Pricing your first gigs and sessions

The first time someone asks "what do you charge?", most creatives freeze, name a number that's too low, and regret it on the way home. Pricing gets easier once you stop treating it as a guess and start treating it as a sum.

This piece won't tell you what to charge. Rates vary by discipline, by type of event, by how experienced you are and by who's paying. What it will do is give you a way to work out your own number and defend it.

Start with what the job actually costs you

A two-hour gig is rarely two hours of work. Write down everything the job involves:

• Travel there and back, and what it costs.
• Load-in, setup and soundcheck.
• The performance or session itself.
• Rehearsal or preparation, including learning material.
• Packing down and getting home, especially late at night.
• Equipment you bring, and wear and tear on it.
• Any admin: emails, calls, invoicing.

Add it up in hours. That number is the real length of the job.

Then decide what your time is worth

Work out roughly what you need to earn from your creative work in a month, and how many paid days you can realistically get. Divide one by the other. That gives you a day rate you need to average, not a rate you hope for.

An example, with made-up numbers: say you want your music to bring in £1,200 a month and you think you can get eight paid days. You need to average £150 a day before costs. If a gig takes most of a day once you count travel and setup, quoting £60 means you're working at a loss against your own target. These figures are only there to show the sum; use your own.

Find out what's normal where you're working

Your sum tells you what you need. The market tells you what people expect to pay. You need both.

• Ask other people who do the same work, at the same level, what they charge. Most are happier to share than you'd expect, especially if you share back.
• Look at what unions and professional bodies for your field publish. Several publish suggested minimum rates for common types of work.
• Notice the type of client. A private party, a corporate event, a small venue and a brand shoot usually sit at different levels, even for the same performance.

If your number is well below what others charge, you're probably underpricing. If it's well above, you need a reason the client can see.

Price the use, not just the time

For recorded work, how the recording will be used matters. A session for a demo is different from a session for a release, which is different from music for an advert. The same goes for photographs and video: a picture used on a band's own social media is a different deal from one used in a national campaign.

Ask "where will this be used, for how long and where in the world?" before you quote. If the answer changes, the price can too.

Say it simply

When you're asked, give one number, with what it includes:

"My rate for a three-hour set is £___, including travel within London and my own PA. Longer sets or travel outside London are extra."

Don't apologise and don't give a range: if you say "somewhere between X and Y", you'll be paid X. If the budget is lower, it's fine to ask what they have, and then decide whether to adjust what you offer (a shorter set, fewer edits, no equipment) rather than doing the same work for less.

When to work for free

Sometimes it makes sense: a friend's project, a charity you care about, something that genuinely gets you in front of people who hire. Decide that on purpose. "Exposure" from a client with a budget is usually just an unpaid job.

Get it in writing

Even a short email confirming the date, times, rate, what's included, when you'll be paid and what happens if it's cancelled will save you arguments. Send an invoice promptly after the job, with your payment details and a due date.

Talking about money gets easier with practice. It also gets easier when someone does it for you, which is a large part of what an agent is for.