To this day, I still get asked if I’ll work for free. “It’ll be great exposure for you!” “You get to showcase your talents!” “We don’t have any budget for music…” All of these phrases are so common. The worst part is that a lot of the people saying these things get away with it, as naive musicians will believe them and accept that they should play/write/produce (whatever) for free, sometimes even pay for the privilege.

This reminds me of that all-too-true phrase from Batman, The Dark Knight by the Joker… “If you’re good at something, never do it for free.”



So, if we’re not going to work for free, how much should we charge? There’s a few things to consider here.

What’s the going rate for a service like yours?

It’s a very good idea to have a feel for how others are pricing their services. If you price things wrong, you’ll do yourself out of work.

How do your skills compare to others’?

Are you better or worse than the status quo? Are you more experienced than most? Have you got something different or extra to offer?

How much does your client have to spend?

A key factor! If it’s obvious that your client is looking to spend £10,000 and you go in at £10, you’ll either scare them off because they think you’re not the standard they’re looking for, or they’ll hire you and you’ll miss out on £9990.

Perceived Value

My Dad was interviewing a personal trainer a few years back. He asked him how much he charged. The trainer went in as low as he could, thinking that the client would want a deal as good as possible, let’s say £20 per session for example.

My Dad taught him a valuable lesson that day.. He said, “I don’t want a £20 personal trainer, I want a good personal trainer. Why don’t you try your prices again?”

He was saying that a £20 per session personal trainer, in his mind, was someone fairly inexperienced, unskilled or just not very ambitious. By raising the price, he raised his expectations of the trainer. If you were offered a small amount of money to do a job, you’d be less proud to be there than with a larger amount, and by extension maybe you’d do a worse job, be less prepared and/or motivated.

The Art of Negotiating

There are books upon books upon libraries of books written about negotiating, and now there are a plethora of youtube videos on the subject.

The key points I’ve learnt over the years are:

Know your Unique Selling Point (USP) and why you’re perfect for the client Don’t be afraid to big yourself up! The client may genuinely not know how good your service is and may need to be told.

Show how your service will help their business

Maybe you’re in a cover band and you’re trying to get work at a bar. Say that your band will go the extra mile and announce drinks offers on the microphone. Bars love that! Most musicians just play their songs, say thank you and leave. Any way you can add extra value is a huge selling point.

Always aim to get the client to suggest a price first – that way you’ll never go in too high or too low. You could say “what’s your budget for this?” “what ballpark figure were you looking at spending?” “How much do you feel my services are worth?” “What can you offer me in terms of payment?”

After you’ve said that, GO SILENT! It might seem awkward, but the silence is the seller. Let them say a price, then you have a starting point to work from. You can either say it’s too high or too low – the ball’s in your court & you have the power in the negotiation. The rest of the negotiation will be a breeze.

Lastly and maybe most importantly… ALWAYS GET IT IN WRITING!

Get a simple email from the venue/employer/student (whatever!) saying that they agree to employ you on a certain date for services including whatever you agreed at the time you agreed for the amount you agreed. You don’t need a lawyer present, but getting it in writing is a lot more ironclad than just a verbal agreement. Also, when you start to get busier, it’s really helpful to have everything you’ve agreed to written down, and in the age of the smartphone we can refer back to emails with ease. Brilliant!

Thanks for reading!