ChuckC
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Getting request from bands that want me to record them, What to charge?
Hey guys, I bought all my gear and set up my studio to record myself & my band. It is a decent sounding, acoustically treated environment and my gear is ok, certainly not pro level stuff ... but I have gotten pretty decent at it over the last couple years and our recordings are coming out really well. I have 2 bands that have asked me to record them (both of which are either friends, or friends of friends). I have always loved recording though I did not intend on starting a busines here. I have never tracked how long from start to finish I average time-wise per song but I am guesstimating a 4 minute song with drums, 2 guitars, bass and a couple vocal tracks is probably in the 6-8 hour range... I guess that doesn't matter much cause I'd probably charge hourly, not per song. Any thoughts here? I am no pro here but I also don't want to cut the throats of the pro's either. Is $15 bucks an hour insane? I know by pro standards that is low, but I am not a professional. For a friend... that may seem high, but I am married with 2 kids and another (real) business to run, my time is worth more than that to me.... so I am not doing it for nothing. Thanks for your advise! -Chuck
post edited by ChuckC - 2011/08/10 22:53:35
ADK Built DAW, W7, Sonar Platinum, Studio One Pro,Yamaha HS8's & HS8S Presonus Studio/Live 24.4.2, A few decent mic pre's, lots of mics, 57's,58 betas, Sm7b, LD Condensors, Small condensors, Senn 421's, DI's, Sans Amp, A few guitar amps etc. Guitars : Gib. LP, Epi. Lp, Dillion Tele, Ibanez beater, Ibanez Ergodyne 4 String bass, Mapex Mars series 6 pc. studio kit, cymbals and other sh*t. http://www.everythingiam.net/ http://www.stormroomstudios.com Some of my productions: http://soundcloud.com/stormroomstudios
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Guitarhacker
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Re:Getting request from bands that want me to record them, What to charge?
2011/08/10 21:53:25
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☄ Helpful
Yeah... $15 bucks an hour IS insane....!!!! It's way to low.
Check at the other local studios and see what they charge and exactly how they charge..... by the hour or the song. I'll bet it's hourly.
Hourly billing encourages the artist to get it right and be quick about it. If it's per song, they have no incentive to "move along" because it still costs the same if it's 4 hours or 40.
see what the locals are charging and set your price somewhere near the middle. You sure don;t want to be the bottom guy and you want the price high enough that many will choose the lower price studios. After all, time is money and with a family, you must spend time with them and you don't want to work for free.
Best wishes.
My website & music: www.herbhartley.com MC4/5/6/X1e.c, on a Custom DAW Focusrite Firewire Saffire Interface BMI/NSAI "Just as the blade chooses the warrior, so too, the song chooses the writer "
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trimph1
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Re:Getting request from bands that want me to record them, What to charge?
2011/08/10 21:57:19
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It sounds about right that it is per hour...the one's that I went to here ..mind sometime ago..did charge on a per hour base..and definitely more than 15 per hour
The space you have will always be exceeded in direct proportion to the amount of stuff you have...Thornton's Postulate. Bushpianos
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ChuckC
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Re:Getting request from bands that want me to record them, What to charge?
2011/08/10 22:48:23
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Guitarhacker,
Yeah, I am sure that is low, but as I said, I am not really starting up a "for profit" studio, and I don't have the gear, nor the environment to justify the $50+/hr that I have paid many times in bigger, better studios with my past bands. I agree charging per song would be like playing russian rulette and I may actually want to shoot myself before it's over.... So hat's out.
I am not worried really about setting rates high enough to scare off business as I don't intend to do more than the one or two.
I own a sucessful lawn & landscape business in southwest Florida and this (the rainy season) is the middle of our busy season. I don't have much time to spare and the 1st thing out of my mouth when the asked was..... "well, we'd probably need to do tracking on like a sunday, and it may be a couple weeks before we can get back to mixing etc..."
You are right in that time is money and I certainly wouldn't let myself (or my crew) waste time for $15/hr keeping me away from my family.
On the other hand I am getting soooo much better with every freaking song I do and this is an opportunity to spend more seat time t the console and make a little money to do it (which I am sure I will then just drop back into more gear). I think $25/hr maybe more practical and still cheap enough for them...
Thoughts?
ADK Built DAW, W7, Sonar Platinum, Studio One Pro,Yamaha HS8's & HS8S Presonus Studio/Live 24.4.2, A few decent mic pre's, lots of mics, 57's,58 betas, Sm7b, LD Condensors, Small condensors, Senn 421's, DI's, Sans Amp, A few guitar amps etc. Guitars : Gib. LP, Epi. Lp, Dillion Tele, Ibanez beater, Ibanez Ergodyne 4 String bass, Mapex Mars series 6 pc. studio kit, cymbals and other sh*t. http://www.everythingiam.net/ http://www.stormroomstudios.com Some of my productions: http://soundcloud.com/stormroomstudios
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yorolpal
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Re:Getting request from bands that want me to record them, What to charge?
2011/08/10 23:07:50
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One of my engineers has a nights and weekend music studio (it's actually better equipped than mine...he's a total gear slut) and he charges $35 per hour and does a very brisk business. Of course, he's a very good engineer. Just remember this...whatever you set your rate at...that's your rate...and you'll have a devil of a time getting clients to EVER pay more.
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Jonbouy
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Re:Getting request from bands that want me to record them, What to charge?
2011/08/10 23:51:05
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I reckon 'olpals figures sound sensible to me (doing a quick currency conversion in my head).
Yes they may be friends and you may enjoy doing it, but doing a couple of 10 hour days can easily make people seem less like friends and with only $300 to show for a 20 hour long weekend will quickly make it much less enjoyable than you are currently used to.
A block rate scale works well too as it can make folk commit in advance so based on a £35 an hour rate you'd work out something like $130 for a half day (4 hours) and say $240 for an 8 hour day, you get the idea.
"We can't do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go shopping to console ourselves" - Banksy
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Rain
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Re:Getting request from bands that want me to record them, What to charge?
2011/08/10 23:58:54
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Man... Back in the early 90s, my band and I paid $30 an hour to record in a basement "studio". Equipment was minimal. No extra amp or gear of any kind, except maybe a tambourine. lol Recorded to DAT. I remember one rack with some graphic eq's and little tiny Alesis fx boxes. Sessions started at 9 and had to be finished at 5 pm because the guy's wife was getting back from work.
post edited by Rain - 2011/08/11 00:03:17
TCB - Tea, Cats, Books...
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mgh
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Re:Getting request from bands that want me to record them, What to charge?
2011/08/11 00:10:57
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yeah do a deal first - say the first song will be a flat $100, if you're both happy then afterwards you'll charge an hourly rate of $x...not to make a profit but to cover costs of electric, refreshments, wear and tear and reinvestment in new plug-ins and hardware...
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LJB
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Re:Getting request from bands that want me to record them, What to charge?
2011/08/11 02:46:32
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Chuck, the way I work is I charge per hour/day for recording and editing (vocal and drum take selection, autotuning etc), and a fixed rate for mixing. That way I'm covered against bad players and I also know I'm going to take my own sweet time to get the mix right. Works for me (and I do this every day)!
As for rates, check out the local studios and set your rates as that, but then tell new clients you have a special low "introductory rate" for new clients which can then last for the next week or year, your choice. This avoids setting a "cheap studio" standard for yourself, and it means you decide when you feel confident enough to charge full rates.
These things I did 10 years ago when I started my studio, and I built up an excellent client base that way.
Best of luck! :O)
Ludwig Bouwer, One Big Room Studios.
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Cakewalk with all the trimmings / Win 10Pro 64 / Intel i7-7700 / Asus Prime Z270k / 16GB DDR4 / RME HDSP9652 / RME UFX / Black Lion Audio ADA8000 / ART MPA & ART Pro Channel / Focusrite Voicemaster Pro / Aphex 107
Check out my work at www.onebigroom.co.za
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Mooch4056
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Re:Getting request from bands that want me to record them, What to charge?
2011/08/11 02:55:13
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One Million Dollars! 
From Now On Call Me Conquistador!
Donate to the cure Bapu Foundation Email: mooch4056@gmail.com for more info
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Guitarhacker
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Re:Getting request from bands that want me to record them, What to charge?
2011/08/11 07:45:21
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You know, by being in business already about "perceived value" so when you set your hourly, just be sure that the value to cost ratio is reasonably high in the customer's view. I'm in the security business, and I have a hard time with these companies that give alarm systems away to get the monitored account. It cheapens the value of an alarm in the minds of people I go to see. I see "high end" alarm systems and the price is "high end" too. I like the ideas that LJB gave you. As I see it, if you are doing it for a hobby, you still need to charge a rate that lets you make a decent profit. You're supposed to pay taxes on that income , so make enough to profit after the tax man cometh.  I recorded some demo's many years back in a small (and I mean that literally) studio. the owners had a bluegrass band and had the studio for themselves.... they did not hesitate a bit to charge me $40/hr and that was 30+ years ago.
My website & music: www.herbhartley.com MC4/5/6/X1e.c, on a Custom DAW Focusrite Firewire Saffire Interface BMI/NSAI "Just as the blade chooses the warrior, so too, the song chooses the writer "
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Kalle Rantaaho
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Re:Getting request from bands that want me to record them, What to charge?
2011/08/11 07:45:46
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One practical approach:
Estimate your own personal life-schedule and how many hours you could spend helping your friends. Then just suggest something like:" The first 10 hours á 20$ and the following ones á 35$. That would motivate them to come to the studio properly trained and making things happen.
SONAR PE 8.5.3, Asus P5B, 2,4 Ghz Dual Core, 4 Gb RAM, GF 7300, EMU 1820, Bluetube Pre - Kontakt4, Ozone, Addictive Drums, PSP Mixpack2, Melda Creative Pack, Melodyne Plugin etc. The benefit of being a middle aged amateur is the low number of years of frustration ahead of you.
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Beagle
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Re:Getting request from bands that want me to record them, What to charge?
2011/08/11 08:32:05
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I just recently started recording in my little studio. I charge $25 per hour for recording and the same for mixing. This is less than any commercial studio in the area, but about the same as other basement studios. I found pricing for these from craigslist and greensheet.
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