Studio management question..

[osiris]

Sorry if this is the wrong forum.

I am starting to get a steady flow of clients into my studio and I'm wondering how some of you handle billing. Should I block out a certain amount of time and ask for the money up front?

How about billing for the mixing sessions? I tend to get obsessive when I'm mixing so I always take longer than expected. Should I charge by the hour? Per song?

Also, considering that most of my clients are dirt poor, how can I be flexible and work within someone's budget without screwing myself?

Thanks.

 

[mikeh]

First you should assess your studio (quality of gear and your personal skills) compared to other studios in the area. This will give you an idea of a general price range. Depending of the market - home "demo" studios may range from $15 to about $40 per hour.

It is very common to charge for a block of time or for a project (as an example for 3 songs) - vs. an hourly rate. If you have poor clients (most project studios have more than a fair share of poor clients) - you have to decide how generous you can afford to be. Keep in mind, poor musicians will take what they can for free - and once you do things for free, you set your rate. Be careful that you don't sell your studio too cheaply or it can be difficult to raise the rates later.

I think it is good business to get some amount in advance (maybe 25%) and never, ever allow the final mix to leave your studio without payment in full. When artists have no money at risk that tend to approach recording waaaay to loose - but when they have to pay (in particular if they have already paid something) artists suddenly become business people - and it can be difficult if not impossible to get someone to pay after they already have thier final mix.

For what it's worth - I normally charge a given rate for the actual tracking time (which more often than not is dictated more by the talent and preparation of the artist) - in essence if they don'y have thier act together - I should not have to take a financial hit. However, when it comes to mixing - I tend to be anal (I want to feel good about the mix) and I tend to spend more time then perhaps the client would want to pay for - so I often only charge for about 50% -75% of the mix time (unless indecision or other interferance form the artist causes the mix time to drag on.

 

[chessrock]

Should I block out a certain amount of time and ask for the money up front?

That would be smart.

How about billing for the mixing sessions? I tend to get obsessive when I'm mixing so I always take longer than expected. Should I charge by the hour? Per song?

Whichever you feel is most appropriate. Let the client know ... if they want the mix to be good, then it's going to take some time. If they don't want to pay for the extra time, then they get the fast-food drive through mix that's basically slapped together. It's up to them.

Also, considering that most of my clients are dirt poor, how can I be flexible and work within someone's budget without screwing myself?

Offer discounts for blocks of time ... for paying up-front ... or if another guy cancels on you and you need to fill up the time slot or take a hit. Keep in mind, though, that you can't draw water from a stone. You're not working with Wallstreet Journal guys -- you're working with Guitar Player Magazine types. Don't expect to make a lot of money.

But as long as you get something up-front, charge for every hour of work, and never give anything away without full payment ... then you'll never get screwed. Ever. The question is ... can you handle that, or are you going to be a panzee and cave the second someone asks if you can float them or do them a favor? It's really all up to you.

.

 

[LeBron]

At first you shouldn't charge much untill some people get to know you as a good manager. Then they will tell their friends, their friends to THEIR friends, etc... Then you could raise the fee. And for the mixing - take bucks per song. Taking bucks per hour would be very pricey for those, who like to make their beats perfect, thus creating them for a long time.

 

[osiris]

Thanks for your advice everyone.

I'm definitely running more than just a "demo" studio at this point. I have a fairly impressive gear list for a home studio, plus I have about four years of exprerience working in pro studios. I'm charging $20/ hour right now basically because that's about what my potential clients can afford.

I'm starting to gain a reputation and that's why I'm trying to figure out a fair pricing scheme that I use for everybody. I'm thinking I'll probably book in blocks of time and ask for a pecentage up front as Mikeh suggests. For mixing, I'll probably charge per song since mixing tends to get up into hundreds of hours sometimes. What do you guys think is a fair price for a song?

 

[mrhotapples]

It's not fair to quote prices for songs, imo. Not on your part at least. I have some guys in here, we've put in 12 hours so far to track drums for two songs and some guitar for one. I estimate it will take at least another 16 hours to finish these two songs. At my $100 for 8 hours rate, these guys would owe me 350 bucks. Honestly though, pick and choose; these fellas are my friends and they need a break, especially since their playing isn't solid enough to warrant a real studio anyways.

You always have to take the people into account. 1 take guys are rare, and $100 for a song or something can mean that in the end, you spend 30 hours tracking something that would have been a weeks pay otherwise.