Hello everyone,
I asked this question in the German Forum , but maybe there are some new infos here?
Thank you…:
today I have a somewhat unrelated question.
It’s about a notation job.
Extract mxml files from logic sessions and then notate them in Dorico.
Instrumentation half orchestra (20 people) other half smaller ensembles, string quartet and small jazz band.
Does anyone have experience of how to charge for this?
By minutes to be played?
By ensemble size?
Flat rate?
Hourly rate? (I always find it a bit difficult because it’s hard to understand)
There is no industry standard accord. How much is your time worth to you?
There’s some discussion about rates here on the forum in the past I recall. Do a search. Hollywood scorers may have some ideas for you. I think there re many on the forum.
This sounds like the type of job that is highly dependent on the quality of the MIDI in Logic. Could be very straightforward or a ton of cleanup. When I’m asked for a quote, I always ask to see the relevant project files first to assess the amount of work, and I tend to go with flat rates. That’s been the best for me over the years. My metric is always “how much will make this work feel worth it to me?”
I did something similar last year. We agreed to a flat rate which was fair but it was mostly arrived at by calculating some of your other factors: how many minutes of music, the size of the ensemble / number of staves / general complexity of music. In my case it was mostly a full string section, nothing crazy on the staves - relatively minimalist and simple approx 45 mins long, so all those factors came into play when deciding on a flat rate.
I agree an hourly rate is hairy and difficult to navigate (as well as prove to the other party, which can result in uncomfortable discussion like “I don’t understand why that piece took you 6 hours but the other one only took half that…”). A shorter piece with 4 players may seem more simple on the surface than a longer piece of a large ensemble, but not so if the shorter piece has way more notes and crazy syncopation or tuplets and accidentals and directions everywhere, and if the longer/larger piece is really simple with whole notes, lots of obvious doubling, and not a lot of action. It may look more complex but in reality could be done in way less time. If that makes sense – so I find charging by the hour just gets a little dicey to estimate. But some people are into it!
When in doubt, I never mind asking a client what their budget is and tell them what I can do within that. Therefore a flat rate usually ends up being simpler, clearer, and less hassle for both parties. Also complex and simple cues tend to balance the workload out, I find (famous last words lol).
Thank you very much for the information and help. My impression is also that a flat rate would basically be best, an hourly rate is so difficult to calculate because the content also varies greatly from piece to piece. There is now a page billing system that I have found that charges €14 per page created. Maybe that is a direction. As I said, thanks again everyone
these are two separate jobs in Hollywood and are priced separately. Copying would be another job as well. so if you are doing midi - score - parts you can make a page rate for each. There are standards online but Union scale usually starts at about $40 per page for orchestration (4 bars) and about $6 per page for copying (8 systems per page) midi is usually a flat rate. can be a percentage on top of the orchestration fee. https://www.afm.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Music-Preparation-2024-02-05.pdf
I’ve heard of the per-page pricing approach but it hasn’t made a whole lot of sense to me, since it says nothing about the complexity of the music on the page, how many players squeezed in, what is the size of the fonts and raster settings and all that… a single page could consistute so many different types of music and complexities!
But I’m guessing people do it figuring it balances out in the end, and it’s easy to calculate.
When I charge fee for service - in several different services I provide - I ask myself “Am I selling time? Or my ability?” I usually choose the latter, and negotiate (with myself) a flat rate. Since I assume that I will be stiffed or given need to dispense with nuisance touch-ups, the fee I need to get is the 2/3 amount. Anything less and it probably isn’t worth the effort, unless it’s for a cause that is more important than the money.
Quite a deal!