Should I alter rates for a week's recording?

[scalpy]

Hi all,

I'm just wondering if I should discount my normal studio rate for a session that will hopefully get off the ground this summer. The project is a self funded job by the prospective clients and I can't decide whether to just quote my usual daily rate or to offer a "bulk deal"! I don't want to blow their budget but likewise I don't want to sell myself short. It'll be a residential job and only a 60 mile round trip so transportation won't be an issue. Not being Pino my previous record for a recording session is two days so a week is quite a step up!

Any advice would be welcome, thanks.

Scalpy

[lurksalot]

I dont know about the music industry and session work , but in my line of work the more a customers buys the better rate he gets , up to a point . if you have other paying work on offer it might not be approppriatte , but offer them a sliding rate so that they can see you are trying to help .

[flyfisher]

I've always thought these sort of situations are determined by average utilisation of whatever it is being hired out.

Simplistically, if you need to make £400 per week hiring something out but you usually average 4 days of hire per week then the daily rate would have to be £100.

If someone wants to book a full week then that would be £500, or more than average, so you could afford to offer a 20% discount and still make your target.. Or offer 10% and give and take a bit extra. Or keep it all. Or keep an eye on what the competition do.

[scalpy]

Thank you for the advice. I did indeed offer a lower rate, it's my first time with the client and I wanted to be sympathetic to the fact it's self funded. Not business minded at all really and playing only offers a nice subsidy to the day job but it must be tough for full timers pitching rates attractively all the time.

[flyfisher]

Let's hope they remember your generosity when they make it big and are multi-millionaires