Question for semi-pro and small studio operators regarding fees.

cfg

cfg

Member
Assume an artist lays down bed tracks in his own space and then provides a small or semi-pro studio with say 10 minutes of raw material for a song, acoustic guitar only, recorded with one condenser mic. Contained in that 10 minutes of raw material are say two takes with very usable material, punctuated by a few mistakes that are to be edited out. There's also a couple of takes of a beginning and an ending. The mixing engineer has to listen to the raw tracks, find the best parts, and edit/arrange parts to provide the artist with a finished mix ready for mastering.

What is an acceptable range of hourly rate for such services of arranging and mixing raw tracks for a new, semi-pro, or smaller studio? How many hours might it take a competent mixing engineer/arranger to arrange and mix one song from ten minutes of material?
 
Wow that's ..wide open. 'Ten minutes, but for a song how long? Cut copy and paste, are you making or piecing the arrangement together?
Does the tempo drift along the way.. could be a biggie?

What's an acceptable rate?, and how many hours will will it take?
Umm ... :>)
 
I'm assuming a three minute song. Essentially cut, copy, and paste, tempo drift may exist due to no click track, and the mixing engineer has discretion to arrange parts in the way that they feel is best.

Stating a rough hourly rate shouldn't be that difficult. If a studio can't specify a rate and some rough approximation of time required for what was just outlined, then I'd say I'd probably keep looking for someone who can furnish a price without too much difficulty.
 
Pricing is totally based on what you can get, and what the mkt will bear, based on your experience and/or reputation..
We live in a world where people have come to expect free everything.
So if you're not established wirh some kind of track record dont expect a 'fair wage'
Some unknown people are literally giving away their time. Much like an internship.
Gotta build it up.
 
10 minutes of raw material with multiple takes to choose from for edits will require several "listens" to determine what is good and what is not. Cut and paste will require more minutes. Listening to the edits in context is another listen. Adding a grid will require some time to get it all in place. "Assuming" the artist will allow an unknown quantity (the engineer/editor) to proceed without approval isn't going to happen. So there's the chance of doing it all twice...maybe three times. Of course the set-up is only going to happen once......

So assuming the engineer/editor is good at his job and actually 'likes' editing, the price will probably be more on a per song basis rather than an hourly rate.

I have friends who do this for a living and there's no way that they could charge by the hour for this kind of work. They just wouldn't make any money. One friend charges $200/song or $500 an hour......I'm @ $100 an hour and I'm slow.
 
Locally I know of many different prices. Again depending on experience and being known
Two come to mind, both very good mixers, but the variable is being known.

One gets 100 bucks per song. Full mix, editing etc. He's currently happy to get that.
The other is getting 450 for the same and complaining how he doesn't make enough and needs to bump up prices.

Both are working out of well equipped home studios.
But the big difference is the 450 per song guy is known and in demand.

I just bring this stuff up because it seemed in the original post that you're a novice at doing studuo stuff for hire.
:D
 
Yeah...it SO depends on how much editing is really needed...and the more that's needed, the more you have to go back-n-forth with the artists to clarify what they want or don't want.

The key to deciding on how much to charge...is being able to review the material that is provided and discuss the expectations, and then estimate how much time it would take to do...then multiply by whatever hourly charge you expect to get.
There may be some adjustment there...kinda rounding it off to a single total price, but that's between the two parties to negotiate.
If you're new to this and you underestimate...you can get bogged down in endless editing, without adequate compensation.
 
That is a really almost impossible question to answer.

I myself charge $25 per hour as a basic rate. When a band comes into my studio, I kind of become a member of the band.

If someone records tracks elsewhere and they are not organized, who knows how much time it will take.

Typically at my studio, it comes to around $400 per song depending on the readiness of the band, the type of music, and how much editing needs to be done.

A group of white suburban rappers I record here - with a pre-recorded backing track get out of here under $60 per song. Much more time involved with recording a whole band and the typical editing and mixing.

Some have taken the time to make things perfect and spent over $800 per song. + mastering.
 
cavedog101 said:
.. I have friends who do this for a living and there's no way that they could charge by the hour for this kind of work. They just wouldn't make any money. One friend charges $200/song or $500 an hour......I'm @ $100 an hour and I'm slow.
Click to expand...
I'm at 25-30 an hour.
Thing is, if I really like where a proj is going ..and/or it's one of my long time music associations, I'll start seeing it as OUR name on it this. That leads to 'the extra mile on my dime. But all good, it's my call.
But then I also don't have a $$$ room nut to cover.
 
Last I heard $25/hour was the union rate for musicians. That's probably a good starting point. Then specify a minimum hours for the project and try to guess the max.
 
I've always had a per hour rate, but also a per project, where the likely timescale has been estimated and likely to be realistic. For those people who insist that it's only a three minute track so won't take long, this proves they are clueless so they get the hourly rate, because they're the most likely to take ages and ages.
 
cfg said:
Assume an artist lays down bed tracks in his own space and then provides a small or semi-pro studio with say 10 minutes of raw material for a song, acoustic guitar only, recorded with one condenser mic. Contained in that 10 minutes of raw material are say two takes with very usable material, punctuated by a few mistakes that are to be edited out. There's also a couple of takes of a beginning and an ending. The mixing engineer has to listen to the raw tracks, find the best parts, and edit/arrange parts to provide the artist with a finished mix ready for mastering.

What is an acceptable range of hourly rate for such services of arranging and mixing raw tracks for a new, semi-pro, or smaller studio? How many hours might it take a competent mixing engineer/arranger to arrange and mix one song from ten minutes of material?
Click to expand...

They key thing is that you've identified yourself as a new, semi-pro, small studio.

I would make sure this guy has a budget of at least $300 pr song and bill him $15 - $20 pr hour for it. Let him know that you'll try to keep it less than $300, but that the editing/revision process is lengthy, as is the mixing. Also, let him know that you'll require feedback periodically to keep the revisions under control. Remember, you can mix and edit at the same time as you go along. Just make sure you first draft when you need the first round of feedback is somewhat presentable.
 
sasquatch said:
I think the OP is the payer not the payee.
I'm assuming on that assumption.

G
Click to expand...

That could be. But either way an engineers time 'if they know what they are doing' is worth something. Some know more than others.

If the engineer is good, then $20 per hour with decent gear is a good start. Now what gear, or software, or experience they have comes into play.

A Million + dollar studio here in Colorado with tons of vintage outboard gear is charging 3 times what I do. That does not always mean you get perter results. The engineer is key here.


So many variables...
 
sasquatch said:
I think the OP is the payer not the payee.
I'm assuming on that assumption.

G
Click to expand...

The assumption is not incorrect. I like the idea of recording my music. I've done just enough of it to not be considered a beginner, and I'd even say I'm almost competent in a few aspects of the process, but editing songs is not my strong suit by any means. I have done it, but for whatever reason it's real labor for me, so I was considering hiring someone to put song parts into a cohesive order. If there is a specific term for just this one part of recording a song, I'd be glad to know what it is.

I also think it's good to have other ears make certain decisions, and if someone wanted some rough insight into costs before making phone calls, well, Homerecording.com seems like a good place to start. To be candid, the engineer's knowledge in this special case is not as important as it might normally be. I want to do everything except edit the song. It wouldn't hurt if I stumble into an engineer that is particularly good and quick at the job I'd like to get done for me.
 
There's a lot of people these days that know the editing process front and back. A LOT of people out there grew up with computers (I did not.....I'm old) and this is always going to be an advantage with being able to use the machinery to it's maximum.

However. assembling a song is not like pasting comments on a blog. There are many nuances to getting things to sound really professional that go beyond just lining stuff to the grid or comping vocal and guitar takes. This is where that 'special knowledge' becomes vital to a production.

It sounds to me like you are fishing for an editor. And like I said there's a lot of guys that do that work and thats their bread and butter. It may seem like trivial labor....believe me, it is for me too...but in the end it is the thing that might make or break a production.

Of course having a great song and capturing a great performance has to happen first. and this is where the really pro engineer/producer makes his worth. Makes easy for an editor if things are already fairly well finished.
 
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