AES Presents Hector Moreno | Audio Business Lecture

In our recent AES (Audio Engineering Society) event, Hector Moreno of Copper Sun Sound in Tucson, Arizona, talked to us about his experiences both as an employee and a business owner in the audio industry.

We have to do something that is community driven.

Hector Moreno

CRAS has an incredibly focused curriculum, targeting five of the main disciplines in the audio industry – Music, Live Sound, Post Production, Broadcast and Video Game Audio. One of the lesser thought of, but often most important aspects of the music business is the “business” part of it. CRAS trains students in everything they need to know about the business part of the audio industry, including how to properly fill out copyright registration forms, write contracts, conduct interviews, understand trademark law, and much more.

Our audio business curriculum is often referred to as the “how to cover your butt” classes because of how valuable the information covered is, including details on how to indemnify yourself in contracts, as well as protect yourself from trademark and copyright issues.

Hector graduated from the University of Arizona with both music and film degrees, with a business minor. He also worked through their Entrepreneurship Program. These elements combined gave him a great foundation for understanding how to start and grow his personal studio business.

I’m involved in recording, and helping to develop the professional climate in Tucson. I’ve been very fortunate to meet all these great people, because I’ve learned that’s what it’s really all about. The most important thing is to always be focused on building those relationships… As artists and engineers, you are all naturally entrepreneurs in a way. If you are interested in developing a business of your own, you are going to find how much work it is to do it as one person. So if you can find good people [to help you out], that’s going to be really important.

People skills and customer service skills are often overlooked. The audio engineering industry is a very customer-service driven industry, so having those “soft skills” can often determine whether your career is going to be a success or not. Often times clients will go to a studio not because of their stellar gear, but because of how they are treated by the staff of the studios. Even small touches like having the right kind of refreshments in the fridge can go a long way in developing a good client-studio relationship.

As an engineer, if you’re involved in any kind of production, it’s really about the people.

Check out the rest of this very informative seminar on “the people” aspect of the music industry.