Project Studio Rates....

[jasedee]

I've been asked to record/mix a demo for a young band (High school), which will probably be 3-4 songs, drums/bass/guitars/vocals/percussion

My question is.....how much do I charge????

It will probably be around 4-5 sessions, 8 hour days minimum.....and then 1-2 days mixing/mastering

What do you guys reckon????

Im thinking either charging per song, or per day. If it is per day, maybe AUD$100/day, and if it is per song, maybe AUD$250/song

(AUD$1.00=USD$0.75)

Any ideas greatly appreciated!

Cheers!

[Tomer=Trance]

you should charge per day
sometimes costumers no matter how young they are can be unsatisfied with the mixing or recordings and this could take more time.

[jasedee]

Yeah...probably a good idea per day.

And I guess everyone needs to start somewhere, set a price, and if the client thinks it is too high, let the job go

[Hollowcell]

I wouldn't be charging them too much. They are a high school band after all. Communtiy service.

[jasedee]

Originally Posted by Hollowcell

I wouldn't be charging them too much. They are a high school band after all. Communtiy service.

Im not gonna charge them a fortune, but I gotta start earning some cash for this...

The music I love I will do for free, like that Venezuelan dude, or this other band Im recording next week, whose music I really dig, but this is more like work, and with inexperienced musicians, I think I am going to have my hands full....and also be like producer/manager role, to give them some direction etc

Im not giving away 6-8 days for free, but I wont be too hard on them either

[blay]

jase the only thing i can think of worthwhile mentioning here
is to have a really good chat with the band before they ever set foot in your studio - and just see where they are at with their songs - if you are going to do it for cheap then make it easy on yourself - get them to record a practice session (no matter on quality) just to have a quick listen to their arrangements so you have an idea what you are up for...
and basically tell em to get practising. they have to understand that more takes would normally mean more money.

i agree with you mate - at some point you have to start making some cash back - you do the bands you like for experience and the ones you dont for moolah (or not at all)

good luck with it anyways - post us some mp3s when youre done

[jasedee]

Originally Posted by blay

jase the only thing i can think of worthwhile mentioning here
is to have a really good chat with the band before they ever set foot in your studio - and just see where they are at with their songs

Good advice!

Actually, he has been asking for some time, and I told them I was too busy, but the best thing to do in the mean time was heaps of practice! make sure they had everything sorted....

That was a couple months ago, and I've a bit more time now, so hopefully they have been rehearsing their stuff...

I need to organise a plan/schedule, and give them a quote......

[Juho L]

Originally Posted by blay

get them to record a practice session (no matter on quality) just to have a quick listen to their arrangements so you have an idea what you are up for...
and basically tell em to get practising. they have to understand that more takes would normally mean more money.

No need to do practise recording. Just go to listen the bands rehearsals. You get an overall impression of the skill of the band and the songs. And remember to order a drummer to learn to play with click. It's really weird that some drummers just can't play with a click unless they practise.

[Juho L]

Originally Posted by jasedee

I need to organise a plan/schedule, and give them a quote......

Yup. Scheduling is everything, so make it carefully. The band might not be very pleased if they have to pay extra because of bad scheduling.

[blay]

not a practise session at jase's - i meant to get them to practise and record it in their own time to save jase some hassle