How do you decide how much to charge a client for Audio / Music jobs?

Question

If you we're asked "How much do you charge for your Audio work?" (assuming that you can compose, record sequence, synth / sound design, mix and master), how do you come up with your price?

What is a pretty common standard of getting paid as an audio engineer / musician? Do you charge the sum of each steps of the music production process? Do you make deals for doing everything in-house yourself (example: no outsourcing to other recording studios)?

Do you let your experience affect the amount you charge?

Does the equipment you own have a large impact?

Do you ask some common questions back to the client to adjust your price? If so, what would some of those be?

Answer 1

The single most important things are to make sure you feel like you are charging appropriately for the work you put in, and to tightly scope the work, with specific acceptance criteria, usage and contract terms.

Even if it is a short deliverable, if your preparation time is going to be many hours due to a specific build then you should budget for that. If you are getting a cheaper deal through outsourcing some of the process, you can reflect that in your quote, but you don't have to.

Experience should have a part to play, but it is up to you if you want to affect your rate based on the kit you own - the client is not going to care as long as you can deliver.

Remember, it is business - so you want to make a profit, while not putting off customers by charging too much. Try and find out what local competitors are charging - but remember that local can be less relevant these days.