Do you stop the clock for lunch? (and other time & billing questions...)

[telejustin]

So, in 10 years I've worked at different studios that all handled things like lunch and breaks differently. I'm curious what's typical in LA/Nashville/NYC and elsewhere...

Every studio I've worked at does lock-outs at 10 hours (plus hourly after 10). So a band can leave their stuff setup for several days, and the studio won't book night sessions in the evenings. Okay, all pretty typical.

But what about breaks? If your 10 hour lockout is 10AM - 8PM, do you take lunch and dinner breaks and stay on the clock? Some places seem to. Other places don't. As a freelancer I feel abused sometimes because I need to take breaks, but the band is trying to get as much done as possible in their 10 hours. Most bands are cool about this, but others aren't.

I also wonder if any studios out there pay their engineers and/or 2nds to clean up the place after the session -- dishes, trash, etc. Do you only get paid if the studio is getting paid?

IME, a lot of this has to do with the level of studio and the hourly rate. Bigger facilities with higher rates seem to do less nickel and dime-ing than smaller places. But I still wonder as I've had such mixed experiences (and mixed feelings) about different ways of doing business. Cheers!

[Jules]

I like to bill studio time per day.

Day = 11 hours
1 hour of that is or food / drink breaks
So 10 session + 1 hour breaks.
I make this very clear from the start..

But being a chow hound, I found two problems that put me out of step with the artists I would work with.

I would start sessions at Noon. (no getting in earlier to set up either)
So my sessions would run Noon - 11pm

Problem 1 - many of the bands I worked with were semi professional, ie most had day jobs and were used to getting up at 7am, not 10 or 11 am like me - so my lunch break time of 2pm might not be in time with their lunch time.. This might cause TWO lunch breaks - the bands, (very shortly after arriving) and mine (when none of the band were hungry..)

Problem 2 - and a lot of studio people that work with artist clients will know this one. Shall we stop for lunch? "Nah, I'm not really hungry.." Its a pain to eat while someone is looking at their watch..

[rockstar_josh]

I try to plan ahead with the band to stop for 30-60 minutes for lunch, whatever they're comfortable with. At this point most of my clients are regular joes with jobs that are used to eating at regular intervals, so it helps. I also start at noon and eat around 11 on those days, it holds me down until evening.

[theblue1]

I think it all depends on who you're working for and what the arrangements are as a freelancer. When I ran my own studio I was pretty lax about everything. When I was freelancing, I was pretty lax about everything.

Which, come to think of it, may well be part of why I went back to my dayjob where I don't have to beat on folks to get paid, as a rule. I'm a lot better at working than I am at bill collecting.

[bitman]

Load in time is 9:00AM
Lunch is noon - 1:00pm (or else) - Off the clock, and we don't feed you.
Dinner is 5:00pm - 6:00 " "
Drop dead time is 10:00 PM. - See you tomorrow at 9:00am if needed.

If I don't eat on schedule I'm a bear.

[china jam]

Do you all do 10 hour days??

[AllAboutTone]

I do not do over 6 hrs PERIOD per day ever, to much on the ears and neither the band or the engineer is making positive progress after 6 hrs, i Charge no matter if its lunch, smoke break or what ever.
I use to do 8, 10 and 13 hrs days, i stopped it....just to much burn out.

[Sen]

Hey telejustin,
I usually don't stop the clock for set-ups, breaks, smoko', lunches etc. However, most of my costomers are made feel so comfortable at the studio that they mostly don't mind at all, and you explain to them that , for instance, a part of getting a drum sound is actually loading in and setting everything up.
At the moment I've got an offer where you book a days worth of studio time and get included BBQ lunch.The lunch goes for approx. 1/2 hour but the customer gets a feed, a beer (or a few, I've always got some in the fridge) so it's all cool when it comes to the end of the day and payments. If, however, I see that ppl are realy tight and I stopped a few times during a session, I'll take off $20-30 at the end and again, everyone is happy.If non-poductivity is ,however, caused by the band being not rehearsed, arguing etc...then that's their problem.
Just simple stuff. once you start getting all formal and tight about things, noone feels comfortable any more.having said that, there is, of course, a set of rules that everyone adheres to.

[Noize919]

Originally Posted by AllAboutTone

I do not do over 6 hrs PERIOD per day ever, to much on the ears and neither the band or the engineer is making positive progress after 6 hrs, i Charge no matter if its lunch, smoke break or what ever.
I use to do 8, 10 and 13 hrs days, i stopped it....just to much burn out.

I don't agree with that at all....

I've made some of the best creative/sounding decisions after working 12-14hours with a band.

Also, I think it takes atleast 4 hours just to zone in and get into that studio mode. (you guys know what I'm talking about)

Maybe that's just me.

[gurubuzz]

Originally Posted by Noize919

I don't agree with that at all....

I've made some of the best creative/sounding decisions after working 12-14hours with a band.

Also, I think it takes atleast 4 hours just to zone in and get into that studio mode. (you guys know what I'm talking about)

Maybe that's just me.

`

Like everything you can also learn how to get the "zone" happening quicker.


Clock is on when they walk in with their gear.

Sometimes to get respect you need to start the clock at the agreed time of booking
even if they are late.
Next time they won't be late...


And breaks are important to rest the ears so keep the clock going..

it was their music that fatigued your ears so they should pay for recovery
of proper hearing...goes with the territory.

[strewnshank]

I like to load in on day1 around 9-9:sh, have breakfast/lunch around 1, maybe later, and then knock a song or two of basics before we break for dinner. Then I like to track until around 10 or so, whenever the logical break occurs....then the next few days start later and go to about the same time. I feel most comfortable when I've got nothing to do on either end of the session and I am able to just be there totally mentaly...if I don't fill my day with the session, then I'll plan on something else to do later that day, and feel rushed to stop "on time." Half days starting at 5 are OK as well, as long as I don't have some AM stuff to do the next day.

And it is billed as either a half day or full day, with no room for haggle. I've never been told that I cheated someone by not going long enough (except for that chick in high school)