The Cold call

[@?,*???&?]

I had an interesting experience yesterday. My studio is listed in the phone books locally here. There are only a few legitimate studios such as this in this area.

A person called asking if I could transfer cassettes to CD.

I make a living making records- producing, recording and mixing them. I do have the ability to do these one-off type projects and in particular, my cassette deck has been a good money-maker. Problem is, I feel incredibly guilty taking this kind of work these days because of the prevalence of DAWs. Doesn't everyone have this ability at home now?

This particular project is 17 90 minute cassettes to be transferred into the digital domain. Using Pro Tools, that's real time into the computer and real time out of the computer. I feel guilty charging $1700 to do this work.

How would you guys haggle this? Hours? Not charge for materials? The guy was a senior citizen- should I offer a senior discount? He searched the phone book, called around and I was the cheapest hourly to do the work.

[lobstman]

Do you have an intern, or know a kid at Banjo Mart who can do this at home in their spare time? I get calls for this sort of thing occasionally, and I always tell the person flat out that they don't want to pay my rates, but I give them a few phone numbers of folks who can do the work more economically. Especially with seniors, I think- how would I want someone treating my granddad if he was looking for this sort of thing?

[fuller]

I had the same thing happen to me this weekend as well. A women calls to transfer a lp to cd. I said sure I can get to it this weekend. At the end of the conversation she asks how much, since she is a neighbor of mine I said $75 bucks, Her reply, "oh I didn't think it would be that much" I than explained to her that it would be very simple for her to do it herself, wich was a bad idea because now as it turns out I am consultant working for free! I guess what I am saying is don't feel guilty for charging rates tha are well within reason. Transfers always take a lot of time and are usually pretty freakin boring to do.

[leftofthedial]

I never charge for time for these kinds of transfers. I charge per side (as in a side of a tape or lp). $15 bucks a side for cassettes, $20 bucks a side for LPs. Since it's only really about 5 minutes of work and the rest I can do other things while the tape or lp is rolling, it works out well. Straight transfers, no mastering involved. If someone does questions the price, I give them the phone number of someone who will charge by the hour as sort of a wake up call.

[cgarges]

I'm with Rob. I generally figure out a flat fee for the project based on the work required and I have them drop it off and get it done for them sometimes during the week. I can do that sort of thing while I'm cleaning up or making backups or doing stuff on-line or whatever.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[CurtZHP]

I also bill per job on these types of projects, rather than by the hour. And I keep it cheap simply because it's easy work. Chucking a tape in the deck and hitting record on the DAW is hardly rocket science. Sure they could do it themselves if they had the time and the knowhow, but they don't. That's why they're calling you. Don't feel embarrassed about charging them, but don't rape them either.

I look at it this way these days.....
My mechanic just charged me nearly $700 to replace a bracket assembly on my engine. It was a simple, cheap part, but the swap-out was a labor intensive job. He showed absolutely no embarrassment or shame when quoting me the cost of the job. He made no apologies for what he gets to do the work. He gets what he gets, and if I can find a cheaper mechanic, I'm more than welcome to go elsewhere. If I had the tools and the time, I could very well have done the job myself, but I didn't.

My father has owned his own upholstery business for about forty years. He too makes no apologies about what he charges for what. If he feels compelled to cut you a break, he will; but it's his perogative. He's actually thrown potential customers out of his store for making a stink about the estimated cost of a job. His usual response: "Try that at the local grocery store. Go in there and haggle about the price of their ground beef or a loaf a bread. See if they'll let you get away with it!"

What I've noticed, particularly within the client base of your average small independent recording studio (read: basement studio), that the ones who whine about the price are really expecting you to do it for free. I can't tell you how many zit-faced college kids have asked me what I charge and are horrified by the answer. And I don't charge a lot. I just tell them, "Call around. If you can find a cheaper place who will give you the same results, knock yourself out!"

I never hear from them again, and I'm willing to bet that no one else in town ever hears from them either.

As for the folks who just want to transfer something, I have noticed that most of them are older folks who are just trying to preserve some memories for their kids or grandkids. I just got done doing a couple jobs like that. For the most part, they're not looking for precise editing or pristine fidelity. They just want what's there. So I bill them according to how much effort I'm really putting into it, which is usually relatively little.

[Mane1234]

That's over half a business week's worth of time. 25.5 real time hours and if you're tying up your main rig to do it then.....I spent 8 hours the other day doing tapes from my playing days and still wish I would have had an intern there to babysit. It's your time...It costs what it costs...

[lharless]

$15 a side isn't unreasonable. I think I'm going to start advertising this service at this rate. Thanks for the idea.


I'm sure there are alot of people out there with tapes and records that they love, yet can't listen to that would love to have their audio on something playable. If we offer this service, then we're doing not only a good deed for grandma, but we're also helping preserve history. Audio tapes of a mother and child laughing, or loved ones yappin' it up are going to break, get stuck or fail somehow in the near future. Help these people get their shit in playable condition.

$15 a side. Good price. Good and honest money for a service that is needed.

[CurtZHP]

I just got an e-mail from a woman I've done video transfers for in the past. She has a tape of the memorial service for her baby boy who died a couple years ago. Her daughter, who goes to preschool with my son, likes the music from the service, so she wants me to put in on CD for her daughter.

It's things like this that I feel guilty charging for.

[markitzero]

I did a transfer as a personal favor for a client last year... He's the promoter of a folk concert series where I've been doing sound for about 4 years. He had all these cassette tapes of interviews with a family member that was also a holocaust survivor, who had died earlier that year. Put them all on CD, even split them up into tracks for him, all for free. Only took me about 5 hours, but most of that time was just sitting around watching TV while the tape ran.

Sometimes you gotta put good deeds and good rep before money, because it'll work for you in the long run.

[lharless]

volunteer service is nice, but the casket company didn't give them the coffin.

...ya know?

[if6was9]

volunteer service is nice, but the casket company didn't give them the coffin.

You might be surprised. In my old neighborhood (a low income area), the local funeral home was well known for doing free funerals for children if the parents couldn't afford to pay.

I'm not saying what you should or shouldn't do. Personally, I would charge most people my hourly rate, and decline the work if they think it is too expensive. And I think media tranfers are a legitimate service to perform in exchange for money.

But many people find ways to give something back to their communities through charitable acts. Donating free services can be a good way for many professionals to do this.

[AstroDan]

I would reserve the "fuck them before they fuck you" attitude for buying a used car from a salesman, but don't charge the old guy $1700 for making CDs.

[@?,*???&?]

I would reserve the "fuck them before they fuck you" attitude for buying a used car from a salesman, but don't charge the old guy $1700 for making CDs.

Here's a new observation on the situation. IF I had a standalone CD Burner, I could do a real-time transfer from Cassette to CD. Since I have Pro Tools, then it means I have to do the 2-step process. Real-time in to Pro Tools, then real-time bounce out of Pro Tools. I sort of feel like I can't really charge the guy for the bounce out because I could have different equipment to make it quicker. Someone pointed out to me though that this guy dialed around and came to this studio where this is the equipment that is used and therefore should pay whatever I charge. I found that judgement sort of harsh.

[leigh]

Here's a new observation on the situation. IF I had a standalone CD Burner, I could do a real-time transfer from Cassette to CD. Since I have Pro Tools, then it means I have to do the 2-step process. Real-time in to Pro Tools, then real-time bounce out of Pro Tools.

Wait, why are you going realtime out of Pro Tools if you're using your computer's internal CD burner?

Leigh