I created the Studios 301 Academy to give upcoming engineers a chance to have an all practical experience and understand what it's like working from Australia’s only top-tier studio. This is not an audio engineering school, this is removing people from their classrooms or home studios and putting them in one of the world's best studios with real working engineers. That experience combined with complete access to the extended professional music community is an invaluable experience you can only get at 301.

Getting to be in the room and watch while records were actually being made was a huge part of my development as an engineer. Hearing how the song was supposed to sound at each stage of the process, from raw recordings through to finished mix and then master, really helped me understand what I was trying to achieve at each stage. In an era when most people don’t get the advantage of coming up through the hierarchy of a busy working studio I think it’s great that we can offer an opportunity to bridge the gap.

Studios 301 Academy experience is the perfect culmination for anyone who has been studying to break into the recording end of the Music Industry. In my close to 5 decades of working in the Music Industry in A&R and Promotions, I’ve not seen a project that in 5 weeks gives such a comprehensive and thorough insight into the important aspects of operating as an up and coming Engineer/Producer. I look forward to being involved and giving an overview of the key elements needed in creating great music that can rise above the competition in a world that is more crowded than ever before when it comes to talent.

From a mastering engineer perspective, the ability to sit in a mix session and have direct dialogue with a mix engineer is invaluable and very unique to 301. For upcoming engineers, being able to see an end-to-end overview of the entire process, and understand first hand how these relationships work is something you can't find in any other studios in the country. That’s what sets this apart.

301 is a no compromise world class studio that I dreamt of working at as a younger engineer in South Africa. I would have loved to have the opportunity to see behind the glass how working professionals, who’ve been through the intern/runner/assistant program (this normally takes about 4 years), run a session from start to finish with no excuses. It’s an amazing opportunity and privilege.

Studios 301 Academy represents a unique opportunity in the world of audio education. The opportunity to learn from Australia's best engineers in a high end studio complex is something I would have jumped at when I was fresh out for audio school.

Upholding the highest standard of audio excellence is what it means to be a 301 engineer. Even as engineers we spend every day in the studio continually learning to be better. The academy is a chance for upcoming engineers to understand this in the real world.

At Listen Up Music, we strongly believe in the strong links between music and mental health. We are also acutely aware of the lack of mental health education for those embarking on careers in the music industry. That's why we're really excited about partnering with Studios 301 to offer mental health education as part of their upcoming Academy.