of a quality experience coupled with excellent relationship building and customer service.

MUSICIAN AND MULTI-BUSINESS OWNER CESAR MARQUEZ

As a classically trained musician, Cesar Marquez has been making music for close to two decades and started out as a musician seeking to have his music mixed by engineers at Unlabeled Music. Cesar became highly involved in Unlabeled from the moment he stepped foot in the building and worked tirelessly for no pay to help shape the recording studio into what it is today. He was made partner in 2019, and became majority owner in 2020. His non-musical skills are focused on branding, marketing, and operational management. His passion for music, business, and unwavering focus on efficiency, customer experience, and the pursuit of financial freedom keep him highly involved in the day-to-day operations of the business.

Cesar also owns a marketing business, Haze Media Group, which is responsible for the brand creation of both Unlabeled and the newly added Photo Studio Motive KC, that Daniel and Him opened in 2021.