Pioneer of the Week: Ed Woods from Ed Woods Mastering
Our latest Pioneer of the Week Ed Woods, @gingersound, turned his passion for music into a successful business. Find out more about his entrepreneurial journey, and see if you can offer him some advice about self-promotion.
Introduce you and your business in one sentence.
Hi I’m Ed and I run an audio mastering business called Ed Woods Mastering
Tell us two interesting facts about you.
- I've been working in music for 15 years. (That's an understatement! Ed's worked with The Who, Wilko Johnson, Roger Daltrey, Idlewild, The Proclaimers, Manic Street Preachers, and Twin Atlantic and many more – @EmmaDingle )
- My hair is ginger and my eyebrows are black.
How did you start your business?
It was a pretty slow build-up of doing the different jobs that surround music production, recording demos, assisting at some studios and eventually working full time with a successful producer as his production assistant/general dogsbody.
From there I was able to learn in detail about the different stages and techniques involved in producing music as well as meeting lots of people that I still work with to this day.
What made you start your business?
When I realised that I would need to dedicate all my energy to the mastering aspect of music production.
The penny dropped when I noticed I was getting a good response from clients and I’d fit in better with a lot of my friends and colleagues if I was able to make it work.
What do you love most about being an entrepreneur?
Having some control over my time and doing a job I am passionate about.
What has been the biggest challenge for you so far?
The uncertainty surrounding the job can be difficult.
Can you share an experience that really helped you take your business forward?
The number one experience for me was my time working as a production assistant. I learnt so much in such a short space of time. It gave me a realistic picture of what to expect and contacts that I still have to this day.
Where do you work from?
Black Dog Studio in Surrey.
What do you wish you knew when you first started in business?
Sometimes people don’t mind waiting a day or two - you don’t have to do everything at once.
What are your three top tips for your industry?
- Mastering is all about listening, you can do passive ear training all the time.
- Reference some award winning/fantastic sounding tracks when you are working.
- You can’t polish a turd but you can roll it in glitter!
Latest news?
I’ve been working with some great bands and record labels recently, including The National, Cherry Red and Warner Brothers and some others that you should have heard of like Jasmine Rogers and Loa Loa.
Maybe this time next year you will!
What would you like to ask the Voom Pioneers community?
Does anyone have any tips on how you motivate yourself to self-promote? I know I need to do it, but I struggle with bigging myself up!
