How do you determine how much to charge your client?

[madcowvt]

Just curious how everyone determines the rates. Hourly, project etc..
Also.. where do you think is the most expensive place to record.

[remo]

divide samplerate by amount of channels on your desk... usually gets me in the ballpark...

[AllAboutTone]

Originally Posted by madcowvt

Just curious how everyone determines the rates. Hourly, project etc..
Also.. where do you think is the most expensive place to record.

I determine my hourly rate by by the other studios in the area, my ears, my gear, location etc. however my location is the only thing bad about me, im 20 mins away from the main city, so right there i cut rates a little.
otherwise i charge by the hr.
I have a 2 hr. min
I do not offer day rates or block rates.
I encourage a artist/band to stop after 6 hrs at the most, after 6 hrs either is being productive due to fatigue or engineer ear burn out,
Hope this helps.

[AMIEL]

#1 you have to know your credits, experience and your value in the market....but i think you don't know.
Also are u talking as a producer? engineer?

Basicly you have to have an idea of the budget o possibilities of your client.

Expensive place? Hit Factory Criteria in Miami...can cost like $ 3000 a day.

Also I think u are a begginer so I guess you can charge per hr around $20 o maybe $100 bucks a day(6 hrs) as recording engineer.

also you can charge base on that as a project...per song.

and as a Producer also Per song.you can o better make a price per son that includes everything but maybe not the mastering! song recorded, mixed, including musicians, materials and studio time plus your work.

as a Mixing Engineer you should charge per song based on one song (one day of mix) maybe u can charge anything between $250-400 as a begginer.

[Gregg Sartiano]

The people are more expensive than the place, at the higher levels.

It's a different ballgame if your credits give you leverage. Many of us have earned the right to ask for points or production consideration every now and then.

If you believe in an artist or a project, you can "spec" >part< of your fee -- I do this sometimes for bass or guitar sessions, but never (well, never say never) for mixing. In other words, give me $___ to play the bass line, and if the project gets "picked up" for any reason, my fee gets brought up to "scale."

Most people won't balk at this because it's a win/win based on money they don't have -- you get paid what was in their budget anyway, but union "scale" is a lot more than what most people (even some SIGNED people) have budgeted for players. But...you know, when they get that big check...a few hundred bucks or a couple of k is no problem...

[AMIEL]

Yes! but I think this guy have to be more specific..I dont understand this: he say where is the most expensive lace to record and then he doesn't know how much to charge...I think we all can help him better if he tell us more about him and the project.

[Rob King]

supply and demand.. How much gear you have, your experience and skills (Engineer, Producer, Composre, Etc.), clients and reputation among those clients..
I started my original studio for $30 an hour in 1994, today it is way more lucrative. Best of luck! Cheers

[octatonic]

I'm a big bloke so I just pick them up and shake them- whatever comes out, I keep.

[madcowvt]

Originally Posted by AMIEL

Yes! but I think this guy have to be more specific..I dont understand this: he say where is the most expensive lace to record and then he doesn't know how much to charge...I think we all can help him better if he tell us more about him and the project.

It was more of a general question then looking for advice on how much I should charge.

Let me re-phrase the question. Lets say just because someone has 100K worth of gear and a properly construced studio doesnt mean they can record well. But should they charge accordingly because they have nice gear.

Or look at it the other way around. What if someone doesnt have great gear but they produce great sounding records. Should they charge less because they dont have first class gear.

So... I was curious how people come up with the hourly or project rates.
Of course there are tons of deciding factors. (credit, gear etc.)

I should have clarified about the most expensive place to record. I understand that your paying for a great engineer for the upscale places but wondered what kind of price for the place and engineer.

I think i veered of a bit but does that make sense? Maybe im tired and should go to bed

[madcowvt]

Originally Posted by Gregg Sartiano

The people are more expensive than the place, at the higher levels.

It's a different ballgame if your credits give you leverage. Many of us have earned the right to ask for points or production consideration every now and then.

If you believe in an artist or a project, you can "spec" >part< of your fee -- I do this sometimes for bass or guitar sessions, but never (well, never say never) for mixing. In other words, give me $___ to play the bass line, and if the project gets "picked up" for any reason, my fee gets brought up to "scale."

Most people won't balk at this because it's a win/win based on money they don't have -- you get paid what was in their budget anyway, but union "scale" is a lot more than what most people (even some SIGNED people) have budgeted for players. But...you know, when they get that big check...a few hundred bucks or a couple of k is no problem...

good points Gregg....

[madcowvt]

Originally Posted by remo

divide samplerate by amount of channels on your desk... usually gets me in the ballpark...

HA!

[jindrich]

go here

http://sfsoundworks.com/studio1.htm

if you have anything less than a SSL 9056J, you can't even charge $450 a day

[seaneldon]

I know what I like to pull in per day. We'll start with that. Let's say this number is "N".

Now I figure out what I think the studio should be per day. No matter who records there. All gear should be usable with no extra fee. Let's call this number "O".

Assistants should make $8-10 an hour. Let's call his/her number "C".

Tape costs! "A".

Drum tech/Guitar tech/Rentals! "S".

Don't forget to figure in overhead for rent, electricity, water, etc. "H".

Add those together, and there's the daily rate for the studio. N+O+C+A+S+H.

[uncle duncan]

I raise my rates for Republicans, and lower them for Democrats.

[Thumper]

Originally Posted by remo

divide samplerate by amount of channels on your desk... usually gets me in the ballpark...

Sweet... I make $666 dollars a day. $667 if I round up. But I like to cut people breaks....

[dlmorley]

Depends how broke I am

Seriously, it's a tricky thing. People always want it cheaper than they should!
It also depends how into a project I am. A couple of guys are doing stuff with me and I like them and their music. I also think they could do ok with it, so I want to be associated with them. I cut them a deal. In return, they seem to be pretty pleased and happy with my work and want to take the whole thing to the next stage, meaning bigger budget and more time in the studio.
BUT fundamentally, I would say it depends what studio's there are near you and what they can offer. If they offer the same as you, you'd better be about the same price...or BETTER full stop.