First big job

S

sk8ingsnowman

New member
I am sure everyone is sick of this question but no one knows where I live so here it goes.

Farily common situation: Band buys pro tools rig because they want to save money and record their own album. After a few failed attempts the realize why engineers get paid so much?

The band talked to some of my class mates (I am in school for recording arts) and was reffered to me because I know pro tools and the asked me to record their album.

Its my understanding that they are providing around 90% of the equipment.

I am a recording arts student I have A LOT of knowledge but not too much in the way of experience besides my music and some demos I have done recently.

How much should I charge?

I am confident I can get a professional sounding recording but I know my lack of experiece in the "Real World" is going to lead to some delays in recording, problem fixes that are difficult to explain in a class room etc...

I don't want to be too cheap because it will make me look bad and I don't want to overcharge because if there are problems they might rip off my head.

any help general or specific would be awsome

thanks in advance,
DAN!
 
:cool: Whats your location? Also what can the band pay? Are they just starting out or are they semi-pro or pro??


da MUTT
 
I don't think you should charge until you are confident you can deliver a quality product. When they are paying you are under the gun and they are the boss. If you do it for free then you are on equal footing with them and they can't really complain about time or quality. You will also have a good demo reel of your engineering skills to use when you need to lure in new clients.

If they pay and you fuck it up you will have the beginning of a bad rep. If you do it for free and fuck it up then it's a wash. If you end up making a great album then you are a hero either way and all it cost was your spare time with no out of pocket expense.

You might work a trade with them and for every hour you spend on their project they give you access to the PT rig for a future project that you can confidently charge for.
 
I'm doing my first "payed" job now... I told them I needed a kickmic to record them, so my price was about the money I need for a kickmic. Actually, a little less. (150€) They are just newbies, trying to get an idea of the recording... (The rhythmguitar player just started half a year ago!) But I take my time for it, experiment with it, and we generally have a good time. They learn alot, and get better results than what the money would've gotten them in studiotime. Also, the project isn't time-bound.

So, give 'em a price for the complete project. You are still in the learning process, but you aren't asking them a pro-price either. If you ask 'em a fixed price, per song or for the complete project, they cannot complain if you take your time. It also gives you time to experiment...

Or you can suggest a trade too, look for that 10% of gear they don't have, maybe you can tell 'em you do it, if they buy you the gear ou need to finish the job. You'll end up with some new equipement, and you'll have experience in using it already...
 
I like the idea to set my price at the price of the 10% gear they don't have but I probably won't need to buy anything, I could actually probably do their recording with my equipment alone but then they would feel that their PT rig is wasted.

I will probably go with a flat rate per song because I definitly do not want to inhibit their creativity(it will make it more fun for me too)

I know tracking will require a little more time for me compared to someone already in the industry but I can make up for it in other areas.

What would a good fee be for a 10-12 song album

I am in Florida if that has an affect on the price
 
sk8ingsnowman said:

I am in Florida if that has an affect on the price
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, it does. I ran a small studio in a couple place in FL about 15 years ago, and I was getting more then than the small studios are getting now. Their going rates are less than 1/3 what I got in Califorina a decade ago. That's only one of the reasons I didn't open a commercial studio when I moved back here. Depending on who these guys are (Hint - if they're under 25, they ain't got much money) You might want to make it a "per song" deal, just in case the "album" never gets finished. $100 a song, for a beginner is about par - unless you have something special to bring to the table (really nice room, vinage Telefunkens, free hot pizza 24 hours a day, etc.). Another way to look at it is to find out what the 3 nearest studios to you are charging, and undercut them by about 1/3 - discount yourself any more, and people will be suspicious.
Anyway, that's my take on it.

Scott
 
TexRoadKill makes some very good points and with his strategy you can't really go wrong other than your giving up time for free. If these guys are any good just having them on your client list might be worth it.

However, when you say they want you to do a 10-12 song album....that's a hell of a lot of free labor, and since these guys aren't like personal friends of yours, that's asking a lot of someone just to add a name to your client list.

What you might want to consider is to do one song for them for free. Let them listen to it. Then if they like it tell them that you'll do the rest of their songs for $100 each (or whatever your going to charge). This way they know in advance what they are going to be getting, and you can get some jack out of it. If they aren't happy with it then you can say goodbye and you saved yourself a bunch of time and a giant headache.

Good luck!
 
Bass Master "K" said:
What you might want to consider is to do one song for them for free. Let them listen to it. Then if they like it tell them that you'll do the rest of their songs for $100 each (or whatever your going to charge). This way they know in advance what they are going to be getting, and you can get some jack out of it. If they aren't happy with it then you can say goodbye and you saved yourself a bunch of time and a giant headache.
Click to expand...

That's a good compromise. Maybe even do 2 or 3 songs in that first batch since it's a pain to do the entire tracking/mixing process for only one song. Once you have established a good relationship with them then you can start talking money.
 
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