How Much to Charge?

Digital Perfomer in the context of television/film scoring and post-production.

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Julia123
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How Much to Charge?

Post by Julia123 »

I recall a post here discussing what people charge for commercial work but I'm not finding it now. Through a personal connection, I have my first commercial composing gig for a National company that I'm handling all myself. They already have a sample I did that they like and we are going from there. The last time I came close to doing this was over 10 years ago when I was an intern at a music house in NYC so I never dealt with any of the details. They are asking me for a ballpark budget and I don't even have close to a clue what it should be or what details to present!
This will be back ground light orchestral type music for a video on their website with probably three different time edits, the longest about 1 1/2 mins. I know people may not necessarily like to say what they would charge but maybe there is a resource somewhere with a good over view? I'm new so of course I can't ask the same that more experienced people do, but I don't want to be cheapo either. It would be great if this all works out and I can work my way up to more opportunities in the future. They have all sorts of things going on, including TV ads. Thanks.
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Julia123
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Re: How Much to Charge?

Post by Julia123 »

I forgot it was the music business board I was thinking of, sorry. I think I see some good links there.---- Off to figure it out.
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MIDI Life Crisis
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Re: How Much to Charge?

Post by MIDI Life Crisis »

Among the trickiest questions because there is no correct answer.

Hard costs are easy (session players, studio, etc.) But what about your fee?

If that is what you are asking, only you can answer it. What are you worth?

The bigger questions are:

How much are they willing to pay you?
At what point would you price yourself out of it?

Tough but enviable situation to be in. Good for you! Hope it goes well.

:band:
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Julia123
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Re: How Much to Charge?

Post by Julia123 »

MIDI Life Crisis wrote:Among the trickiest questions because there is no correct answer.

Hard costs are easy (session players, studio, etc.) But what about your fee?

If that is what you are asking, only you can answer it. What are you worth?

The bigger questions are:

How much are they willing to pay you?
At what point would you price yourself out of it?

Tough but enviable situation to be in. Good for you! Hope it goes well.

:band:
Thanks! I'm hoping! I'm keeping it low I think. I'd rather come in a little too low than loose it testing the waters. They are out of town so now I have to wait.
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MIDI Life Crisis
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Re: How Much to Charge?

Post by MIDI Life Crisis »

Just don't underprice yourself. There's a funny thing about price. A great person can offer a bid at say, $500, while a mediocre person might bid $1500 for the same job. Some clients think "$500 can't be all that good" or "$1500, must be a great purchase." It's a psychological thing but it all comes down to how you sell it. Be prepared to defend the price for the time you'll put into it. You have to make a living while devoting time to the project. A decent client will actually expect a reasonable bid for what they are asking for. If all they want to do is cut corners to save $$$ I'm generally not interested. Also balance the exposure you might get as something with real value - if exposure is something you're interested in (and I assume you are).
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cowtothesky
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Re: How Much to Charge?

Post by cowtothesky »

They already have an amount they budgeted for music. When securing financing for a commercial, they have to put an amount down. Just ask them what they have budgeted. Then, decide if that figure needs to go up or down. That is how I handle it. :)

Also, don't be afraid to walk away if the money isn't right.
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Re: How Much to Charge?

Post by MIDI Life Crisis »

Not all producers are forthcoming with budget figures and some will insist on a bid. If you can get that, great. If not, again, bid higher than you think - in general. And yes, walking away isn't a bad option from a crappy deal.
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Re: How Much to Charge?

Post by cbergm7210 »

I get subcontracted by another studio in town who is hired by an ad agency who has the actual client. I charge what I charge, the studio adds their percentage and sticks their name on it, the agency adds their percentage and it's twice the cost (or more) for the client from where it starts with me.

The client's who are lucky enough to find me and work directly with me get great savings, so it is indeed a matter of what your time is worth, if it's a buyout, etc. because the perceived value is just that, perceived. Folks get the same product from me whether it's through an ad agency or not, even though they might feel they're getting a step up in quality going through the agency because it costs more for them.

If it's a buyout (indefinite use) I tend to double or triple my hourly fee for the project. I make a little more money, and they get to use it 'till the cows come home. I've done jingles that have been running since the mid 90's, so those folks are getting their money's worth for those deals.
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Re: How Much to Charge?

Post by MIDI Life Crisis »

I don't usually do buyouts. As far as I'm concerned the lowest buyout prices start in six figures not including the decimal point. There's very big bucks in national commercials from BMI and presumably ASCAP. If someone wants me to forfeit that they're going to cough up a bigger hair ball. If course one also has to balance exposure. Since commercials don't generally list the composer, that don't count.
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Re: How Much to Charge?

Post by cbergm7210 »

MIDI Life Crisis wrote:I don't usually do buyouts. As far as I'm concerned the lowest buyout prices start in six figures not including the decimal point. There's very big bucks in national commercials from BMI and presumably ASCAP. If someone wants me to forfeit that they're going to cough up a bigger hair ball. If course one also has to balance exposure. Since commercials don't generally list the composer, that don't count.
My local market does not support royalty based music beds / jingles, so buyouts are the only option. In lieu of that, I hike my hourly rate to compensate...just sayin'.
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Re: How Much to Charge?

Post by Julia123 »

I really appreciate all the help! It ended up going great and they are paying very well. They even want me to do another project. Now it's time to send the invoice. I recall seeing a link somewhere to a place with sample invoices for this kind of thing? Can anyone recall that or recommend where to look? I am doing my own on Quick books but am not sure what to put in there.
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Re: How Much to Charge?

Post by bralston »

Regards,

Brian Ralston

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Julia123
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Re: How Much to Charge?

Post by Julia123 »

Thank you. I'm hoping to find the actual wording I should use on the invoice, from what to call what I did, (music? music for video?) to disclaimers, their rights etc. I would like to keep it as simple as possible, just clear so everyone is comfortable. It was music for a video on a web site.
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