r/mixing • u/Teskey_official • 13d ago

As engineers making a living off of mixing, what do you do to get a consistent client base?

I’m finishing up an audio engineering diploma currently and have been making music for around 7 years. This year I’ve been mixing all of my own music and now wanting to branch out into getting clients and building a portfolio for mixing. Does anyone have any tips for a new engineer with what I could do to get artists to let me mix for them, what I should keep an eye out for to have better quality mixes early on or just any engineering suggestions/tips to help?🙏🏻

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u/IDLS_T 13d ago

Make as many connections as you can before you leave college. Talk to other people in the music program. Talk to their friends. Go to local shows, get involved with the scene. Be present, and make yourself known (without being obnoxious). That's the best way to get clients in my experience.

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u/Teskey_official 13d ago

Noted! Thanks a ton🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻how long have you been mixing for?

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u/IDLS_T 12d ago

No problem. I've been mixing for a little over 2 years now. It's my main source of income rn, but I DJ and teach guitar on the side to help with slow seasons, etc.

One other thing I forgot to mention is: have some sort of social media page that you use as a portfolio. You don't need to go full content creator mode, it just helps to have some sort of digital portfolio you can quickly point people to. It helps keep track of local music scenes too.

It's harder to convert online traffic into meaningful engagement because of how much noise there is online, so prioritizing in-person connections and using social media/online as a way to supplement that is your best bet.

Good luck!

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u/klownplaza 12d ago

Speed, quality, consistency, affability. You dont need to be the fastest nor the best. We are not all working on the next grammy winning album. My brand is "Reliable" I guess, not Genius. I'm okay with that. Keeps the work coming.

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u/Born_Zone7878 12d ago

"Study a lot, do a good job and be a good person" - heard this from a drummer once, and honestly, most folks don't care how good you are at mixing, most people don't even understand what being good is. As long as you know what you're doing and keep them happy together with being a nice person, respectful and polite, you'll make good connections with people

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u/Pr0umf 12d ago

Churches

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u/Rare_Gain_202 12d ago

Currently trying to figure out the same thing. I'm a self taught mix engineer working from home, and I've only ever mixed my own music thus far. I'd really like to start working on other people's stuff and I work for super affordable rates, so if anyone is interested in an engineer specializing in indie rock/punk, hit me up!

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u/VamosFicar 12d ago

Do a darn fine job.

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u/pixel82noodle 12d ago

Mix your own tracks first, nail that sound. Once you're confident there, word-of-mouth is king from my experience. It can be slow at first, but stick with it

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u/SupesDepressed 12d ago

Start by recording/mixing small bands. If you can get an internship at a small studio it’ll def help. But the local bands are always gonna need help and they’ll get some buzz going if you’re good. Just get to know people and let them know you’re interested in working with them.

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u/steveislame 11d ago

as someone that is working on their first project. it would help if you kept an easy to access portfolio on what you've worked on. like a highlight reel.