Safeguarding your studio: Emergency preparedness, business continuity, and long-term archiving

As Vice President of the Recording Academy’s Producers & Engineers Wing, I’ve had countless conversations with studio owners, engineers, and creatives about the fragile balance between inspiration and infrastructure. A studio is more than four walls and equipment, it’s a home for ideas, livelihoods, and legacies. Yet, when disaster strikes, too many in our community have found themselves unprepared.

I decided to craft this blog for Iron Mountain Media & Archival Services because safeguarding our creative spaces is not just about gear or workflow, it’s about resilience. Emergency preparedness, business continuity, and long-term archiving may not feel as exciting as making records, but they are essential to protecting the art and the people behind it. My hope is that these resources will empower you to anticipate challenges, minimize risks, and preserve what matters most: your music and your creative community.

Why emergency planning matters

Natural disasters and emergency situations are an unfortunate reality, from wildfires, floods, and hurricanes to power outages and cyberattacks. When disaster strikes, irreplaceable recordings and assets are often the most devastating losses. Yet the risk extends beyond fire or flood; digital decay, magnetic tape degradation, cyberattacks, and even user error can all threaten your creative legacy. That’s why long-term archiving and preservation strategies must be a cornerstone of any emergency plan.

As any studio owner or music content creator knows, a recording space is more than just a workplace, it’s a creative sanctuary and often a financial lifeline. Taking the time to plan ahead can make the difference between a temporary interruption and catastrophic loss.

Our new emergency recommendations provide a practical, easy-to-navigate resource that empowers studio owners, engineers, and creatives to prepare for the unexpected, respond swiftly, and recover efficiently. 

The spark that started it all

The Recording Academy® Producers & Engineers Wing® Studio Emergency Preparation Recommendations (SEPR) guide was initiated at the suggestion of recording and mastering engineer Anna Frick, who faced an emergency evacuation during the 2021 Colorado wildfires. Her experience underscored the urgent need for a consolidated, easy-to-access emergency resource tailored to the recording community.

The P&E Wing created this document in partnership with disaster relief professionals, insurance experts, and experienced studio personnel. These recommendations address a broad spectrum of emergency scenarios, focusing on real-world application and resilience.

Thinking long-term

Archiving isn’t just about safety: it’s about extending the life of your work, enabling future revenue, and ensuring that future generations can access and appreciate the music created today. We are proud to partner with Iron Mountain Media & Archival Services to support the creative community with tools and expertise to help artists and studios preserve their legacies.

Take action today

Whether you’re preparing for wildfires, updating your insurance, or backing up your hard drives and master tapes, the time to act is now, not when disaster is already at your doorstep. The studio community is resilient, innovative, and driven by passion, let’s apply that same energy to protecting our spaces and our sound.

Download the full Studio Emergency Preparation Recommendations document from the Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing to begin building your personalized Studio Emergency Preparation plan. Remember what you plan for today could save your music, art, and your business, tomorrow.

Maureen Droney is the Vice President of the Recording Academy (GRAMMY Awards) Producers & Engineers Wing. A former recording engineer herself, Maureen has worked on GRAMMY-winning recordings for artists including Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, and Santana—as well as well as on numerous other projects, including two Billboard Number One Dance songs. She has a degree in Broadcast Communication Arts from California State University, San Francisco, and has taught seminars on the theory and practice of recording for companies including ABC and CBS Television. She has also worked in both artist and studio management, was the longtime Los Angeles editor for Mix magazine, and has published three books related to recording. Her most recent, co-written with its subject, is Al Schmitt on the Record: The Magic Behind the Music, chronicling the life and career of the most awarded recording engineer in history.