Setting Rates
After you generate some initial interest and decide to take on a few beginning projects, you'll be faced with the eternal question, “How much will you charge?”
At first, you should probably charge nothing at all. But why on earth would you want to do this? Because you aren't a professional recording engineer…yet! The most valuable thing you lack is real work experience, so just like any business, you should set your fees based on experience. If you're just starting out with no experience, taking no money will ensure that someone will take a chance recording in your studio. What will they have to lose? Instead, you'll gain valuable job experience, which gets you closer to earning real money, and you'll also get a chance to figure out challenges brought on by other people's music.
By taking no compensation, you might feel more freedom to experiment with sounds and recording techniques that otherwise could have wasted a client's time and money.
As you get more comfortable handling diverse recording situations, you'll be able to start charging fees comfortably. There's nothing worse than charging by the hour and looking like a fool when you have to read the manual to figure out how to do something. Before you start charging, you should be able to run a full session without help from manuals, product guides, or calls to other home recording buddies.
Charging Fees
If the idea of giving away your services makes you uneasy, charging a flat fee might be a great way to go. It's also the next step after you stop giving away your services. Flat fees for projects are great when you're starting to record larger projects. However, just starting out, you lack the experience to give a fair estimate, or so you fear. If you recorded 100 bands this year, you have a pretty good idea what to expect. If not, give it your best guess. This is better than charging by the hour and worrying about the ticking clock over your shoulder. This will also help save face when you encounter the occasional setback like messing up a take or being unfamiliar with a software feature and having to call tech support!
When you're ready to charge by the hour, what do you want to charge? This is a hard question to answer. If you start too low, you'll gain a reputation as a “budget” studio and you'll find it hard to raise your rates later, especially if you've built up a client base. If you start too high you run the risk of turning away prospective clients. Find a few studios in your area that you believe are comparable to yours. Remember to judge with your ears and not with your eyes. It's possible now to have everything self-contained within the computer, so how your studio looks is irrelevant compared to the quality you can produce. If you can match the quality of other studios near you, you can match the rates. You can always lower a touch to attract new business and to help get your career rolling. Many studios charge anywhere from $40 to $100 per hour to record. You can find studios that are both cheaper and more expensive, but most of the smaller-level studios charge the same. Since every area has its own pricing, do some research and check around to find out what's considered “fair” in your area.
How can I figure out where to set my prices?
Call other professional studios in your area and see what they charge per hour. You should charge less than a professional studio until you are experienced and time-tested. You might want to start with charging half of what other studios charge at first, raising your rates as you become more confident in your work.
Don't expect to make a fortune from recording, especially if your equipment and facilities aren't amazing. But you can make some nice pocket change and upgrade your equipment as you go along.
