Southampton, UK, 16th August 2022 Southampton, UK based recording studio The Ranch Production House is delighted to announce a ‘Pay What You Can’ scheme for recording sessions between August and October 2022.
Apply here: https://ranch-productions.squarespace.com/pwyc
The scheme is open to anybody and everybody, and is aimed at helping musicians to combat the triple threat economic impact of the cost of living crisis, Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic, with the sessions to be engineered and mixed by staff engineers Kurt Fagan and Lou Sawdy.
According to a report by trade body UK Music, there were 69,000 fewer jobs in the British music industry in 2020 than in 2019 (a drop of 35%) due to the “devastating impact” of coronavirus. Live music revenues collapsed by about 90%, leaving musicians and those working in venues or recording studios badly affected, because many were ineligible for the furlough scheme.
“The cost of living crisis is hitting us all hard, and straight after a global pandemic. It’s fair to say musicians have had it pretty rough. We can’t do a lot, but at The Ranch we wanted to do something to help,” says founder and manager Neil Kennedy of the initiative.
“We are offering a limited number of slots between August and October 2022 where you can pitch us your proposal (tracks, budget etc) and we can try and make it happen. It goes without saying that a business has to be able to pay its bills and staff, so it’s unlikely we’ll be able to accept anything which risks that for a sustained period, BUT, if you think it’s reasonable, send us your pitch!”
Commenting on working at the studio, Creeper vocalist Will Gould says: “I’ve been collaborating with Neil and recording at The Ranch Production House since I was a teenager. Over time, Neil has helped refine and develop our band to a place where records we have worked on together have entered the UK album chart, we have won awards, and we have been able to tour the world. The studio itself is so beautiful and such a great space to work from. Being out in the countryside allows for few distractions and I think it is part of its charm and magic. If you are a new band just starting out, or one who has been around for years, I couldn’t recommend The Ranch enough.”
The Ranch is owned by founder and manager Neil Kennedy (Creeper, Puppy, Milk Teeth, Cold Years, Slow Crush). Establishing himself as a creative, reliable and flexible producer capable of catalysing a project and helping craft and refine harmonies, melodies, and instrumentation, Kennedy’s CV includes many of the UK’s rising rock acts, leading to his nomination as Heavy Music Awards ‘producer of the year’ in 2018.
Joined by an all-star lineup of engineers including Lewis Johns (Rolo Tomassi, Conjurer, Employed To Serve, Funeral For A Friend, Svalbard), Daly George (Make You Cry, Burnt Tapes) and Kurt Fagan (Oversized, Grove Street Families), the studio is quickly establishing itself as the beating heart and engine room behind some of the biggest records in breaking UK alternative music over the past decade.
