Are there any disadvantages to using a “sliding scale” for charging for a mix?
For example, a simple acoustic & vocals song might just have a handful of tracks and can be mixed much quicker than a complex band or a song with lots of overdubs, VSTs etc?
Does it make sense to charge less for the smaller song? Or does it seem to impact business?
I just ask because the charges I see most are 1 of these 3:
- Not advertised/tailor made to client
- Blanket price for any song
- One price for label artists and another for indie artists
If you do the indie/label artist thing make sure you clarify why the prices are different. And only do this because you think you’ll have a mix of both. I don’t publish label artist prices, but I charge less for the label artist. I consider the label artists an opportunity to build toward a service contract (meaning a yearly retainer or ongoing monthly income for x amount of hours). Part of this reason is that I also want any non-music work that comes from label. (Many labels these days are hybrid publishing companies, meaning that they publish more than just music).
I wouldn’t advertise for this. For the same reason, if you’re a wedding band, you want to dress in tuxes and suits and let the client imagine you dressed down, vs dressing in T-shirts and jeans and asking them to imagine you dressed up. Give them the big picture, then let them deduce the smaller picture. I would throw the higher price out first, then let them negotiate you down if the track is really that simple.
Yeah this is a good question that i have asked myself but have never had enough business through the door to actually make a final decision on. One thing i know is don’t under value yourself. If you think something you are doing is worth x $'s than charge that amount.