average hourly rates?

J

jho1986

New member
I have been recording for a couple of years (almost only my own bands), am in the process of getting a recording degree, and ive been building up a portable studio for recording demos. I have gotten a couple of offers to record some local bands, but i really dont know what i should charge because i have yet to charge anyone. I know there is a lot behind what the rates end up being, but i was just hoping you guys could share what and how you charge people...

thanks for any responses!!!
 
I am pretty new to all this as well...and what I tell people is,,,it totally depends from project to project. Also, being new, when the recording will count (for lack of better words) I also have a Pro Engineer friend of mine who comes in and basically runs the show if the client is paying decent money. That has to be factored in as well. I still feel that I am learning so I wouldnt feel right charging a Commercial Studio fee or an experienced engineers fee for a possible half assed final product.

But to answer your question, I go with Price being based on the project and its involvement. (I even have done offers like "a $200.00 on the fly weekend deal" for band demos, but that didnt include seperate tracking....it was all basically a one shot deal, the whole band plays together (with all the bleed of all the open mics..etc and very little in the mixdown process. lol It actually worked fairly well for some of the bands and gave me more hands on.)

I guess its all in what what your after, and what you can present to them as a final product. Also whats your overhead, how invested you are, and what you need to pay the bills. I am not starting out greedy, and I'd rather learn and gain experience first partly on my dime. ;)

I DID however just start a church friends 10 song CD project FOR FREE for him so I got more hands on for myself. (Thought it would be a fair trade) That offer may have been a mistake for you not to try. We started in March and still are at it once or twice a week,,,and still its free! :eek: :o Charge them something!! ;)

Just my 2 cents :D

Peace
Aj :cool:
 
it's what you decide you are worth and what the market can support.

i've come up with my pricing scheme after years of doing it. it averages out to about 15/20 bucks an hour. i'm under valued in my humble opine but my market is really bottom level $-wise. most of my 'competition' are folks who charge nothing...and i really don't look at them as competition at all....most are pals.

starting out - 10 bucks an hour seems the average...top end in the middle stuff i do is 25 an hour. bigger rooms are 40/50 an hour.

a thing to realize is a lot of folks put the value on the recording by how much they pay. i've heard garbage at 60 an hour...but it sounds great as they paid the money for it. keep this in mind in how you price yourself... that whole premium pricing thing.

Mike
 
I think it's all in what you can bring to the table. If you're operating a small hobby type studio out of your house, then 20-50 per hour may be reasonable.

If you've got a sizable "commercial" room then 50-100 per hour could be a fair rate.

Of course your level of expertise has to be in line with your rate as well. If you're a hack, even if you've got a great facility it would be unfair to charge 125 per hour.

On the other hand, if you've got loads of experience and talent, then 125 could be totally reasonable for someone to record in your home studio.
 
In my market, the big rooms are in the $90 to $125 range - this puts most of the small facilities in the $40 to $60 range. Home studio then take up the $10 - $30 range. I try to stay in the $20 range for my reasonably well equipped home studio.

I normally anticipate a song from start to finish (basic tracking, overdubs, vocals and mixing) will take about 10 hours and I try to make certain my clients understand that on the front end.

I nornally charge more on a project basis (trying to allow enough for anticipated delays, etc). Often clients are less focused on the cost if they have a set project budget, vs. watching the clock.
 
I charge 0 - $15.00 an hour. A lot of the stuff I do for free or trade for some gear.
I have decent equipment but I think I am lacking in the skills to be charging more.
I have had a few people very happy with my work and payed me a lot more than I was chagrining them.
 
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