Today we’d like to introduce you to John Burke
Hi John, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Sure! I picked up the guitar at 12 and dove headfirst into metal music. By 16, I was playing guitar for a touring band called Forever In Terror. At 18, I headed to Musician’s Institute in Hollywood to study Audio Engineering. By 20, I was hired as head engineer at a Cleveland studio, clocking in 60-hour weeks, honing my recording and mixing skills. After that studio closed, I launched Vibe Recording Studios, just outside of Cleveland. Vibe Recording operated until around 29 when I married and moved to Nashville. There, I put my skills to work at The Record Shop Studios and shifted gears in my business, focusing more on mixing and mastering remotely. Thus, Vibe Studios Mixing was born, letting me work from home and collaborate with clients worldwide. In 2020, I ventured into YouTube with Perfect Vocals Academy, sharing my vocal mixing and mastering expertise. I’ve been dropping weekly content and, over time, expanded into online courses and coaching. Now, I’ve got two online courses and a coaching program, and I’m always dishing out freebies on my YouTube channel. My dream? To make Perfect Vocals Academy the ultimate hub for Aspiring audio engineers and DIY recording artists everywhere.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Running a studio business alone means juggling a lot: mastering time management, playing different roles, and keeping up with marketing. Getting lost in the current project is easy, and I need to remember to promote myself. If I only focus on the work I am currently working on and neglect marketing tasks, I will be looking for more projects when that project is over. Active networking, email outreach, and social media promo must be consistent. As an audio engineer, it can be easy to wear the hat of “the audio engineer.” The challenge is not being able to manage my time to switch between roles because I am a distracted audio engineer. Sometimes, business gets slower, even if I do plenty of marketing. The US economy is a factor; each client is usually an artist. My business works primarily with independent artists who don’t have funding from labels; this can be a challenge because doing multiple song projects can be out of budget for the client.
I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have done audio engineering for most genres of music. In the first half of my career, I worked with many bands, and then my network naturally shifted to working with solo recording artists. My work is known for incredible vocal mixing. Vocals are the core of most songs. I have received a lot of feedback from clients about my skills in mixing vocals, which is why my business has succeeded. My attention to detail when mixing vocals is the primary factor that sets me apart from the competition. I am most proud of myself for just never giving up. Even in the challenging times that every business owner encounters, my passion for what I do outweighs the temptation to give up.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Yes, I have taken significant risks to do what I love. Every day, I risk being a failing business that can go out of business, but I put my trust in a higher power and trust that if I put out positivity, it will come back to me. Every day, I try to improve at marketing, online business, YouTube, and caring for my health. The freedom to do what I love is worth the risk.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.vibestudiosmixing.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vibestudiosmixing
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VibeStudiosMixing
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/pvocalsacademy
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/perfectvocalsacademy
- Other: https://www.perfectvocalsacademy.com
