125
production schedule was done last night," says
Lee. "When somebody comes in and
masters an album, they usually need some type of
part the next morning. I check
through all of those requests and make sure that
all of it is done. Then I usually
confirm sessions for the next day or two. I do
the accounting, recording checks and
paying bills. Throughout the day people call me
to schedule sessions or to approve a
mix so parts can be sent to the manufacturing
plants. I make sure those parts are
going out on time to meet the deadline. I make
sure that all the tapes that come in to
us for a session--it may be one DAT or six
boxes of tapes--are returned to the right
person."
POINTERS FOR THE JOB SEARCH
"You almost need to have a connection in the
music business. Many positions are
filled by word of mouth; someone recommends
someone they know."
SANDY LEE, STUDIO MANAGER, MASTER
MIX
Sandy Lee's inability to sing, or even hum on
key, precluded any childhood aspira-
tion for a career in music. After doing
administrative work in an orthodontist's office
for seven years, she quit to get married. When
her husband lost his job unexpectedly
in 1995, she needed to find work in a hurry.
Through a friend who worked at Benson
Records, Lee heard that the label's president
was looking for an office administrator.
She got an interview and was hired, but after
just six months on the job, the label
president was fired. Lee found a position as
assistant to the president of Warner
Alliance Records, but two years later she was
laid off during label restructuring.
Lee heard about an opening at Jeff Roberts and
Associates booking agency, and
was hired as office manager to handle
scheduling and contracts. A year later, Hank
CASE STUDY:
THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THIS
JOB:
"I love everything about my job except when we
make a human error and
I have a manufacturing plant or an artist
calling me to say there is a drop-
out in the production tape. Consequently, the
plant can't manufacture the
CD and we're up against a deadline. One of the
bad things is record labels
wait to the last minute to master an album and
they've got a deadline of
when CDs have to be duplicated, and they don't
allow themselves enough
time for any type of error, whether it's ours
or theirs."
VOICES
OF
EXPERIENCE
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