"Business" advice for a free-lance accompanist?

[notanotherusername]

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to get some ideas for how to charge for my accompanying/general piano-playing services.

First some background on myself and experience:
I graduated last May with a degree in piano performance. During my degree, I did a fair amount of accompanying fellow students (mostly instrumentalists) as well as my own solo performances. I've been playing for ballet classes the past three or four years, and have also accompanied a high-school musical theater class, done some subbing at churches, and I currently work with a professional singer-performer doing gigs here and there.

The work I've done up until now was either at a set rate by the school or done to earn my scholarship, so I'm new to the 'business' side of things. I don't want to overcharge people, but I also don't want to cheat myself as this is becoming a part of my livelihood.

Here is what I have been charging for some recent gigs:
Rehearsals -$10 for half-hour, $20/hour
Recital performance- $100

I've done some research and this seems kind of middle-to-low- range, and I think this is probably fair for my education and current level of experience...but is it?

Some questions for y'all.
-Do accompanists usually charge more for dress rehearsal than a regular rehearsal?

- How much should I charge for playing competitions and juries?

- What is a good fee to charge for playing parties (providing background music, playing for group sings, and the like)?

-Should I adjust my recital fee depending on the length of the performance (for instance, jr. recitals are 30 mins. and sr. recitals are 1 hour)?

-Do accompanists adjust rates depending on the amount/difficulty of the music and factors like having short notice of an impending performance, or having to travel a long distance for rehearsals/performances?


Sorry that this ended up being kind of long -but if any of you have answers or suggestions for anything mentioned (or not mentioned!) I would appreciate the guidance!

Thanks!

[becky8898]

Hi - I really dont know anything about this, except depending on where you are, if there is a musicans union, go down there.  Talk to them, they will fill you in.  Talk to other pianists who have been doing this for awhile.  Ask , Ask, ASk. Find out if your playing puts you up a notch on others doing the same thing.  Thats all I can think of . best of luck.

Cheers, Becky

[Bob]

$100 sounds low to me for a rectial.  I've heard $200 at least.  That includes a rehearsal or two.  If they need more, they aren't really ready and might be better off practicing more on their own.

I would just charge for the whole party, by time.  Maybe $50/hr if you worked it out?

It's the amount of time/music that determines how much you get paid.

Mileage and hotel if it involves a lot of travelling. 

And a lot less if it's just a jury.  Maybe $50-100.  If it's a concerto competition, more.  That's more like a recital.

I've heard a few people mention the difficulty of music, but every accompanist I've seen just takes the music and prepares it.  Whenever the first rehearsal and performance is, they're ready and aren't focused on.  It's just a given that they're ready to go. I have heard of accompanists requesting to see the music first before they agree to do it but you can also tell if someone's done a lot of accompanying if they agree to it fairly quickly without seeing the scores -- They'll ask if it's modern, who the composer is, etc., and then decide. 

And yes, I've heard of accompanists charging a lot more for short notice. 

[quantum]

Ask local accompanists how much they charge.  Check churches, see what the sub, wedding, or funeral rates are.  

I concur $100 is low for recital.  In Canada it would be more what each member of an ensemble or orchestra may get for a gig.  I've heard $200 and up for accompanying a full recital (not to be confused with a solo recital).  

Musicians unions in your area may set minimum wage standards for professional musicians.  Check with them.  Here is an example for Canadian organists and church accompanists:
https://www.rcco.ca/employment-salary-table.cfm

In the end, change what you think you are worth.  Don't low ball your price.  If you think you are worth $20 / hr then change that.  If you think you are worth more, than raise the price.  If people are looking for the caliber of a $100 / hr accompanist they won't go looking to a $20 / hr one.  

The following site may have articles that interest you.  
https://users.datarealm.com/marbeth/business.html

[aintgotnorhythm]

I would suggest reading a book on how to negotiate, e.g. 3D Negotiation by Lax/Sebenius (this has an interesting chapter on haggling/how to arrive at your opening price offer, etc.), though I'm sure there are other equally good books and articles on this topic. If you try to follow a structured process like the one suggested you should end up with a better outcome.

[richard black]

I earn most of my living as a freelance accompanist. I charge the same hourly rate (£15) for every client (except a very few to whom, for historical reasons, the rate is £20) for anything I do - coaching, rehearsals, repetiteuring, auditions, gigs, whatever - UNLESS I'm offered a flat fee that's higher (for instance last night I did an opera gala for an opera company who offered £225 as the standard fee, including travel and a rehearsal in the afternoon directly before the gig). I calculate my hourly rate on the basis that the average income in the UK is very roughly £25,000 a year, the standard working week is 35 hours and there are 50 working weeks in a year, hence 1750 hours: £25000 divided by 1750 is £15 to the nearest convenient number, allowing a little on top for business expenses etc.

[ahinton]

I earn most of my living as a freelance accompanist. I charge the same hourly rate (£15) for every client (except a very few to whom, for historical reasons, the rate is £20) for anything I do - coaching, rehearsals, repetiteuring, auditions, gigs, whatever - UNLESS I'm offered a flat fee that's higher (for instance last night I did an opera gala for an opera company who offered £225 as the standard fee, including travel and a rehearsal in the afternoon directly before the gig). I calculate my hourly rate on the basis that the average income in the UK is very roughly £25,000 a year, the standard working week is 35 hours and there are 50 working weeks in a year, hence 1750 hours: £25000 divided by 1750 is £15 to the nearest convenient number, allowing a little on top for business expenses etc.

Richard - you are grossly undervaluing yourself and your work! Why on God's Earth should you even think of calculating your "hourly rate on the basis that the average income in the UK is very roughly £25,000 a year, the standard working week is 35 hours and there are 50 working weeks in a year"? Since you evidently do so nonetheless, you must be one or other or both of two things - overly modest and overly generous. However many "hours" and "working weeks" have you devoted to developing the ability to do what you do? - and what's even remotely "average" about it?!

Best,

Alistair

[richard black]

Basic principle of communism, Alistair comrade!

Facetiousness apart (though that _is_ the first principle of communism and I _am_ instinctively a communist), £15 is probably on the low side these days for what I do. £20 is more like par for the course, I think. But because practically all my clients are themselves musicians I keep rates as low as possible. I could have a varying scale of rates depending on what I do, who I'm doing it for and so on, but you know what? I just can't be bothered.

[jimbo320]

Why in the hell would anybody brag about being communist?

[richard black]

Why in the hell would anybody brag about being communist?

Erm, why would anyone 'brag' about any political views? It's hardly worth holding them if you're not prepared to do so publicly!

Back to the thread - as the OP is clearly starting out, it's worth mentioning that some jobs are definitely worth doing free or for a couple of drinks on the 'foot in the door' basis. In fact when I was starting I was happy to take almost anything new for little or no money. You never know where the next lead is coming from. For instance, playing for a singing teacher for a day, if you do it well, can lead to a whole stack of work from the singers you'll meet even if the teacher never phones you again.

On the other hand, once you are established you will find you often have the upper hand, especially for things like short-notice work. If someone needs a pianist in a couple of days' time they'll very likely be prepared to pay over the odds. Similarly with jobs you don't really want to do. That's standard practice in most businesses - 'My price is $100' often translates as 'that's $25 for doing it and $75 for the brain-damage it's going to cause me'.

Education isn't vastly relevant, on the whole, or at least not once you've been out of college for 2 or 3 years. It may continue to be relevant if you're applying for a job at a conservatoire, but practically anywhere else they're more interested in what you can offer right now. I haven't a single musical qualification of any professional relevance, but no one has ever even asked me about it.

But in general, as a jobbing accompanist, you are doing an essentially humble job where the satisfaction of doing it well is the main attraction. Very few of my colleagues ever expected to make a killing but most of us are very happy in our work and do, in fact, earn a decent living wage that's a lot more reliable than many non-pianists.

Frankly, the amount paid to musicians in all sorts of situations is very, very variable. My wife has a relative who has a good international solo piano career, and his fee varies depending on country, repertoire, type of gig - all sorts of stuff. He plays in the UK fairly frequently, for less than half the fee he gets in some countries, but regards the exposure as worth the lower income (and it's not as if his fee is vanishingly small here either). I know for a fact he does the occasional gig for little more than expenses just because he likes the venue, or the organisers, or enjoys the chance to do some chamber music with friends who happen to be taking part in the same gig. The same applies right across the business.

[ahinton]

Basic principle of communism, Alistair comrade!

I can honestly say that, of all the things that I have been called (some of which must surely be unprintable in polite society such as this forum), no one has ever addressed me that way before!

As for real musical communists, I am reminded (not that I need to be) of how Sorabji, whose Marxist fundamentalist credentials were arguably somewhat lacking, nevertheless found much to admire in the music of the devout English communist composer Alan Bush (as well you know, of course!); when first he heard Bush's final opera Joe Hill he could hardly contain his enthusiasm...

I still contend that you are undervaluing yourself...

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

It is difficult to value work. It is only worth what someone else is prepared to pay for it.

Saying that, the £15 per hour that Richard charges seems to be remarkably cheap. I therefore book him for 3 hours next Saturday so I can try out some banjo/piano pieces. Oh, plus the £12 return train fair to Gravesend and as many Rock Cakes as he can eat.

Thal

[ahinton]

It is difficult to value work. It is only worth what someone else is prepared to pay for it.

True in principle, of course but, as you then quite rightly observe

Saying that, the £15 per hour that Richard charges seems to be remarkably cheap. I therefore book him for 3 hours next Saturday so I can try out some banjo/piano pieces.

You don't have to engage him on a public forum, you know - and in any case I had no idea that he plays the banjo, so perhaps you should check that with him before proceeding.

Oh, plus the £12 return train fair

"Fare" surely?

to Gravesend

Richard might prefer to cycle it and would probably do so in well less than half the time that a train would take.

and as many Rock Cakes as he can eat.

I'm not sure to what extent Richard has a professional involvement in Rock music (other, at least, than the probable occasional rehearsals and performances of Franz Peter's Shepherd thereon), but that will presumably be a matter for contractual discussion between the twio of you.

Perhaps an arrangement of Tritsch-Tratsch Polka for Britch-Black banjo might be in order...

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

Richard might prefer to cycle it and would probably do so in well less than half the time that a train would take.

If he can do it in less than 25 minutes he would be British time trial Champion.

Thal

[ahinton]

If he can do it in less than 25 minutes he would be British time trial Champion.

...only if officially recorded as having done so - and I rather doubt that his typical modesty would be amenable to that. As no doubt you are aware, there remains no statutory obligation for cyclists to be licensed in Britain and, as someone once said to me, Richard Black accordingly has a record number of points on a non-existent license for habitually exceeding speed limits; on a good day, he could probably do his place to Gravesend in little more time that it would take the rather obviously non-communist Lord Tebbit to offer due apologies for having said "on yer bike" all those years ago.

Best,

Alistair

[richard black]

Thal, old son, I'd honestly leap at it, were it not for the fact that next Sat I have a demo recording session (at home in Peckham) in the morning with a couple of singers, a rehearsal in Lewisham in the afternoon on scenes from 'Die Walküre', and a gig in the evening in Manor Park with a puppet cabaret. I list all this not least because it gives some idea of the variety my job brings, but it sadly leaves no time to get to Gravesend. Some other time?

[notanotherusername]

Wow, thanks for all the tips! It seems I should be charging a little more....Up to this point I've been operating on the 'getting a foot in the door' principle that Alistair mentioned. But since I've been getting more calls for work, I guess that stage is over

These replies help me feel better about asking for higher prices for gigs though.

[richard black]

Funnily enough, I whiled away part of a long drive home from a gig last night by discussing fees with a musician friend, and we realised that there are essentially three approaches to pricing, each definable in terms of standard political doctrines:

Communist - I need to earn X per hour/day/week to meet my basic needs.

Socialist - the going rate for this job seems to be Y per hour/day/month, so I'll charge that.

Free market - charge the price that maximises revenue from an acceptable working week, bearing in mind that at some price point trade will start to fall away.

Obviously there are various intermediate positions, but it amused me as a basic proposition.

[ahinton]

Funnily enough, I whiled away part of a long drive home from a gig last night by discussing fees with a musician friend, and we realised that there are essentially three approaches to pricing, each definable in terms of standard political doctrines:

Communist - I need to earn X per hour/day/week to meet my basic needs.

Socialist - the going rate for this job seems to be Y per hour/day/month, so I'll charge that.

Free market - charge the price that maximises revenue from an acceptable working week, bearing in mind that at some price point trade will start to fall away.

Obviously there are various intermediate positions, but it amused me as a basic proposition.

Interesting prospect, to be sure. I suppose, however, that the essential difference in principle between any non-free market approach and the free market approach is that one is based upon setting charges at a level that should meet mere subsistence and the other on doing that but also making a profit over and above that; again, that's an over-simplified assessment (especially given that there will be expenses in doing the work - travel, upkeep of one's own piano and music library and the rest which have also to be met on top of bills for basics such as food and drink, power, taxes and the rest). It's the same in any walk of life, really; I have, for example, to think about how I set prices for the scores that I distribute; those will not only be dependent on the actual costs of preparing and sending them but must also make allowances for copyright, the costs of maintaining and replacing all the equipment used for making them, the time involved and the original setup costs (although I try nevertheless to keep those prices as reasonable as possible and I have found them to be questioned only very rarely).

To return to your own situation, there's also the simple matter of how good you are at what you do, in which case you'd be expected to charge considerably more than others with less ability, experience and adaptability. In fact, your life in this field seems to be SO varied as to warrant a book on it at some point when time permits (if ever it does); maybe The Black Art of the Accompanist?...

Best,

Alistair