Entrevistas congestionadas com donos de estúdios de música

Camille Romeo, Michiko Studios

We take some time out to talk to Camille about her experience of running a rehearsal space in inner-city New York, the challenges she faces and how she honours the studio’s historic past.

Established in 1989 on Music Row (NY), Michiko Studios is a family-owned, family-run jazz and classical rehearsal space now based in Bryant Park. The studio is managed by the owner’s daughter Camille who has been at the helm for over a decade.

I learnt about the long history of the studio in such an iconic area of New York and how it’s adapted to the challenges of the modern world and throughout Covid, as well as the demands of staying current in a social media-driven society.

Camille also shared her advice for people looking to set up their own studio and the artists she’s most excited to be working with.

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We've had so many musicians that start off just rehearsing here all day, every day. And now we're trying to get to their show, trying to buy tickets to see them live. And it's been a beautiful experience to be part of.

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Camille Romeo

Michiko Studios

Camille Romeo - Michiko Studios

So, my first question is, what's inspired you to start your studio?

This is my father's studio and still is. I've been working for him for 10-11 years now. He's a saxophone repairman and he came here in the early 80s and started doing that in Times Square originally on 46th Street. He built these four rooms and it kind of kept progressing over the years into Michiko Studios. So it's been 30 years, little over, since then.

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We have 16 rooms, but we're also under construction, so we have a 17th on the way and then from there we have three more studios planned

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Camille Romeo

Michiko Studios

Camille Romeo - Michiko Studios

We have 16 rooms, but we're also under construction, so we have a 17th on the way and then from there we have three more studios planned. So it's about a year and a half since we've been in the new space. We're looking like we’ll be landing at 19 studios in 2024 and then, hopefully, some more in 2025.

What kind of musicians do you typically work with?

We typically have a lot of jazz folks stemming from our saxophone repair shop. That's been a lot of our clientele, but being so close to Times Square, we've had so much Broadway and cabaret folks coming through. Being in New York City, there's never really an end to the variety of music, but I would say Broadway and jazz is definitely some of our heavier clientele and a lot of freelance teachers as well.

So what does the day in your life look?

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It's really amazing to see those two worlds collide when you're passing in the hallway, from day one to folks who have Grammys and folks who have been in the industry for so long

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Camille Romeo

Michiko Studios

Camille Romeo - Michiko Studios

A day in the life of managing a music studio? So we're here pretty much all day, every day. I joke that on a good day, it's the issues no one saw coming. So it's, you know, things are overbooked or something happens with the weather. They all kind of collide at the same time. Yeah, but it really is a great place to work.

We see so many students like young kids having their first piano lessons and then down the hall all-star bands and folks most kids look up to and aspire to be in their career. And it's really amazing to see those two worlds collide when you're passing in the hallway, from day one to folks who have Grammys and folks who have been in the industry for so long.

You're obviously close to the centre of the music scene in New York. Have you worked with any famous notable artists in the past?

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Some days you just look up and George Clooney’s walking by. I've seen Brooke Shields, Jerry Seinfeld… I've seen Steve Martin.

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Camille Romeo

Michiko Studios

Camille Romeo - Michiko Studios

Yeah, we've been very honoured to have amazing folks come through our studio. Some days you just look up and George Clooney’s walking by. I've seen Brooke Shields, Jerry Seinfeld… I've seen Steve Martin. The night before, Roberto [studio owner] was watching his movie. He looks up and he goes, ‘I was watching you last night! And now you're at my desk today, how did you know?’

So it's always exciting to see, and especially seeing musicians grow into that level. You know, we've had so many musicians that start off just rehearsing here all day, every day. And now we're trying to get to their show, trying to buy tickets to see them live. And it's been a beautiful experience to be part of.

How did your business plans change during COVID?

It was a full 180. I don't even know how to describe it. We saw pretty early on that we were being affected by COVID as tours were being shut down across the world and musicians on tour, needing to rehearse, usually stop by Michiko. And they were being cancelled weeks and weeks out. So that was a red flag from the beginning. And within a month we had to shut down.

It was very long, long, slow journey. We ended up opening fairly early on because we had so many freelance teachers working out of here. We had teachers sending in students to Zoom with them from home. Or vice versa. For months and months and months we were very dead and we had to change location. It was definitely a lot of dark days where it was just holding your breath, anxious, quiet.

But, you know, music never died in New York City. Musicians were always still reaching out, talking to other, saying, ‘can't wait till we can do this again’. It’s been a long journey, but four years later, we're in the new location and we're kind of rebuilding.

COVID definitely took a very, very big impact on the music industry here and lost a lot of studios. Music Row was, in the 80s, only music. You know, that's one of the reasons that Roberto came here in the first place was to see that, to be part of that. So to be there and be one of the last stores standing there and then having to move over [to Bryant Park] COVID was very heartbreaking for us. It was a very, very tough time, but it was an honour to be the last one standing.

So what do you think is the biggest challenge in the industry at the moment?

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I think it is important to try and keep people’s anonymity a little bit, so if they’re working on things they don’t want people to know about.

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Camille Romeo

Michiko Studios

Camille Romeo - Michiko Studios

I would say working with musicians when business, marketing and social media became such a prominent part of business. You know, when we started here, it was very word of mouth. There was no Facebook and Instagram and all these things. You really had to be a part of it just to keep it going.

And renting out studios and rehearsal spaces, it's a very private thing for most clients in there, so it's difficult to always have [social media] content, which is such a crucial part. It's hard to record folks when they're in sessions. I think it is important to try and keep people’s anonymity a little bit, so if they’re working on things they don’t want people to know about.

Trying to find a marketing point that matches the excitement that's in Michiko Studios, that can reflect that. Getting folks to be confident enough to tag us and share us and get that word out there and getting followings and all of that.

Do you have any advice for anyone that might be looking to set up a studio?

Oh, it's never going to be what you expect on the day. If you expect the slow, calm day, it's probably not going to be that day. The days where I look at the scope and I'm like, this is going to be crazy. It's never been a day you can expect and can't be prepared for it either.

We once had a band that had to stream into Japan until like 3:00 in the morning, and no one really expected to get that phone call that day or even how to navigate that situation. So I was like, well, walk me through it. And we did it. We hung out till 3:00 in the morning and we had all the cameras lined up upstairs. And that was not a day anyone expected that we’d be streaming to Japan. But it's always something fun and hopefully exciting. Watching the end results has always been really amazing.

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