Charging for recordings ?$$?

[Manuelj]

Hello,

Im going to be doing a recording for a friend of mine, just some instrumental tracks he has composed on his keyboard, how much should I charge him?

My recording setup is very simple, nothing spectacular: Im using a four track recorder as a mixer, and also as a mean to add some volume to the signal. Sound card is pretty much what came with the computer. I use Guitar Tracks 2.0. The quality I get is pretty good. I'll thank you in advance for your help

Manuel

[Track Rat]

With that as a front end, I could not in good conscience charge anything. Do it for the experience.

[Manuelj]

I know its pretty bad. The quality I get from my recordings is not bad though. I've recorded some guitars in top of beats written on fruity loops.

[crankz1]

Yeah if it's a good friend .... do it for the experience, unless you feel your time is more valuable. Then charge what you feel your time is worth.

[Imaduck]

Make him buy you lunch.. a good lunch.. sounds fair to me.

[VooDu Valve]

lunch is good............. especially if you can eat.......
have fun
chris

[mikeh]

I think having him buy lunch is a good idea. If it's only instrument tracks from a keyboard it should not take that long.

Often charging too early in a "career" can have a negative effect. If the "client" is not satisfied they think they were cheated and that word of mouth will kill your reputation. However, if it turns out great, he'll think you were very fair and may come back (or recommend you) at which point you may be in a better position to charge (at least for your time) and if it doesn't turn out that great the client can't get too bent out of shape cause all you asked for is lunch with a friend.

[bennychico11]

at the same time you want to have him at least take you out to lunch or do something in return....otherwise some people can think they will always be able to use you to record for free for them anytime they need something.

[VooDu Valve]

Originally Posted by bennychico11

at the same time you want to have him at least take you out to lunch or do something in return....otherwise some people can think they will always be able to use you to record for free for them anytime they need something.

And tell him not to tell other about the deal and that they should contact you for a cost......... or you'll be eating a lot of hotdogs.....lol

[distortedrumble]

and if he takes you out to lunch...dont be nice and order the chicken fingers....get the fajita steak wraps and a nice import beer....that oughta let him know what your time is worth

[distortedrumble]

i think my experience is worth being paid for....but if its just some instrumental stuff....i can be bought for a plate of nachos and a beer

[Manuelj]

You guys having a nice time bashing the "newbie"? Thanks for your contempt. I risk looking like a fool thinking I was going to be treated with a bit more openmindness and respect. I'll find help elsewhere.

Assholes.......

[Blue Bear Sound]

Originally Posted by Manuelj

You guys having a nice time bashing the "newbie"? Thanks for your contempt. I risk looking like a fool thinking I was going to be treated with a bit more openmindness and respect. I'll find help elsewhere.

Assholes.......

You really need to lighten-the-fuck-up....... seriously!

[stoctony]

Originally Posted by Manuelj

You guys having a nice time bashing the "newbie"? Thanks for your contempt. I risk looking like a fool thinking I was going to be treated with a bit more openmindness and respect. I'll find help elsewhere.

Assholes.......

Dude, thats messed up. Was he calling everyone on this BBS assholes???

P.S. Pay for all recordings in beer. Hey Blue Bear..12 Pack for say......2 tracks. Deal?

I think they should have a newbie break-in page where only Blue Bear, C7sus and TexRoadkill can reply. That would break em' in just fine.

[randyfromde]

If he's a friend of yours, I'd chalk it up as a fun experience. I can't imagine my friend charging me when he turns a couple mics on while we're jamming.

If he's a good friend, he'll bring a 6-pack with him without prompting

[bennychico11]

Of course randyfromde means to add that you shouldn't drink while recording...right???

[randyfromde]

I am only talking about splitting a 6-pack here...not a whole bottle of Jack!

[distortedrumble]

i guess i can kinda see how it'd look like we were making fun of him but with a low quality setup and a few mics and just some instrumental work....what do you expect? asking us if you should get paid isnt the question...ask yourself if you want to be paid.....in monetary currency. back in 2000 my time was a bottle of boonesfarm and i was there for the night. now i can ask for money and sometimes people pay with money(beer/liquor is still a valid form of currency and sometimes holds a greater value than a dollar). welcome to a business of negotiation. pro bono work can go a long way towards client loyalty sometimes.

[distortedrumble]

Originally Posted by bennychico11

Of course randyfromde means to add that you shouldn't drink while recording...right???

if you drink and then record....the singing may sound shitty....but the outtakes are priceless.

[bsanfordnyc]

Originally Posted by Manuelj

You guys having a nice time bashing the "newbie"? Thanks for your contempt. I risk looking like a fool thinking I was going to be treated with a bit more openmindness and respect. I'll find help elsewhere.

Assholes.......

You can only get as much respect as you deserve.

Everyone here was just trying to help you out. You have a low-end setup, that you claim to have "recorded some guitar tracks over some beats"?? Are you fucking kidding me? And you want to charge a friend?? On top of it you're going to summarily call everyone an asshole??

You definately should go elsewhere to find help.

[bennychico11]

hahaah, i didn't even notice he had called everyone assholes until just now. i'm not even sure why he did? i can't think why any of what we said before the asshole comment could be taken as mean. i bet everyone here has at one time or another done a "freebie" recording for beer or food...it's the same thing as being paid. Hell, I've even done completely free recordings just because at the time a really good friend wanted to record some songs she wrote for personal listening and I wanted some experience at the same time. I still plan on doing some free recordings for good friends...but of course my rates are higher. Movin' up from Keystone to Miller High Life!! I mean come on...champagne of beers, perfect for us engineers who are rakin' in the cash (oh wait...is that cash...hmmmm, just another bill...damn)

[Manuelj]

Hey guys, I want to apologize for calling you assholes, that was totally uncalled for and I meant no disrespect. Please let me explain my situation a bit further. I'm from Puerto Rico and it can be a little intimidating coming to this boards, asking for help, having to express yourself properly in english, risking sounding like a fool and whatnot.

I recently started recording using my pc, I am very new at this and to be honest havent been serious enough to invest a substantial amount of money on proper recording equipment. The friend of mine I talked about, Victor, whos not actually a good friend of mine, he's a friend of my brother and by the way their not on good terms right now. He came to me and ask me if I could record a couple of songs for him and he has seen what I have. Still he's willing to pay. You see here in PR home recording is not something that is widely practiced. People have their pc's but dont actually exploit them to their full extent. Im one of the few people here that uses their computer to record music. Musicians here have 2 options: go to a professioanl studio and pay like a $100 per song or go to a guy like me who will charge them very little. I have no idea how should I charge him, so I came to you guys. Victor, my "client", is an amazing musician but knows shit about computers or knows anybody else besides me whos recording with their computers. He just wants those tracks on a CD so his wife, whos a singer, can gig with it. If hes willing to pay, I REALLY need the money!!

So again, sorry for my comment. BTW I'd really apreciate if you guys take the time to listen to one of my recordings. You already know my shitty set up so u know what to expect. The beat I wrote using Fruity Loops 3, the guitar was recorded using a rocktron gainiac. I uses guitar tracks 2. Your feedback is very valuable to me. Wether negative or positive, thats perfectly understandable. Thanks for your time

http://www.geocities.com/caltrof/Song.html


______________________________

Manuel

[Bass Master "K"]

Well, if professional studio's charge $100 a song there, why don't you start easy like $10-20 a song since he's not a close and personal friend. Like people are saying, charge what you think your time is worth.

And by the way, people weren't giving you crap info here. If you are serious about recording, and you start charging people a certain price and they come away with a product that they feel was a rip off, they will spread the word and it will kill future money you could make. When people are saying they would record a friend doing a quick keyboard gig for a lunch and a few beers, they are being serious, not making fun of you. I have over $10,000 worth of gear in my project studio and I have done recordings for less than lunch and a few beers because I was close to the person and I needed the experience.

Since your not so close to this person, then charge a little, but no reason to get upset at people here for giving you solid advice. They were looking out for your future in recording, not what you can make off this one guy for this project. If you never plan on recording for money again, then charge him the max of what you think he will pay you. Btw..your english is fine, you presented your ideas better than many who speak english as their only language.

[bennychico11]

Originally Posted by Bass Master "K"

...you presented your ideas better than many who speak english as their only language.

True...just look at some of my posts!!!
Anyway, we appreciate the apology and the more in depth explanation. I've only been a member of this forum for a short time, but what I've learned so far is that there are a wide variety of people that come here. From experts with 30 years experience to people just starting out with a 6 year old computer, a microphone made from a speaker, and windows media recorder. And we welcome them all here (at least I do). I also have learned people here love sharing their knowledge and learning from other people. So don't put yourself down so much by calling your gear shitty. You gotta work with what you gotta work with...and people here will try and help you get the best sound out of it all.

With that said, I'd agree with BassMaster and say go ahead and charge 10-20 a song plus $2 or so for giving him the final mix on a CDR. If you say he's not really a good friend of yours AND he's already said he will pay you...then go for it. However, if you feel uncomfortable charging him actual money, then just ask for lunch or something. Some people may actually take that as more of a gesture of kindness than anything else if said the right way. Just don't bash on your own gear in front of him and try and act totally professional...and he'll think you are. BTW, your recording doesn't sound half that bad. I kinda dug the beat. I'd say mess around with the EQ some more so you can hear the guitar more and make the bass less boomy. Feel free to post the final mix you plan on recording for feedback. Buenas suerte.

[TexRoadkill]

Originally Posted by Manuelj

BTW I'd really apreciate if you guys take the time to listen to one of my recordings.

It's impossible to judge the sound quality with a 56kbs mp3 because it will make everything sound like shit. Encode it at 128kbs or better.