pricing yourself as a musician

[goosekevin]

didn't know where to post this so i went with general

my younger sisters friend is sitting her HSC (final high school exams) and is doing music and needs a guitarist for one song, bassist for another and has asked me.
local music store has quoted $1000 for two rehearsals, the trial exam and the final exam which the family don't want to pay and i agree, it seems too high.

they have offered me $200 for the same thing, calling it $50 an hour for those 4 sessions. however it's obviously gonna be more work than just the face to face hours and i'd feel way more comfortable with more rehearsals anyway.

is $200 a fair price? i have no idea, especially as it's being framed almost as a favour for a friend. don't want to underprice myself but don't want to be a dickhead

[backwardsvoyager]

i think $200 sounds fair enough assuming it takes you a little bit of time to learn and prepare for but nothing overly difficult, it depends on how much of an inconvenience it is i guess.
the people i did my HSC with were all doing it for free but they were students and got time off classes so i think you should at least be compensated for going out of your way to make rehearsals/exams and stuff.
$1000 is fucking ludicrous, but then again i know plenty of people who spent insane amounts of money on stuff like tutoring for their HSC so if the family is happy to pay then they're happy to pay

[untilshewokeme]

I have the same dilemma when I do freelance graphic design and when it comes down to it, its really up to you.

Gotta factor in travel/other expenses, if its a friend/favor do you give a discount and if you just want the cash/experience so you are willing to do it for a little less to get the gig. That is what basically goes through my head with freelance. When I was just starting out I priced myself so low just to get some money in my pocket. Now with not as much free time, I price myself what I think is reasonable but is definitely not the cheapest out there.

But long story short, $50 an hour does seem reasonable.

[goosekevin]

sweet, thanks gang, seemed okay but i asked a friend and he said $200 was way too low.

BV, she was supposed to get people from her school but supposedly they have all flaked out on her. i feel kind of bad for her that's why i'm gonna do it i think

[waltdogg]

As an engineer, (you're going into this as a session player, but studio work is studio work) I charge $40/hour and usually half that for friends. So $200 isn't bad if you wanna look at it like $20-$40 an hour for somewhere between 6 and 10 hours of your time. Take even less time and that's some GOOD money.

[rustywire]

didn't know where to post this so i went with general

my younger sisters friend is sitting her HSC (final high school exams) and is doing music and needs a guitarist for one song, bassist for another and has asked me.
local music store has quoted $1000 for two rehearsals, the trial exam and the final exam which the family don't want to pay and i agree, it seems too high.

they have offered me $200 for the same thing, calling it $50 an hour for those 4 sessions. however it's obviously gonna be more work than just the face to face hours and i'd feel way more comfortable with more rehearsals anyway.

is $200 a fair price? i have no idea, especially as it's being framed almost as a favour for a friend. don't want to underprice myself but don't want to be a dickhead

My apologies for being that guy, but I'm struggling to fully understand what you're saying with all the pronouns and rambling fragments.
Have the girl outline in writing what it is she wants. Have her be specific. How much time is anticipated for each rehearsals, trial, final. Make sure it is clearly communicated.

Respond with an itemized invoice. How much time you expect it to take, including prep/setup/travel costs. Be professional about it, and anticipate things will not go smoothly as best laid plans. Chance favors the prepared mind, you'll be better setup for fair compensation.

[The_Active_Conundrum]

If its a favor/for a friend, charge whatever seems fair.

if it is about business, itemize.

[smallsnd/bigsnd]

If its a favor/for a friend, charge whatever seems fair.

if it is about business, itemize.

yep. this seems like you're doing a favor for your sister's friend but want to be compensated, so in my opinion $200 is totally fair and chill. $1000 is just dumb. this is for a high school final exam, not a fucking record.

[morange]

Yeah, some high school chick, cut her a break.

[goosekevin]

If its a favor/for a friend, charge whatever seems fair.

if it is about business, itemize.

yep. this seems like you're doing a favor for your sister's friend but want to be compensated, so in my opinion $200 is totally fair and chill. $1000 is just dumb. this is for a high school final exam, not a fucking record.

perfect, cool.

thanks everyone

now what pedal should i buy with the money??

[rustywire]

A "friend rate" can be given even while being pro about it.
Effective communication (up front) is the best chance to make sure both sides wind up satisfied.
While it may seem simple enough to quote a "friendly" price and say "we'll make it up as we go" ...there will be complications once the real world variables are in play.
School finals are more important than making a record, to many.