How co-working spaces are changing the music industry

Only just a few years ago, companies and freelancers were working out of a garage or your mom’s basement. For example, Steve Jobs with Apple, or Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook. With the number of freelancers of the increase, remote workers becoming more common, and the ability to work from anywhere in the world now a real possibility, co-working spaces are certainly on the rise.

This is essentially a shared environment between freelancers, remote workers and other people working inside a collaborative location or office. Often, this is within large cities such as Los Angeles, Sydney, Singapore etc. With no need to pay utility bills or any furniture costs, it is certainly an extremely viable option for record labels & PR agencies etc to have an office in major cities without a lot of the major costs normally incurred. Not only are these offices extremely productive for the majority of people, but they also help with networking – due to being in constant proximity with like-minded entrepreneurs and freelancers.

Of course, there are many advantages to having a co-working space when you’re in the music industry. With the majority of offices costing only $500-1500 per month, the low cost provides a perfect opportunity to invest in other activities that will generate revenue. Likewise, if you want to set up a meeting in a foreign country, you can easily hire a temporary office via the likes of WeWork in order to accommodate your needs perfectly. Another reason why shared co-working spaces are great for the music industry is because there are fewer responsibilities to handle when using the office. There is no need to hire cleaners, buy coffee & tea, or any other minor expenses etc. Instead, everything is totally taken care of for you – allowing you to be productive with your time.

Many traditional offices require a mandatory leasing period of multiple years in commitment. Understandably, this is inconvenient for most people in the music industry due to the excessively high prices & lack of flexibility. Whilst on the contrary, a lot of co-working spaces are able to be leased on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis. So if you’re traveling the world meeting people from around the music industry, it provides the perfect opportunity to have a creative workplace no matter where you are.

Another great reason for using collaborative co-working spaces within the music industry is that it’s perfect for startups. Many record labels, and other companies, often face a relatively small budget, uncertain futures, and an array of other issues – thus making it difficult to invest thousands of dollars into traditional office space. The flexibility & low costs in which a co-working space offers allows pretty much any startup to have a productive environment in which they are able to work efficiently from.

Also, with the majority of business being centered around metropolitan cities such as New York, Amsterdam, Paris, Beijing etc, it typically makes sense to have an office in those particular types of locations. Shared office spacers in urban centers allow people within the music industry to have an ease of access for networking, whilst also maintaining close ties to strategic places such as an international airport.

With the traditional workspace constantly evolving, co-working spaces certainly provide a viable option for music industry professionals wishing to have an office location.