Production Music Rate

amother

Sat, Mar 12 2022, 11:18 pm

I am doing music for a production.
What is the accepted rate I could charge?
Can I charge separately for coming down for practice?

dena613

Sat, Mar 12 2022, 11:23 pm

Maybe first clarify what "music" means?

Do you play the keyboard live at every practice?
do you compose the songs?
Etc

amother

Sat, Mar 12 2022, 11:27 pm

dena613 wrote:

Maybe first clarify what "music" means?

Do you play the keyboard live at every practice?
do you compose the songs?
Etc

Playing live at practice. Probably not composing songs.
I don’t know how many sessions they will want me to come down for. So I am thinking I should charge per session.

dena613

Sat, Mar 12 2022, 11:29 pm

since you are playing live at practice and not composing or doing backwork, soundtrack, rtc.
I think you should charge by the hour somehow- what if a "session" is sometimes 45 minutes, but the last few weeks before production it's 2 hours...

amother

Sat, Mar 12 2022, 11:31 pm

dena613 wrote:

What kind of rate is acceptable? I will also have to do a lot of work at home, figuring out chords, intros, beats, styles.
They might want me to do harmony too etc.
I’m doing it with my friend, so she will definitely ask me to do more than just music.
(She isn’t the one paying me though.)

dena613

Sun, Mar 13 2022, 12:15 am

I don't know rates.

Bump this thread for the morning crowd!

Or ask friends IRL who do this.

amother

Sage

Sun, Mar 13 2022, 1:19 am

I play music for productions too. My price depends on what kinda play it is and how much work goes into it.. For example for small first or second grade plays that I'm simply doing piano style I charge 275 for two practices plus play. For larger productions where I take care of all music including music for the musicals choirs theme songs etc I charge between 1700 and 2000. I think I'm really cheap tho. You can probably charge way more.. It's just my side job and I just never upped my price...
Good luck!

amother

Sun, Mar 13 2022, 11:10 pm

amother [ Sage ] wrote:

Thank you! That's helpful! I've only worked for free so far 🙈.
There was always a reason to do it as a favor...

amother

Sage

Mon, Mar 14 2022, 7:24 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Thank you! That's helpful! I've only worked for free so far 🙈.
There was always a reason to do it as a favor...

so welcome to the industry! if you're from Brooklyn I wish I'd have your name and number to recommend to schools.. I'm always asked for other people when I'm not avail and there's such a shortage of pianists...

amother

Mon, Mar 14 2022, 7:28 pm

amother [ Sage ] wrote:

I'm no longer in Brooklyn.
When I was in school most schools had a student play for performances. (Which meant that I was always out of class 😉.) It seems like they outsource it these days.