Clients & Sales

Synthesized 2026-05-06 from 29 docs in ~/trc-drive-exec/Clients/ + Sales/.

Overview

TRC operates a membership-first model rather than a traditional drop-in studio rental. Clients are predominantly musicians, producers, and creatives who join as members, gaining monthly studio credits. A secondary tier of non-member clients books the space for one-off productions, corporate-style recordings, or large events (e.g., BBC Live Lounge shoots). Revenue comes from recurring membership fees, supplemental studio hours, engineering labor, gear rental, and full-facility private events.

TRC was founded by Greg Spero as an evolution of Tiny Room Studios (formerly in Inglewood). Santa Monica location opened November 2024. Former Inglewood members were given a transition path with waived initiation fees via promo code Inglewood.

Client Types

Sales Process

Pre-Opening Strategy (Oct–Nov 2024)

Documented in Sales/Membership Sales Strategy.docx (2024-10-03):

1. Directed Outreach — Personalized, individual targeting led by Rae, executed by Greg, Larry (personal leads only), Arturo, Jacob, and Joel Berk. Leads tracked in the Pipeline spreadsheet. Joel ran a drip email campaign; personal leads had tailored outreach (email, text, DM, phone).

2. Task Force — Small group of outside promoters. Compensation: 10 hours studio time + $216 per membership sold (4% of $5,400 annual fee), paid after first payment processed.

3. VIP Preview Experiences — Open house-style events Oct 21–23, 2024 (7:30–10 PM). RSVP-only. Staff: Rae, Arturo, Greg; nonalcoholic wellness beverages (Jacob); Kaury on tech demos; live musical guests. Incentive: 5 bonus studio hours in first month if applied within 24 hours of attendance. Waitlist overflow handled by adding a Thursday night event (Oct 24).

4. Marketing Campaigns:

   • Leverage Tiny Room Inglewood transition — email blast to former members, waived initiation with promo code
   • Targeted survey campaign with discount incentive
   • Social media brand tease (in development)
   • Grand opening VIP launch party with artist performances

Post-Opening Ongoing Motion

• Review and continue directed outreach as needed
• Social content: testimonials, event recaps
• Member referral program: studio time or event access for referrals; 4% cash for Task Force members
• Co-marketing with artists who use the space

Sales Funnel Stages (from Pipeline spreadsheet)

1. Prospect — Initial contact, info email sent
2. Pursuing — Active outreach underway
3. Approved Applicant — Application accepted, awaiting membership finalization
4. Current Member — Active paid or comp membership
5. Archived — Past members, cancelled, or paused

Key Sales Contacts (by role)

• Greg Spero — founder, personal leads
• Arturo Stable — COO, personal contacts, open houses; arturo@therecording.club, (610) 731-4520
• Rae — directed outreach lead (pre-opening)
• Jacob Dennis — coordination; jacob@therecording.club, (213) 537-3107
• Ari Brelig — day-of POC for sessions; ari@threcording.club, (213) 537-3107
• General inquiry: info@therecording.club / hi@therecording.club

Pricing & Quotes

Membership Tiers

Source: Sales/The Recording Club – Membership Information.docx (2025-05-03, most recent)

• Initiation Fee: $5,000 (frequently waived for early members, VIP preview attendees, Inglewood alumni, referrals)
• Credit rollover: Up to 3 months ($4,050 max rollover for Base)
• Extra credits: Members buy additional credits at 50% of retail (double value per dollar)
• Total stated value (Base): $2,570/month for $450 fee

Room Rental Rates (Member Credit Rates)

Source: Sales/TRC Studio Rental Pricing- Members.docx (2025-03-12) and MonoNeon offer (2025-08-16)

Full-Facility Private Events (Member Rate)

Source: Clients/Mononeon Membership Offer.docx (2025-08-16)

• Member rate: $2,000 (with staff)
• Public rate: $5,000

Full-Facility Exclusive Rental (Non-Member/Non-Credit)

Source: Sales/TRC Studio Rental Pricing- Members.docx (2025-03-12)

• 3 hours: $2,600
• Each additional 30 min: $350
• Cleaning fee: $250
• Studio Coordinator: $25/hour
• Refundable security/damage deposit: $500

Studio credit may not be applied toward full-facility booking fees.

Engineering & Supplemental Rates

Source: Multiple docs, consistent across all

Members must pay engineering fees out of pocket (not from studio credits).

Session Guest/Participant Fees

• Guests joining member: $25/day pass for amenity access
• Session participants: up to 6 included; beyond 6 = $10/person + studio approval
• Studio engineer required when using studio equipment (or bring your own)

Off-Day/Closed-Day Rate (Specific Client SOP)

• Kaury Hooper: $40/hour for Monday (normally closed) or other off-day sessions Source: Clients/Kaury Hooper Sessions SOP.docx (2025-10-31)

Gear Rental (Third-Party Client Example)

Source: Clients/Miles Electric Big Band/M.E.B Gear Rental Rates.xlsx (2026-01-21)

Selected per-day rates:

• Hammond B3 + Leslie: $400/day
• Yamaha Motif XS8: $200/day
• Fender Twin Reverb Deluxe: $150/day
• QSC Monitor: $75/day
• Stagehand (2 personnel × 4 days): $4,000 flat
• Vehicle transport (1 × 4 days): $2,000
• Total quoted for 6 days: $11,970

Active / Notable Clients

Institutional / Non-Member Production Clients

BBC — Ongoing relationship for "Live Lounge"-style artist recording sessions at TRC. Two documented sessions:

• Frost Children x BBC — 2026-01-30
• Samara Cyn x BBC — 2026-04-14 (most recent)

Format: 3 songs recorded "as live," 4K UHD / 25fps / Blackmagic RAW, Pro Tools → YouTube stream → BBC London, Zoom monitoring with BBC Audio Head, stripped session delivered post-recording. Staffing: 1 FOH + 1 mixing engineer, 5 camera operators + video director, 1 lighting engineer.

Jeff Robinson (MBK Entertainment) — Major production session (Sept 7, 2025). Full-day event: live performance capture (soundstage) + interview segments (bar, mixing room). Artists: Osé, Jourden, Tone. POC: Misha Hedman (misha@mbkentertainment.com). Cost breakdown from internal doc:

• Audio Engineers: 2 × $30/hr × 11 hr = $330 (billed as $375 in draft — see open questions)
• Video Engineers: 2 × $35/hr × 11 hr = $375 (billed as same)
• Lighting Engineer: 1 × $50/hr × 11 hr = $550
• Live Room Setup fee: $100 flat
• Live Room Rental: $180/hr × 3 hrs = $540
• Membership Credits Applied: $1,800 (zeroed out rental)
• Grand Total: $1,895 (Sparklite rental TBD)

Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (MAF) — Member showcase event 5/20/25. Guest count ~65. Invoice: N/A (member event). Artists: MAF (acoustic piano, compositions, electric violin w/ effects), Liza Wallace (harp), Andres Renteria (percussion). Source: Clients/Client Files/Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Event 5/20/25.docx.

Miles Electric Big Band — Multi-day gear rental, Jan 24–29, 2026. Total quoted: $11,970.

Known Current Members (from archive + studio credit list, as of mid-2025)

Studio credit tracking list (Clients/Studio Credit Links for Members.docx, June 2025) includes ~65+ named members. Archive membership list (from Pipeline spreadsheet, circa Nov 2024 launch) includes 27 numbered members at opening plus honorary and scholarship members.

Notable named members/alumni:

• Jahari Stampley, Jimetta Smith (Rose), Ginny Luke, Tia Parchman, B.A.M. (Brandon) Hodge, Austin Kolbe, Josh Boswell, John Lowell, Michael Walsh, Ruslan Sirota, Herman Jackson, Steven Olikara, Pia Salvia, Erik Wissa, Duross O'Bryan, Ross Strome, Keith Crutchfield, Stephen Sideroff, Ayaka Matsui, Justin Lee-Schultz, Keith Yokomoto, Wessley Hernandez, Jesus Molina, Andrew Kline, Dalton Mumphrey, Budda Foster, Justin Sanchez, Jawann Blanchey, Sarah Reich, Devin Daniels, Solomon Dorsey, Julianna Pirillo, Evan Brau, Alan D'Auria, Judah Bell, Sam Barsh, Joel Bunn, Hadrien Feraud, Valentina Sheldon, Mark Walberg, Jeff Robinson, Cory Henry, Sophie Shaw, Sean Knierim, Danielle Williams, Makeda Habtemariam, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Jolby Kimble, Skyler Williams, Andres Renteria, Robert "Sput" Searight, Terreon Gully, Liza Wallace, Samrat JP, Andrea Botez, Francisco "Cisco" Espaillat, Chazz Nittolo, Caroline Dezelle

Honorary (do not email blast): Herbie Hancock, Jon Batiste, Christian Scott, Tony Pritzker (investor; Pritzker + son Sacha get locker access)

MonoNeon — offered complimentary 1-year membership (value: $10,400) in exchange for recording session contribution with Greg Spero, August 2025.

Paused / Cancelled Members (as of Sept 2025)

Source: Clients/Paused Members 9/4/25.docx

• Pia Saliva — Paused until 10/1
• Kiki Towner — Paused indefinitely
• Makeda Habtemariam — Paused until 11/30
• Keith Crutchfield — Paused until Dec 31
• Caroline Dezellie — Wants to cancel
• Keith Yokomoto — Cancelled 10/1

November 2025 Unpaid Members (partial list)

Source: Clients/November Unpaid Memberships.docx

• DeP (reached out), Chas (reached out), BAM (reached out)

Sales Pipeline & Tools

Pipeline Spreadsheet

Sales/Santa Monica Membership Sales Pipeline.xlsx (last updated 2025-05-28). Sheets:

• Pipeline (main active tracking)
• ARCHIVE — Membership List (launch cohort; self-noted as "no longer up to date")
• Greg Text Outreach
• Tectonics — did not attend
• Open House — Other
• Membership Sales Funnel Types
• Personal Contacts Funnel
• General Funnel
• Task Force Funnel
• Cold Outreach Funnel
• Membership Processing Funnel

Columns tracked: Status, Type (lead source), Name, Email, Phone, TRC Contact, Most Recent Outreach Date, Tour/Open House, Notes/Status Updates, About, Entered in Mailchimp CRM.

Lead sources tracked: Personal Contact, Referral, Website Sign Up, Open House Attendee, Original Waitlist, Former Client (TRS Inglewood), Other.

Pipeline status at last snapshot (2025-05-28):

• Current Members: 9 tracked in active pipeline (many more in archive/credit tracking)
• Approved Applicants: 2 (Diana Jeruan, Alan Dauria)
• Pursuing: ~35+ active prospects
• Prospects: ~60+ (majority from website sign-up drip)
• Investors noted in pipeline: Jason Weisenfeld, Oscar Montoya

Notable prospects being pursued:

• Sean P. Knierim, PhD — negotiating initiation fee discount
• Will Hurtado — Head of artists for UMG
• Arturo Sandoval — potential honorary member
• Luciana Souza & Larry Klein — interested, planned November 2024 visit
• Tony Greenberg — potential investor, invited to Shabbat dinners

CRM

Mailchimp used for CRM. Pipeline has a column confirming entry into Mailchimp.

Member Studio Credit Tracking

Individual Google Sheets per member, linked centrally in Clients/Studio Credit Links for Members.docx. Example (DeP): credits tracked monthly with line-item bookings, supplemental engineer fees, and remaining balance.

Outreach Templates

Sales/Sales Email Content/ contains:

• Initial Sales Email — brand intro, limited membership framing, apply or reply CTA
• Replies Template — invites to VIP Preview or private tour
• Open House Follow-Up — thanks + $5,000 initiation fee waiver offer + apply CTA
• Arturo VIP Follow-Up — personal COO outreach post-open-house
• Approved Applicant Follow-Up — urgency reminder, promo code FIRSTBEAT for waived initiation
• Inglewood Member Follow-Up — transition announcement, promo code Inglewood
• Members To Reach Out To — internal win-back list (Ayaka Matsuyah, Michael Walsh, Danielle Williams, Bernard Edwards, Chasity Clarity)

Referral Incentives

• Members: additional studio time or exclusive event access for each referred new member
• Task Force promoters: $216 cash per confirmed membership (paid after first payment)
• Early applicants: promo code FIRSTBEAT waives $5,000 initiation fee; VIP attendees also receive initiation fee waiver

Key Facts at a Glance

Open Questions / Contradictions

1. Jeff Robinson cost breakdown discrepancy: Internal doc shows Audio Engineers (2 × $30/hr × 11 hr = $330) but labels it as "$375" in the rate column — matches Video Engineer rate. May be a copy-paste error or the rate was $35/hr for audio in that session. (Source: Clients/INTERNAL: Jeff Robinson Session 9/7/25.docx)

2. Pipeline vs. credit-tracking member count mismatch: The active Pipeline sheet shows only 9 "Current Member" rows, but the Studio Credit Links doc (June 2025) lists ~65+ members with individual trackers. The archive is self-noted as "no longer up to date." True active member count is not definitively stated in any document.

3. Initiation fee inconsistency: The $5,000 initiation fee appears routinely waived (open house attendees, early applicants, Inglewood alumni, honorary members, trade members). It is unclear whether the fee is collected from any paying members at all at this stage.

4. Kaury Hooper rate: $40/hour SOP rate for off-day sessions is below the standard Podcast Room rate of $90/hour and well below the Rehearsal Room rate of $120/hour. Unclear if this is a negotiated member rate, a staff-adjacent arrangement, or simply below-market.

5. BBC commercial terms: Both BBC session SOPs contain detailed technical specs but no pricing or fee structure. It is unknown whether BBC sessions are revenue-generating engagements or partnership arrangements.

6. Membership count at current date (May 2026): No document in this bundle gives a current (2026) member count. The most recent member-adjacent data is the November 2025 unpaid list and paused members list (September 2025).

7. Gold tier usage: No document references a Gold-tier ($900/month) member by name. Unclear if any have been sold.

8. Non-member studio rental: The pricing doc lists non-member rental rates for the full facility but does not list per-room non-member hourly rates. Whether non-members can book individual rooms (without a membership) and at what rate is not stated.

Sources