RECORDING CONNECTION TAPS UNITED (MIX MAGAZINE)

With all the focus in education turning to manageable debt and a mentor-based approach, you can almost feel the bones growing at Recording Connection, the 20-plus-year-old “alternative education” outlet for budding audio pros. Last month, just before AES, the organization announced the signup of the famed Ocean Way Recording (recently renamed United Recorders, its original moniker when designed by Bill Putnam in the late 1950s) to it’s 48-state, 250-city, 375-studio, 400-plus mentors member network of externship-based training. It might just be the biggest jewel in the organization’s crown to date.

The educational concept at Recording Connection is simple: Standardize a curriculum, keep students out of debt, place them in one-on-one situations with real, vetted studio owners in local markets, teach the trade, then get a job. For a student looking at a particular geographic market or audio field, the local networking alone is a bonus. And the one-on-one mentoring cannot be overstated. As with anything else in life, what you get out of it depends on what you put into it.

With basic curriculum designed around Pro Tools, Logic and Ableton, Recording Connection does not pretend to be a be-all, end-all to audio education. Instead, it aims to put students in the market they want to work in, with working professionals who have something to say (look at the business model; you can bet studios aren’t doing it solely for the money).

Since 1983, Recording Connection (nee Recording, Radio & Film Connection) has consistently added mentors and facilities to its local and regional approach. The Ocean Way connection may just signal its step into the big time. More to come.

From Mix Magazine, November 2014