When preparing music, you always make sure what goes on the page is pitch-perfect. How about what goes on the bill? Should you charge hourly? By the bar? Some other way? Philip Rothman and David MacDonald break down the all the elements of a successful music preparation gig, from the initial conversations with the client, how to formulate the best approach to pricing the job, and finally, making sure everybody is happy with the end result.
It’s not always easy having that money talk, but we’re here to make some sense of it all — and hopefully a few dollars, euros, and pounds, as well.
I loved the podcast. I also loved the one with Nicole Jordan. So many things I don’t know, that were soooo interesting.
Interesting discussion Philip and David. Very good points to consider on a very important topic! You mentioned the good/fast/cheap triad – I have a similar type of idea that I apply mentally when considering a job. You could call it the creativity/money/profile triad. If a project allows me considerable creative control or it is high profile enough that I can use it as ‘advertising’ I am likely willing to compromise on the money. On the other hand, if those two aspects are missing the money should be right! One word of warning about doing work cheaply with the unspoken promise of future work. Bear in mind you have sort of set your rate for that client. It is hard to then suddenly charge double to get up to market on the next project. Also you run the risk of being saved in that person’s mind as ‘cheap labor’ so when they get their big break they will look for ‘a professional’.
Great tips. Thanks!
I completely agree regarding the cheap first job approach. Early on, I did the cheap fee initially, but then when I became more established those initial clients didn’t want to hire me and instead went to other emerging copyists. I was essentially their cheap option until I wasn’t!
Philip, thanks for this episode. I’m currently half way through and it’s excellent
Dear Philip,
My best whishes for the new year. I hope that in 2022 Scoring Notes will focus on written articles in stead of podcasts. I prefer the written stuff. To be honest, I never listen to the podcasts. To time-consuming. With articles, you can scroll through the text, re-reading bits you like. Imho podcasts are a step back….
Cheers
Douwe
Hi Douwe: Thank you and best wishes to you as well! We must be doing something right, as we have heard from many enthusiastic listeners who love the podcast. The good news is that we plan on continuing both the articles and podcasts this year.
Did you know that we have made a full transcript of this particular podcast episode?
How to charge for music preparation [podcast transcript]