Meet Randall Michael Tobin of Theta Media Group in Burbank

Today we’d like to introduce you to Randall Michael Tobin.

Randall, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Theta Media Group began as Theta Sound Studio, which came about from my desire to create a studio for myself (and any collaborators) for the purpose of producing and recording our own material. Early forms of the studio before it became Theta Sound could be found in the barracks of the Air Force bases I was stationed at between 1972 (Novato, California) and 1975 (Bitburg, Germany). Upon leaving the service, I set up shop in north Florida for a year while playing in two bands with former Air Force buddies, and refining my recording and mixing skills. When I returned to my hometown of Los Angeles in 1976, I set the studio up in my apartment, until finally going official in August of 1977.

Based on the records I was producing and engineering for clients, the word got around of Theta Sound’s comfortable space and quality mixes for a decent price. The studio soon moved to larger quarters in the Los Feliz district and operated on the lower level of a two-story rental house until the Whittier earthquake hit in 1987. As fate would have it, the landlady used this seismic event to “evict” us, claiming the house was no longer safe. This turned out to be a real blessing in disguise as we were forced to find a place to own rather than be subject to the whim of a property owner. We found the perfect place in Burbank and have been doing great work here ever since.

What started as mainly an indie singer/songwriter project studio evolved into a place where established artists would come for the safe, creative space, while film and television composers loved the flexibility of the room and convenience to major studios like Disney, NBC and Universal. Theta Sound also added support services like video production, CD/DVD package design, and website design. The graphic arts “division” was named Theta Data. Eventually, all services came under the umbrella of a corporation, Theta Media Group.

Not lost in all this, I continued to write songs and compose. In 1998 I composed and recorded all the music for a feature-length ballet: “The Snow Queen,” which ran for 16 holiday seasons in the Glendale area. “The Snow Queen” soundtrack was featured in the 42nd Grammy® Awards Entry List for Best Contemporary Classical Composition, and the ballet production made the cover of the Verdugo Monthly as well as the L.A. Times Calendar section.

In recent years, Theta Sound has hosted acoustic “house concerts” featuring local and touring singer/songwriters whose music is reminiscent of the watershed years of Laurel Canyon in the 60s/70s. Art Podell, one of the artists who performed at Theta Sound Studio LIVE! lived in Laurel Canyon in the 60s after coming west from The Village in New York. In 2013, Art recorded an album, “From the Village to the Canyon – a songwriter’s journey” with me as co-producer. As fate would have it. the Grammy Museum in DTLA announced their then-upcoming Laurel Canyon exhibit for 2014. Art knew Henry Diltz from that era, whose iconic photographs of the legends of Laurel Canyon are recognizable to this day. Henry heard Art’s CD and got Art involved with the exhibit, including being on the Opening Day Panel at the Museum’s Clive Davis Theater, and carrying Art’s CD for sale at the gift shop, alongside Henry’s photography book. Another organizer of the exhibit was rock journalist and long-time Theta Sound client, Harvey Kubernik. His book, “Canyon of Dreams,” also served as the basis for the Grammy Museum exhibit.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Starting any business is always challenging. But I’ve always loved music and technology, so I was doing it for the love of the art. Getting paid for it was just icing on the cake. For the first few years of the studio I had two successive industry-related day jobs which paid the bills while my client list grew organically.

The government gives you five years to turn a profit on a new business, otherwise, it’s considered a hobby and expenses cannot be deducted on your taxes. Fortunately, by year five we were making a profit and I didn’t need that day job anymore.

As far as the hills and valleys that can befall any business, I bought gear I could afford and made it sound like a million bucks! I was aware of the trends in technology and went with the formats and standards adopted by the film and TV composers. When personal digital technology took off, enabling virtually anyone with a laptop and a bedroom to become a “recording studio,” I had already added graphic design, video production and website development services to my skill set. The key to staying successful in this ever-changing field is diversifying into related arts and technologies. When you think about it, once a song or album has been recorded, mixed and mastered, it needs to be packaged and promoted. Who better to design the artwork, website and even shoot and direct the music video than the producer of the song? Other than the artist, no one else has the same creative investment in the song than I do.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Theta Media Group – what should we know?
Theta Media Group is unique in that we deal with multiple forms of media: audio, video, print and on-line. When you think about it, being able to produce excellent products in all of these disciplines is necessary to creating engaging websites. Experience in marketing, promotion, copy writing and public relations is also key to developing an effective digital business strategy; something that every artist needs to embrace if they are to succeed in making their art known to their target audience anywhere in the world.

I wear many hats, professionally, and I love them all: Musician (Piano, Keyboards [including Virtual Instruments like Orchestral Sample Libraries], Bass, Percussion, Blues Harp), Producer, Studio Engineer (Recording, Editing, Mixing, Mastering, Audio Restoration), Live Sound Engineer, Location Recording Engineer, Songwriter, Lyricist, Composer, Arranger, Collaborator, Graphic Designer, Typesetter, Videographer (Director, Editor, Renderer, DVD Authoring), Website Designer/Developer, Seminar Presenter (Music Production, Digital Graphics, Web Design), Conference Organizer, Author, Publisher, Audio Wiring Engineer, Computer Consultant, Studio Designer, Impresario and a few others I’m sure I’ve left out! Non-professionally, I started making organic artisan sourdough bread last December to give as gifts, and the stuff has become legendary (just check out my Randall Michael Tobin fb page for dozens of kudos from recipients)! To date I’ve given away 86 loaves of this amazing bread.

We are one of the very few companies in this industry that is still doing well after 40 years. That’s a singular achievement. In fact, the studio gets used more these days in creating the audio and video content for our website clients. And we know the Web will continue to grow for years to come, so people will always need compelling content.

What sets us apart from others is the experience and competence I’ve gathered over the years. Long before I ever charged a fee, I was learning and refining the art and craft of music and technology. I learned graphic design and typesetting in junior high school and was able to jump right in when those tools arrived in the form of computers and software. I’ve recorded on tape, edited with razor blades, and cut vinyl records, which makes what I do in the digital world of today sound (and look) better. But even with all that, it’s not so much about us, it’s about our clients. Our slogan kind of says it all: “Because the world needs your vision”; that vision can be music, message, product, service, etc. It’s all about helping clients achieve their purpose.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
There have been artists and musician friends that have inspired me along the way: a fellow musician in my Air Force days told me about his friend in New York who had his own recording studio. Until that moment, I never considered I could have my own studio! So I set one up in my barracks room and started recording with him and other “moonlighting” Air Force musicians. We produced some really cool stuff in that little space.

After I turned pro, I read George Martin’s book, “All You Need Is Ears.” This was a great read by one of the first (and best) producers of all time. People who have asked me to write and/or collaborate have also been a huge inspiration. The results of those projects created quite an emotional effect on listeners, and audience members alike.

I got married in 1983 and my wife, Cyndie, helps with the “client experience” and also handles various administrative tasks.

But for the most part, I founded, evolved and continue this endeavor pretty much by myself.

Pricing:

• Fees vary depending on the required services, but range from $60 to $300 per hour.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thetamediagroup.com
• Phone: 818-9-555-888
• Email: [email protected]
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RandallMichaelTobin
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/theta-sound-studio-burbank
• Other: https://www.thetasound.com

Image Credit:
Randall Michael Tobin
Denice Duff
Julianne Christoffel
Sherry Rayn Barnett
Roderick Davis

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