How I started a community recording studio

by Startacus Admin
Startacus loves hearing stories of people doing their own thing. Tom Davenport, now a successful Journalist, raised £25,000 to start a free community recording studio, fresh from university. This is his inspirational story...
"This is a story about music. It is also a call to arms for anyone interested in recording. Forward it to anyone it might help.
A lot is said about DIY music, and plenty more about mainstream artists. But this is a story about the rung beneath all that; a rarely mentioned rite of passage for anyone who has performed a note of music in their life.
When I was 12, a youth club opened by our school. It had a music room where a member of staff showed me how to play a simple drum beat. I didn't 'get' music as a kid, but then they started playing along with the baseline to 'Smoke on the Water'.
Something clicked. It was a huge rush, and I feel it again as I write this.
A decade later I was taking a degree in music production. My classmates wanted to be songwriters or DJs, but my love for bands like At the Drive-In and Fugazi led me to a certain music culture based in Washington DC through the 1980s. There is plenty of literature describing DC's punk heritage (everyone from Beastie Boys to Moby were part of it), but it was essentially a community defining their own identity through DIY record labels and live shows.
Through an academic lens, I picked apart why this movement worked. It needed a town to call home, a live music venue to draw people together, a studio to document their efforts, and a bunch of people who are more interested in music than money. And then I remembered the now-defunct youth club I used to visit.
So a week before graduation, I put myself to work. I wrote a proposition on the Sunday (I find the funding, you provide the space, we create an environment where young people can use music to build their own community), drove across the country to my hometown on the Monday, changed into a suit in my car and walked into the council offices with a freshly-stapled business plan.
They said yes, but only if I can find the funding. Councils never say no to funding.
I could write a book on the next part, but you'll have to settle for a summary. In one month I raise £25,000. Twenty per cent becomes a part-time wage. I order £22,000 worth in equipment, but negotiate it down to less than £17,000. We install a very competent recording studio with a rehearsal space, and let these ingredients simmer to see what happens.
For many young people, it was transformative. I'm reading through the old case studies now, and I'm fondly reminded of calls from teachers seeing improvements in class, or the mother whose daughter just seemed happier at home. Words like 'confidence' and 'ability' keep appearing, and I'm struck again at the story of the boy with Aspergers who wouldn't sing until his third week. These examples only skim the surface, but it was significant for all of those involved.
Two years later, I left the studio in their capable hands. The teenagers it was built for had taken charge of their own ship, and I had achieved my life's first serious ambition. My next was to become a journalist.
I'm telling this story for a simple reason. I think it could be replicated in hundreds (maybe thousands) of towns around the world.
All that fundraising, studio engineering and management was hard work, but you're already connected to an internet which can guide you. Hell, I could recommend a tonne of books that would tell you everything you need to know. They worked for me.
Do you know someone with enough drive to make it happen too? Is it you?
If so, send me an email. I still have all the business plans and equipment lists, and could throw in a bunch more tips to avoid certain pitfalls.
Maybe some of you will take it on, and maybe culture will be a little richer for it. Who knows.
As for me? I'm working from home and enjoying family life in the English countryside. I've learnt that you can do anything if you plan it right and work hard. You can talk and talk, but nothing happens until you get up and do it."
Tom Davenport, Wiltshire, England
playmusic [at] me.com
tomdavenport.co.uk
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
Carbon marketplace experts JustCarbon urge businesses to consider carbon credits to offset carbon emissions now or to bank them while market prices are low.

The UK’s fastest-growing plant-based meat brand, THIS™ set to launch Seedrs campaign to support further innovation, bold marketing and international expansion.

New mentorship programme aims to enable Hootsuite employees to shed light on their lived and sector experience and support BYP Network members’ career development.

CropSafe, a platform revolutionizing the future of farming, announce that they have raised over $3M in seed funding and have opened U.S. headquarters in Los Angeles.

Voicy, the online content platform for discovering, creating and sharing sound-clips and sound-effects secures investment to support team expansion and global growth.

Career Masterclass has launched a new website to showcase its offerings, as a strategic partner for businesses wanting to bolster D&I policies.

NI Startup? Fancy showcasing your startup at this year's Digital DNA event? We've got up to 10 spaces for NI startups to do just that. Here's the details!

Germany's leading digital solar platform, Zolar secures major investment to support roll out of new digital energy products.

Metro Bank seeks startups and scaleups with a focus on customer experience, community banking, optimisation of systems & data and sustainability for its second innovation lab.

Need a little extra motivation to get your daily step count up? Treekly will help you do your bit for the climate crisis with every step you take...
Published on: 20th August 2012
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.







- Voicy lands €1.2 million pre-Seed from Global Founders Capital to build the GIPHY for sound 20th May 2022 Voicy, the online content platform for discovering, creating and sharing sound-clips and sound-effects secures investment to support team expansion and global growth.
- Zolar Lands €100 Million Series C On The Back Of Surging Demand For Affordable Green Energy 19th May 2022 Germany's leading digital solar platform, Zolar secures major investment to support roll out of new digital energy products.
- Metro Bank opens call for participants for second Magic Makers programme 17th May 2022 Metro Bank seeks startups and scaleups with a focus on customer experience, community banking, optimisation of systems & data and sustainability for its second innovation lab.
- Storyblok Raises $47M Series B to Make Headless Content Management the New Standard 17th May 2022 Storyblok secures major investment to further accelerate product innovation and growth into the US and Europe.