Hi all

I've been asked to play for a party, only about 30 mins. As a teacher I charge ?20 per hour, but if I only play for 30 mins that would be ?10 which doesn't sound right for a performance. They have said that they will pay well but I have no idea how much to charge - any ideas?

A few things to think about:

Will there be any travel costs / time associated with the engagement?
What sort of music do they require - will it require much practice?
Will you need to buy anything if they're requesting particular things?

Quite a few people I've come across who do this charge a minimum of an hour's fee anyway, regardless of the actual time taken playing. At the end of the day, it has to be worth your while. It will also depend on where you're located. I certainly wouldn't do it for ?10, and I'm not sure I'd even do it for ?20

I've no idea what you should charge - but you should factor in preparation time as well, so ?10 won't be enough. It will include time taken to select appropriate music to play, practice time, time spent getting to the venue (possibly including petrol if you will drive there) etc. There is always more involved than actual playing time for the performance.

Edit: cross-posted with Seer Green.

I don't have a proper answer for you - someone else will be much better qualified to comment! But I will say that if you're paid for a performance, you're not just spending that 30 mins 'on the job' - it's also the practice and preparation that goes into it beforehand.

Edit: cross-posted with the others! Like minds...

Thinking about this (and I'm just throwing figures out here!), if I were doing it and it required some prep, travel to the venue, and maybe a minimum charge of an hour, I don't think that ?40-?50 is unreasonable. But...at the end of the day, I have no more idea than you!

Thanks for the very prompt responses so far. I'll meet up with the clients and see exactly what they are after, and go from there. The ?50 mark sounds a bit better, so like you say, I'll take all factors in and see what happens

From what people charge to perform at a wedding or similar, I think GBP 50 would be a reasonable flat starting rate.

If you need to bring along your own equipment, have meetings beforehand, find repertoire (and all the stuff posted above), you could charge more.

PS just crossed with your post - we're both talking about the same ballpark. NB solo singers for a wedding round my way charge 50 pounds or more for a single solo but they have to sit there for the whole wedding so the time involved is more. Organists/pianists charge about 150 GBP, again for way less than 30 mins actual playing, but there are always several meetings/run-throughs etc that take up time and 'special' songs that need learning etc.

Wearing my choir chairman's hat....

For a wedding, my chamber choir charges GBP 150 - 250 depending on the amount of rehearsal needed - so that's singing the hymns and a couple of anthems/motets. As chairman, I set the fees and I negotiate with the couple/church.

I think that GBP 50 - 75 is OK as a base line for 30 min s. If you are doing this sort of thing on a more regular basis, do be wary of incidental costs such as excessive travel, equipment hire etc and make sure that those sort of costs are recovered on top of the core fee.

I know a local string quartet that charges GBP40 each per hour so that's GBP160 per hour to play at wedding receptions etc.

I think you should charge the same amount as accompanists charge.

I would ask them first what they were thinking of paying - in case it's way over what you were thinking of asking

Depends what sort of party it is and who the people are. If they're your mates and live round the corner from you, then ?20 might be excessive. If you don't know them at all and you've al long way to travel and/or loads of practice to do then definitely ask for ?30 - 50. That's what I get for organist engagements generally.

Is it any wonder that musicians struggle? That is an hourly rate of 10GBP/hour. And that is not taking into account practicing, rehearsal, travel.

The 160GBP that gets you a string quartet for a whole afternoon would get you not much more than one hour of a lawyer's time (or pay a Premier League footballer to play for about 4 seconds!!)

No, that's an hourly rate of ?40 each, which is good going.

Whoops How easy it is to misread something. For some reason the little word "each" did not register .