Royal City Studios can keep its doors open for another day thanks to an outpouring of support from the community.
Owner Jim Duffield opened the studio, which offers musicians a space to rehearse, record and perform, in 2019 after struggling to find a space for his own band to rehearse. But running a business targeted at local musicians proved to be challenging throughout the pandemic, and he found himself swimming in $200,000 in debt as he tried to keep the studio open.
He launched a fundraising campaign last month, which has passed the minimum goal of $50,000 earlier this week, hitting $67,000 thanks to community support – and a new partner, who contributed $50,000.
“The intention of getting that together was to go into this as a partnership,” said Guelph resident Dan Scholz, who is a musician with a background in accounting.
He vaguely knew of the studio before, but when the fundraiser kicked off, he started paying more attention.
“The community here blew me away … the news that this place might go under, seeing the response also blew me away. So it didn't it didn't take long for me to decide that this was the right thing to do,” he said.
Duffield referred to his new partner as one of those “gems that you never knew existed and all of a sudden appears in front of you.”
“He’s great at accounting, and that financial outlook is gonna really help us be disciplined with what we’re doing, and make sure we have a clear plan of action that is sustainable,” he said. “He loves music, he loves what we’ve created, and has really responded to it in a way that was totally unexpected and wonderful.”
The pair are now in the process of transitioning the studio into a not-for-profit, with the help of partners like the Guelph Arts Council (GAC).
“RCS is, to my knowledge, the only recording studio in Guelph – as such, the ability to host a facility is vital to the musical fabric of Guelph,” said GAC executive director Damian Weston. “I hope that with a transition to a nonprofit model, GAC can partner to create exciting educational and cross-discipline events and learning opportunities.”
In particular, he is hoping for an increased focus and outreach to youth and diverse communities “who often have barriers to engaging with facilities” like RCS.
“Art can be transformative, for the community and individual alike, and non-profit status would facilitate the opportunity to bring these transformative experiences to more people,” he said.
Scholz said part of what they’re figuring out now is how they “can give back to the community and still do what we want to do.”
The details of both their partnership and the transition to a not-for-profit are still being hashed out.
They are in the process of assembling a team to assess the different options, and soliciting feedback from the musicians in the community who value their services.
Duffield said the support from the community has been overwhelming and “really touching.”
“So many thanks to each and every one of you who helped get us here,” Duffield wrote on the GoFundMe page, which they plan to keep up to reach their $200,000 goal. “This is a time of celebration for the Music Community in Guelph and the surrounding area.”
“We’re going to do something really cool for the city, and put Guelph on the map. It’s going to be pretty neat,” Scholz said.
