How to Create an Audio Production Budget [With Template]

Audio production allows companies to establish a unique sonic identity that aligns with their brand. Companies can reinforce their message, build brand recognition, and create a memorable audio experience for their audience by creating custom sound.

However, producing high-quality audio on your own would be difficult. Professional-grade equipment is expensive, and editing and mastering audio requires extensive skill.

Audio production companies can help your business produce content for radio ads, videos, podcasts, voiceovers, sound branding, and more, but how much should you budget for your project?

In this article, we will guide you through the steps of creating a budget specifically for audio production. 

What Goes Into an Audio Production Budget

Audio production companies provide access to their experts and various tools to create high-quality audio content. As such, a budget for audio production usually includes:

• Equipment: In addition to a professional-grade microphone that captures high-quality sound, you will need a digital audio workstation for editing and recording, a musical digital interface to compose, studio headphones, monitors, MIDI controllers, and more, depending on the type of audio you’re recording.  
• Composition: Composition in audio production is the art of arranging and organizing musical elements to create a cohesive and engaging piece of music. It is the foundation upon which a song is built, where melodies, harmonies, rhythms, and lyrics come together to form a meaningful and impactful musical experience.  
• Sound design: Sound design is the art of creating and manipulating audio elements to enhance storytelling, evoke emotions, and provide a rich auditory experience.
• Recording & production: Audio production begins even before the recording process. Audio producers will discuss the overall concept, decide on the desired sound and style, and outline the creative direction. Then, they oversee the recording process. Then, they will edit, mix, and master recorded audio to bring the client’s vision to life. 
• Sound editing: Sound editors use specialized software and tools to accomplish tasks. They may cut and splice audio clips, adjust equalization and frequencies, apply effects, and synchronize audio with visual elements.  
• Mixing: Mixing audio is the process of combining individual audio tracks, adjusting their levels, panning, and adding effects to create a harmonious and balanced final mix.  
• Mastering: Mastering is the final step in audio production, where the audio is optimized for playback across different platforms and formats, including adjusting overall levels, enhancing dynamics, and ensuring consistency in sound quality.

How to Create a Budget for Audio Production 

• Identify the type of audio production 
• Scope your project 
• Determine if this will be a recurring expense
• Ask peers about similar projects 
• Connect with audio production companies

Identify the Type of Audio Production 

Audio production is a broad term that can refer to many different services. Since the scale of the project is largely dependent on what you’re trying to accomplish, the type of audio production can have a big impact on the cost of your project.

Here are some of the most common services audio production companies offer:

• Studio recording: Recording audio in a studio ensures high-quality sound thanks to acoustics, professional-grade equipment, and expert recorders. This is perfect for recording music, voice acting, and more. 
• Music production: Music production includes everything needed to produce music for TV, video, radio, and more. This includes songwriting, composition, mixing, and mastering. 
• Voiceovers: Voiceovers are popular for TV ads, education videos, animation, and documentaries. This is when narration is put on top of a video. 
• Podcasting: Similar to radio, this sound-focused media channel is very popular right now. Companies often lean on podcasts to promote new products, build thought leadership, and grow brand awareness. 
• Foreign language dubbing: In order to reach broader audiences, foreign dubbing is a type of voiceover when actors translate dialog.  

The type of audio production you are looking for will also impact the tools you need, the specialist you hire, and the composition of your team. After all, you will want to hire an audio production company that has all the resources you need to deliver the results you’re looking for. 

Scope Your Project 

Some projects are simply bigger than others and, therefore, will be more expensive. Of course, this is influenced by the audio's length, but other factors can cause the project cost to balloon as well. To keep your audio production budget in check, you must carefully consider the goals of your project and everything you will need to bring your vision to life.

For instance, you may need to hire voice actors or musicians if you’re looking to create a radio ad. Additionally, adding sound effects, Foley, or additional production elements can increase the overall cost. These elements require time and expertise to integrate seamlessly into the final audio mix.

You should also keep in mind that you may want to revise parts of your audio and make changes. This will increase labor costs and drive up the project's overall cost.

If you plan to use existing audio to enhance your own, you will also need to consider licensing and royalties costs. If the project involves using copyrighted music, samples, or other licensed materials, the associated fees and royalties need to be considered.

Determine If This Will Be A Recurring Expense

Many audio production projects are one-and-done. If you’re just trying to create a brand sound by developing your own brand jingle, this project may just be a one-off thing, but other projects require repetitive use of audio production facilities and equipment (and may even require you to bring on an audio production team on retainer).

If you plan to do a podcast or create a radio ad campaign that will require you to create new audio every quarter, audio production will become a recurring expense.

Carefully consider your goals to determine if you need to create a budget for a single project or need to estimate monthly or quarterly expenses.

Ask Peers About Similar Projects 

When budgeting for an audio production project, you should already have a decent idea of the market rate and how much it will cost for your project. One of the best ways to estimate the overall cost of your project is by speaking with others in your industry who have produced similar products.

Not sure who to get in touch with? That’s okay. Clutch has gathered data from thousands of reviewers to determine how much it costs to hire an audio production company for various services.

Learn more about what impacts the cost in Clutch’s ‘Audio Production Pricing Guide.’

Connect with Audio Production Companies 

Finally, who you hire can have a big impact on the overall cost of your project. When hiring, be sure to contact several audio production companies for quotes. Discuss your project scope in detail, as well as your budget.

Each audio production company will be able to discuss their hourly rates and provide an estimate for the cost of your partnership. Not only will this help you narrow down your search when hiring a service provider, but it will also help you get a better understanding of what you can expect to spend. 

Audio Production Budget Template

Download Clutch’s Audio Production Budget Template here.

Factors for Audio Production Costs 

As discussed above, there are many factors that can influence the cost of your audio production project. As you create your budget, be sure to consider the following to make sure you’re allocating enough resources to the project:

• Type of audio production 
• Scale of project
• Equipment needed 
• Team experience and size 
• Location

With a better understanding of audio production costs, you’ll be able to keep your budget in-check and avoid surprise expenses. 

Get The Most Out Of Your Audio Production By Budgeting Properly 

Creating a budget is a critical step when hiring an audio production company. By carefully considering the scope of your project and what you hope to achieve by hiring an audio production company, you can get an understanding of how much you should set aside for the project.

Similarly, this budget will provide useful information on where you should be spending your money to get the most out of your project. By prioritizing your budget, you will set your project up for success regardless of whether you’re studio recording, producing music, doing voiceovers, or anything else.