If you are a regular reader of this column you know that I pretty much direct its contents to those of you who volunteer as sound technicians. However, I don’t volunteer my sound services very often. It’s not that I am a hypocrite, it’s just that installing and mixing sound is what I do for a living. That brings me to this month’s installment of Sound Sanctuary. I want to talk to those of you who operate in the live worship sound industry for financial gain, or would like to, full or part time.
Let’s start with the fact that the U.S. is going through a spiritual revival. We can speculate on the reasons for this phenomenon, but the reasons don’t really matter. What matters is that the spiritual revival is also causing a technical revival in our houses of worship. Just turn on your TV and surf through the channels on any Sunday. It won’t take long until you find a religious broadcast from some mega church. The sound and the look of these very large houses of worship have changed the way we get our weekly dose of TV God. Big houses with big budgets have raised the bar on what a congregation expects in terms of sound and lighting from their own church. This is good news for those of us that specialize (or wish to specialize) in house of worship sound system installations.
The reason this is good news? Midsize and smaller churches are just now becoming much more interested in bigger and better sound systems. Not to mention better lighting, video cameras, projectors, screens etc. The reality is that there are a lot of smaller houses of worship (under 1000 seats) that are already planning on a sound system upgrade. Many of these houses are in your own neighborhood (or near it). They need you to install the systems. You need to let those worship houses know that you exist and can do the job.
Becoming Visible
There are a variety of ways to market yourself for this kind of work. For myself, I have knocked on doors, handed out a lot of business cards and flyers but mostly relied on the process of word of mouth. I also (shameless plug alert) recently finished a book on worship sound. House of Worship Sound Reinforcement can be found on the FOH Bookshelf. Obviously, a book raises ones credibility and professional presence, but book or no, I still have to make appointments and sell each and every install individually. And it will be the same for you. Developing you sales and people skills is nearly as important as honing your mixing and sound skills.
I don’t want to frighten you, just prepare you for the possibility of expanding your line of work. The biggest advantage you have is you know how to mix and you also know what sounds good at your house of worship and hopefully in other houses. If you have confidence in your abilities, then all you will need is a business plan that is appropriate for your community. It doesn’t have to be some brilliant elaborate scheme. You just have to have thick-enough skin to accept a fair amount of rejection on your way to that big contract. In reality, it is pretty much the same with any business endeavor you decide to jump into. If everybody said “yes,” you would probably get very bored.
OK, let’s say you are diving into this niche of the sound biz head first. Be prepared to make recommendations for mixing consoles, speaker boxes, power amps, outboard gear, microphones and anything else. All of your advice needs to fall within the budget of the house of worship you are working with. For that matter, you may be asked to submit bids for a few different systems at a variety of price points. The fact that you are reading this column means that you are probably pretty up to date on what equipment is available for worship sound (and most live sound for that matter). If you aren’t, do your homework and read up on everything you can. Remember, you are the professional — or at least you will be perceived as a pro. So don’t let your prospective house of worship down.
Improve the Room
You may also be asked to improve the acoustics of any house you may install a system in. I am not an acoustician, but I know something about reflected sound and how to control sound waves in a given space. I always make the fact that I am not an acoustical scientist clear to my prospective clients. Mainly because I will never promise something I can’t deliver. And sometimes the acoustic space I am about to install a nice new sound system in is not very good. I will make my recommendations from the perspective of an installer. However, if you personally wish to study acoustics, have at it.
Of course one of the most powerful influences you have on getting your next sound install contract is that you and your prospective client believe in a God. For me, many times this fact has made the difference in getting a particular install gig. You can’t fake this. The reality is that the new sound system you will be installing is designed to deliver the word of God foremost and worship music secondarily. And that is the primary aspect of your work.
There is one other bit of advice I would like to add. Once you have installed that new system, offer to train the sound techs at the worship house as part of your install contract. There is nothing worse than setting up a new beautiful system and leaving the house without proper instruction.
