I thought MY rates were low

8th_note · Post by **8th_note** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 2:03 pm

Well, I thought I was pretty close to the bottom of the recording food chain. I record unsigned bands, often their first CD, and I charge $50 per song. I do this as a hobby and I use the money for gear upgrades. My clients have been happy with their projects and I've been getting about as much work as I want from word of mouth.

A bass player whom I've worked with on three different projects has joined another band and they are ready to record a self released CD to sell at shows. He took a CD of my stuff to his bandmates and suggested they use me for the project. They liked my work but they had three (yeah, three) offers from different people to do it for free.

I thought I have carved out a fun little niche working with these local unsigned bands but maybe this is a harbinger of what's coming. Even though I view this as a hobby I don't want to do it for free. It will be interesting to see how this evolves.

mjau · Post by **mjau** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 2:10 pm

I've recorded people for free, but it's almost always been a basic demo thing - which some have then used as pre-production before they go into a real studio. My guess is that if a band is really after something done right, they will pay a reasonable price for it and will feel good about doing so.

klangtone · Post by **klangtone** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 2:38 pm

I record friends for free (or virtually free) as a way to gain experience and allow the recording process to take as long as it needs to without the band worrying about money. There are probably others out there like me.
I figure that if start to get really good, then all sorts of people might start coming to me and then I'll charge. But right now I need the experience more than anything.

Roy

standup · Post by **standup** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 2:38 pm

These guys must be stopped.

I'm afraid the only solution is to pay the band for the privilege of recording them. Maybe $20/hr per member?

8th_note · Post by **8th_note** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 2:57 pm

I'm afraid the only solution is to pay the band for the privilege of recording them. Maybe $20/hr per member?

LOL. You read my mind. That's exactly where I think this game is headed.

Electro-Voice 664 · Post by **Electro-Voice 664** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 8:20 pm

standup wrote:These guys must be stopped.

Anyone caught recording for free shall pay the TOMB slush fund: 2 SM57s and a copy of petsounds.

lsn110 · Post by **lsn110** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 5:17 am

wintershed wrote:Anyone caught recording for free shall pay the TOMB slush fund: 2 SM57s and a copy of petsounds.

Because I don't do this for a living, the few bands I record often get a great deal (usually just covering costs). I inevitably regret this somewhere in the process and then forget the regret 6 months later and do it again. In between, I record my own projects for free.

I have to admit I'd make the shittiest businessman ever. I'm more of a barter guy. A friend helped me fix my tractor, so now I'm helping him fix his barn roof. If I can extract similar help (perhaps with pruning my raspberries) from the band I'm recording now, I'll be very happy.

And sorry...you can't have my SM57's or my copy of Pet Sounds. I can't afford to part with those.

Seventh Wave Studio · Post by **Seventh Wave Studio** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 5:40 am

But yet I cannot find anyone who wants to do my taxes for free. Maybe I can tell my accountant that someone else is cheaper....

spankenstein · Post by **spankenstein** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 6:14 am

I don't do the freebies. I have done three and neither were very rewarding. What I have offered is to come and do a song just a quick, basic setup a quick mix and that's what we'd have to build from. I have had that work out.

I did this in response to a much better knowned commercial facility doing the same deal in their B room. They are charging the same hourly rate as me and threw in the trial song so I obliged. It worked out well and I got to do the album.

The only things I do for free are my own projects or projects that I am integral too. Heck... even some of those I should charge for. Not because it isn't fun or that I just care about money but it is a service and it does take my time that I could do other things that I want to do, even if that is recording the song that's been in my head.

Glory_Morris · Post by **Glory_Morris** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 6:16 am

I rely on my studio for a living even though I charge next to nothing. I think what happens a lot of the time is recordists think that whatever band they're offering to record for free will somehow launch their career and make them a *REAL* engineer.
Also, these days every band I come in contact with has a guy IN THE BAND that records them at home or something. I've recorded bands for free, most of them when I relocated and opened a fresh studio just to get the word of mouth started, but I have bills to pay and equipment to keep up. I've been thinking of doing some flat-rate work myself lately just for the guys who want to do it themselves but can't record a drum kit or vocals in their bedroom. Like $X per drum track, $X per vocal. Let them do the rest at home.

chris harris · Post by **chris harris** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 7:47 am

bands that choose to record "for free" usually get what they pay for.

Electro-Voice 664 · Post by **Electro-Voice 664** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 7:49 am

Yeah, recording isn?t my livelihood either, but all this gear upkeep costs us lots of money. A band that I was charging $100 a (10 hr) day, asked me what I did with all the money I made on recordings, this was after my reel to reel died, and I paid $300 to get some stuff replaced. So, I ended up breaking even and sometimes I simply gain experience during these times. But any local ?competition? that charges nothing is doing so at a loss and that can?t go on too long. (Look at our government!) Either way its fun, and stuff?.so what do ya do?

AstroDan · Post by **AstroDan** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 9:22 am

TUBelectro wrote:Also, these days every band I come in contact with has a guy IN THE BAND that records them at home or something.

Yep. This trend is only going to expand.

Oh well. I see recording like the camera. 100 years ago, people went to professionals. Then cameras became consumer, and everyone said "Fuck paying someone else". But after more than a century, you can still make a living taking pictures, even though anybody today can buy a camera and take 30 pictures for under $10.

bannerj · Post by **bannerj** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 1:35 pm

the problem with recording people for free is that it develops in them an unrealistic understanding of what they are getting themselves into. It might be cool to do it for free for some friends, but I have found that eventually some of these friends start assuming that everybody is going to do things for them for free and eventually some people start feeling like they are being taken advantage of. I don't mean to ruin the fun of giving to people and enjoying the creative process without the pressure of money...but if you continue that for too long...some people start getting pissed.

seaneldon · Post by **seaneldon** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 1:49 pm

ive really never done the free recording (with the exceptions of best friends) because i don't want to devalue my skills or my studio. thats a big deal for me, maintaining my "net worth"

Message Board

I thought MY rates were low

I thought MY rates were low

Inevitably free....

Re: Inevitably free....

Who is online