Conversations with Trent Harrison

Today we’d like to introduce you to Trent Harrison.

Hi Trent, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today. 
Hourglass Studios was established in 2010 in Wilmington, NC. But the story begins much earlier than that. My journey into the music industry stems from a love of playing. My main instrument is the bass guitar, which I started playing in late middle school/early high school. Towards the end of high school, when the time came to consider what to study in college and, ultimately a career path, music was my only passion. Around that same time, I started recording my high school band and really took to it. I found the technical side of music very interesting and enjoyable. I discovered that Guilford Tech in High Point, NC, had an Entertainment Technologies degree with a focus on Recording Engineering. That was it for me. I applied and started in the fall after graduating high school. During my time at Guilford Tech, I started to put my studies to use by recording my band at the time. It was a great way to gain some experience early on. The conditions weren’t great then, with limited equipment, growing knowledge, and a space not well suited for recording. I gave it my best shot though. Looking back, I’m glad I spent as much time as I did recording very early on, because that, along with my internship experience, is what led me to strive toward starting my own studio. Before I did that though, I needed some business sense. After finishing my degree in Recording Engineering, I did just that. I applied to UNCW’s business school and studied Entrepreneurship and Business Development. During my time at UNCW, I joined another band in town, playing Jam Rock music. It was a ton of fun, and more importantly, it opened my eyes to how vibrant and active Wilmington’s music scene is. After graduating from UNCW, it was time to put both my degrees to work and open Hourglass Studios. From there, the real journey began, and it wasn’t easy. 

In the beginning, I was doing anything and everything I could to gain experience and build my portfolio. I would go out to shows looking for bands that were just starting out and needed recordings. I would offer to record 1 or 2 songs for them for free, just for the experience. After having a handful of songs under my belt, I then had something to show for my work and was able to gain some legitimate business. Things started out slow, but for the first year, I thought it was working pretty well; still not exactly booming, but working enough to keep going. The second year was more of the same. I had a handful of projects, but it wasn’t a full plate at hardly any point throughout the year. I began to get a little discouraged that maybe there wasn’t enough business in town to be sustainable. Contrary to what I remembered while playing shows around town. 

I remember a point sometime over halfway through my second year when I was questioning how much longer I would be able to run the business if things didn’t pick up. Something needed to change, or I needed to figure out a creative way to get my name out there. I was telling a close friend about my struggles and how I might have to call it quits if things didn’t pick up. He thought I should try to work it out that he thought the recordings I was producing were good quality; they just needed a larger audience. Together, we brainstormed a marketing idea that changed everything. This is where my business degree really came in handy. How to spread the word about Hourglass Studios and drive as many musicians to the studio as possible. Essentially, the plan was to host a music video competition in the studio. The basic idea was to have bands/artists sign up for a chance to win a free EP. I would have the band or artist come to the studio record 1 song, live in the studio, and shoot a video of the performance. I would then mix and master the audio and edit it with the video. Then once it was finished, we would post them on Facebook for people to vote for who they thought had the best song/video. This turned out to be a brilliant idea for the studio. Not only did I have almost 20 new bands/artists come to the studio for the first time to be in the competition, but I also had all their friends, family, and fans funneled to the studio’s Facebook page to vote on the videos. It was a win-win scenario. Each band that competed got a free music video to use for promotion after the competition, plus an opportunity for their music to be heard by tons of new potential fans coming to our page to vote. Then on top of that, if they won or came in the top 3, they won recording time. On the studio side, I met 20 new bands in town, and over 60% of them came back and booked studio time. Which made it well worth it with that aspect alone. Then through the online exposure and newly broadened audience, more bands/artists found Hourglass Studios. Business was booming! That was the turning point for the studio. We ended up hosting that Free EP Competition 2 more times after that, each time improving upon the idea and increasing the quality. After the second year, I was so far booked out that I could hardly keep up. We honestly didn’t need to run the competition the third time, but the music community loved it and kept asking about it, so we made it happen. 

This took me to around the 5–6-year mark of Hourglass Studios. By that time the name was out, quality had been increasing year after year, and I had built a solid catalog of music. It became clear that Hourglass Studios was here to stay and was rising to become one of the top studios in Wilmington, NC. I was working with a good majority of the better bands/artists in the area. From there, my story continued, and the studio kept growing. 

In 2016 it was clear I needed a bigger studio space and that the business was doing well enough to consider a long-term investment in building a studio. That’s exactly was happened. That side of the story is equally as long, but to sum it up briefly, I began making strides toward building a studio in Wilmington. Working with a Nashville-based studio designer as well as local architects and contractors, all the while running the studio as normal. Business remained steady, and the artists I was working with were gaining notoriety. The studio design/build process turned into a much larger undertaking than I could have ever imagined. Lots of ups and downs, twists and turns. A great deal of that was due to the pandemic. Ideas changed, and the size and location. But, also as a by-product of the lockdown period of the pandemic, artists had written more songs than ever before. Business exploded! Pre-pandemic, I was usually booked 6-8 weeks out, and I remember a time when I was over 6 months booked out. It was wild. I feel like it’s just now settling back down to a normal amount of projects. At the end of all of that, the studio was completed last year in 2022. I’ve just hit my one-year anniversary. I’m settling in nicely to the new Hourglass Studios. From here, we’ll be doing what we’ve always been driven to do, create high-quality recordings of great music! 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a Recording Engineer/Producer. I’d say that I specialize in most forms of Rock music and Americana/Folk music. 

I think I’m known for being very easy to work with and providing a comfortable space that fosters great performances from my clients. 

I’d have to say that I’m most proud of a large handful of artists that I’ve worked with over the years and their continued success with their music. I couldn’t say anyone or any album specifically, but instead, serval accomplishments that add up to a larger sense of pride in my work. 

What sets me apart from other engineers/producers is my personable nature and patience. I’ve developed a lot of patience over the years, and when working with the artist, you need to have patience to let them explore their feels/emotions through the music. 

What makes you happy?
When I hear people are enjoying my work. When I see how happy it makes people to listen to the music I’ve produced, that makes me happy. The reason why, to me, is the whole reason I do it in the first place because I enjoy music, and it makes me happy to enjoy it with others. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hourglassstudios.com
• Instagram: @hourglassstudiosnc
• Facebook: facebook.com/HGSNC
• Youtube: @hourglassstudiosnc