Straight into the Studio: Austin Smith
- Avant Media Institute mgmt
- Jul 16
- 5 min read
At Avant Media Institute, our 201 students get the opportunity to earn an internship at one of our partner recording studios, Lucky Run Studio, if they get the highest grade in the class. Austin’s drive and aptitude allowed him to get that internship which eventually evolved into long term employment at that prestigious studio. After 3 years of consistent work, and hundreds of hours in the engineering chair–working with bigger and bigger clients and undergoing personal growth– Austin is back at AMI with a spot on our Wall of Fame and some stories to tell.
Early Beginnings
Although Austin was destined to have close ties with music having a singer-songwriter mother, being in choir, and taking piano lessons from a young age, the path to getting to the audio production side of music was meandering. A love for music was instilled in him to be sure, but actually making music was not. After graduating high school, Austin decided to pursue broadcast journalism in college and would make music videos on the side, inching closer to the engineering chair. That was until the COVID-19 pandemic happened. The world was in disarray and he and his family were not exempt. They all moved states away to Texas, and Austin now seemed to have all the time in the world to now venture into producing and making beats. After months of experimenting, getting motivation from his friends –and some coaxing from his parents–Austin finally made his way to AMI to formally begin his audio engineering education journey.
Welcome to AMI
Once he finally figured out he could be involved in creating music without being in the spotlight, Austin had tunnel vision and only wanted to focus on mixing beats when he first started taking classes here at AMI. When he found out in our 101 course about the internship opportunity in 201, his competitive spirit and self confidence allowed him to look beyond mixing and to take the entirety of our program seriously. Now he had an open mind and was eager to learn.
“This is the place where, if you want to come in and get all the information, and you want to get into the field and execute as quick as possible, this is the place to do that.”
Looking back on his time here, Austin recalled many fond memories of the classes he took, but specifically recalled enjoying being mentored by the instructors. He spoke about his 101 instructor Chris Robinson, who helped the basics like signal flow feel attainable to learn. One of his favorite instructors, 201 Instructor Maestro, helped him beyond the textbook material or the practical applications of that material, stating “I learned how to develop artists tangentially through Maestro in the way that he was developing us.” The knowledgeable instructors at AMI helped to develop him into a well rounded audio engineer beyond technical knowledge, which he shows gratitude for. Beyond learning the basics of audio, Austin enjoyed being in the Avant community and the beauty of its diversity.
“You get to interact with a lot of different types of people…the first school that I'm going to where not everyone’s the same age as me.”
The diversity of his peers and their shared passion for music and audio kept him motivated, and allowed him to see beyond his perspective in both audio and in life. To this day, one of Austin’s classmates from his time here, is still his collaborator and close friend. Austin graduated from AMI in December of 2022, and went from being surrounded by students, straight to work, surrounded by the pros.
Hit the Ground Running
During his time as an intern at Lucky Run Studios, Austin quickly realized that the standards were high and strict, but he was up for the challenge. He learned in real time how some “by the book” techniques varied in the moment, and learned more of the nuances in things like mixing and EQing. Returning as an employee, despite having all of the knowledge, he got the opportunity to do sessions he felt were beyond his capacity. This didn’t deter him though, and he faced every session head on with determination and confidence. He started off mainly being the recording engineer but slowly added on mixing to his plate. The constant work gave his ears plenty of training, so he was able to work more efficiently and not have to stop and ponder small edits as time went on. Austin also learned how to engage with upper level clientele, and work under stressful situations. He recalls sessions where there were lots of people behind the console with him being loud, having differing opinions, harsh critiques, and even being put on an almost impossible time crunch, but being able to advocate for himself and come out of those situations a stronger and more resilient audio engineer.
Austin grew exponentially from working so much at Lucky Run in the technical sense, but he also believes working has changed him personally and emotionally. He went from feeling like he was in a dark place to feeling lighter and growing from both following his passion in audio and being the helpful hand artists need to realize their projects.
“Getting to see these artists open up and be courageous about sharing their stories on the mic or off the mic…made me a more tender person…having somebody open their heart to you, I feel like, powerful.”
Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work!
Austin conceded that he got lucky (no pun intended) going from school straight into a studio job, but he also acknowledged that his hard work and skill got him to where he is today. His conviction, confidence, and work ethic can be best seen in his own words:
“Get the artist in, make sure they’re doing good, make sure their day is going well, figure out what we’re working on, and then get to work.”
Austin has worked with over 300 different artists and bands and his artist-first approach to his sessions is truly the reason why he is where he is.
“I want to do whatever is necessary to make sure that these artist’s dreams get to come alive.”
A Legacy of Impact
Not being in the spotlight comes with the territory of audio engineering life, and Austin is fine with that. The legacy he wants is not one of fame, but of impact; knowing he did the best he could, and had a lasting, powerful impact on the artists he has worked with. The legacy that his hard work meant something. For future audio engineers, he has the following message:
“Follow your convictions and show up and be here as much as possible and give it everything…trust the feeling that you have.”
Written by Lucia Sanchez Solis
For the full podcast episode with Austin and our 301 Instructor Mark Drew full of more anecdotes and wisdom, visit our youtube channel.