You're in the studio with a disruptive client. How can you salvage the recording schedule?

What I use to de escalate the situation is the way I perceive the behavior. In this case, I figure the person is trying to work something out and doesn’t have other skills to do that. I’ll try to connect with the person in a very mild, low key way. Then slowly earn their trust to see what’s underneath the behavior. This requires my ability to perceive and listen to my intuition to accurately assess the situation and move everybody forward in a positive manner.

Stay Calm and Professional Maintain Composure: Keep your cool and stay professional, even if the client is being difficult. Set Boundaries: Politely but firmly set boundaries for acceptable behavior in the studio.

When a client’s being disruptive in the studio, here’s my game plan: First, I stay cool and friendly—no need to add stress to the mix. I calmly explain how their antics are messing with our schedule. Think of it as a gentle nudge: “We’re on a tight schedule, and I want us to nail this session.” Then, I lay out a clear plan to get us back on track with new goals and timelines. It’s like recalibrating the GPS. I involve the client in finding solutions, offering options that keep us productive. A little humor goes a long way, so I keep the mood light. Regular updates help manage expectations and keep everything flowing smoothly.

“Disruptive” is subjective and can manifest/show up in many different ways. Try not to take the disruption at face value. The behavior will often belie the true impetus of the disruption. This is why it’s important to stay calm so that you can: Think clearly Accurately assess and adapt Avoid fanning the flames (making the disruption worse) Staying calm will keep you from self sabotaging. If you become excited by the disruption, the client could interpret that negatively (unprofessional, lack of experience, lack of competence, etc). You are still the professional and truly the leader in the space. The client will still be looking to your demeanor and cadence to steer the session.

Is the disruptive client an artist? Is the disruptive client an entitled artist’s partner or friend? Is the disrupter an artist’s representative, (manager, etc.)? Is the disrupter actually bringing up something that actually should be disrupted? As someone having to negotiate this issue: Am I one of the other artists? Am I an assistant engineer? Am I chief engineer? Am I studio owner? Am I producer? Each combo is a starkly different challenge. The question is too general. Here’s one. A disruptive artist’s husband wants to change the recording sequence of the album songs. Who should address this issue? (This one seems to require a huddle between lead artist of the project, producer and studio owner, who is often the chief engineer.)

Assess the Situation Identify the Issue: Understand the root cause of the client's disruptive behavior. Is it nerves, creative differences, or something else? Show empathy and let the client know you understand their concerns.

- Setting boundaries in studio session before client comes in to record - Make sure you are clear about payment, time of arrival, and cancellation policies

Having a time management plan in place before the session starts can prove to be invaluable. This doesn’t mean that you have to account for every minute, detail, or moment. Having a basic outline of what to expect for the session and openly communicating that will help keep the session on track by having client buy-in and reduce potential issues during the session. For example, understanding the purpose of the session (are we doing overdubs, bgvs, lead, etc) can help you map out the session so you can optimize the booked time (you can request this info before hand). If setup is part of their booked time, communicate what that would be. We never want the client left to assume we’re wasting time/their money.

Re-establish Focus Set Clear Goals: Re-establish the goals for the session and what needs to be accomplished. Positive Reinforcement: Encourage and praise positive contributions to motivate the client.

At this point I will ask them to leave. Only good people, pls. Ether abide by my rules or leave. Only good attitude, pls. If you want a recording to be good, then give it the best effort. Why am I helping you to be an ass in my studio?

I think it’s extremely important to remain flexible. Artists are creatives who are heavily affected and influenced by “mood” and/or “feel”. Tapping into your own creativity to address workflow complications will be a treasured asset. Have a plan but anticipate and be prepared to create new routes to reach the desired destination/outcome. As long as you reach the agreed upon destination/outcome, how you get there is not as important. Be prepared and open to the outcome (purpose of the session) changing as well. Sometimes things happen and you won’t even be able to anticipate it. The surprise “problem” we can do nothing about but we can affect how we respond to the problem and that’s what will be remembered.