Recording Academy’s Producers & Engineers Wing Offers Safety Checklist For Studio Reopenings

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The Producers & Engineers Wing of the Recording Academy has compiled a list of safety measures with input from studio owners, engineers, and others in the industry to aid recording studios as they begin to reopen.

Guidelines include:

1. Evaluate rooms in the studio facility and make necessary adjustments to ensure social distancing (a minimum of six feet). In areas such as hallways where six feet of distance is not possible, stagger the use of the spaces to keep distance. Do not congregate in hallways, elevators or other spaces.

2. Until further notice, consider requiring individuals to wear cloth face coverings while inside the entire facility; in some parts of the country, face coverings may be required by law in outdoor areas as well. Ask clients to bring their own face coverings or masks, but consider having additional disposable masks, washable face coverings and disposable gloves on hand.

3. Have vocals or any instruments that cannot be performed with face coverings take place in an isolation room or an otherwise empty studio. No vocals in the control room if there are other people, including engineers and producers, in the control room.

4. Consider limiting studio access to essential personnel or, at minimum, limit the number of visitors. Limit the number of people allowed in the control room and/or performance spaces so that people can be at least six feet apart.

The full list of guidelines can be found here. Directives for opening are on a state-by-state and city-by-city basis and since knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic is constantly evolving, the P&E Wing requests comments and suggestions from others in the recording community, which can be sent to pe.wing@recordingacademy.com. In addition to the guidelines, they also suggest consulting national, state and local government agency guidance, including from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Lorie Hollabaugh
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