Welcome back to the Sound Synthesis Architect!
Yesterday I was reading an article posted by Erik Magrini of Inner Portal Studio entitled "Yes But You Have To Pay Me." In a nut shell, the article describes how success in the music industry takes vigilance and hard work which distances us from our friends and followers. The most unfortunate part of this is that it takes up most of our time and in turn we are no longer able to dedicate time to having discussions with fans and lose contact with our friends.
This article kind of hits home because at this point in my career I try my best to help other aspiring producers just like I look to other producers for advice on my work. I see as my friends careers further they have less and less time to hang out with me let alone help me with my questions. Erik's response to this is that he is now offering consulting through his studio for a small fee. This way he is still able to stay connected with people but not lose out on time that he needs to making a living.
This had me thinking about the balancing act between doing things pro bono and charging for your services even if they are for a friend. I find that I try to keep my DJing prices down (often for just the cost of travel and drinks) because I want to get my name out there in order to bring in new work but is this devaluing my time? This is a tricky question because I have invested all of this time and money into equipment, music, and practice but could be making it up through networking which lead to further events. I'd like to come to a happy balance of these two but haven't quite been able to figure out the scale.
How do you guys feel about this? Do you all have similar stories? I'd love to hear all of your opinions and stories!
I hear so many stories from musicians in NYC that restaurant owners etc want them to play free "for the exposure" even if they have long and distiguished careers already. One technique I suggest to my clients is that they state their usual fee and then stay open to negotiations down from that: for example, "If you book me for two gigs I can give you 50% off (or even 75%) for each." In terms of research in behavioral economics, this "anchors" the buyer with a value of your worth even though they may end up paying much less. A similar strategy is to state your usual rate (possibly with reference to fees charged by other DJs) and then be willing to negotiate down to the amount that would cover your travel and drinks. Presenting this as fee rather than expenses again anchors your time as valuable. You can, of course, say "well that's not even enough to cover my travel and drinks" but still present it as fee. Good luck and keep me posted.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the insight! This strategy sounds great because I can play somewhat cheaper without completely devaluing my time.
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