Session Work: how much do you guys charge?

[guildchild]

I'm curious to know how much you guys can get in various cities for doing session work. I'm mostly talking about the local singer/songwriter or unsigned/ small label type of sessions.

Over the past couple of years, i have slowly been raising my rates and, in turn, i've gotten more session gigs.

anyway, my rate is fairly low imho. after doing a session on saturday, i realized that although they tracked and kept most of "my" stuff, they mostly asked for "big power chords" on various sections. not to diminish the need for / effectiveness of power chords, but my thought was, "why didn't you just play that stuff on your own and save money?" don't get me wrong, i'm willing to play most anything for money....it was just my thought.

i realized that it's because they don't have the gear. so, i walk in with about $10-15K worth of gear (depending on the guitars / amps). they couldn't actually rent most of my stuff from anywhere, but to get equivalent gear, it'd probably be a LOT more than what i'm charging for the session itself. add in the fact that: the gear works, it's VERY dialed in, AND oh yeah, i can play the instrument and can come up with good parts and track quickly.

so, i'm treading on thin ice....similar to working out a musician's hourly rate for a gig. i'm just curious as to what you guys typically charge for a shoe-string type of session.

thoughts?

[GuitarDude]

i hope this thread gets long... for the past 3-4 years i've been a live session player but im looking into getting into the recording world!

[Ed DeGenaro]

http://esession.com/?Menu=SearchHome&nUserID=11572

[guitarmook]

We've paid some very well-known and talented locals $100/song for work on our latest CD.

The work they did was worth more, probably, but we couldn't have paid much more...

[guildchild]

http://esession.com/?Menu=SearchHome&nUserID=11572

is that your project rate or per song?

[loudboy]

We would pay between $75-150 for a full session, which would consist of anything from tracking basic for 3-5 songs, or OD's for a couple.

Around here, you can get the best payers for that much, and that usually includes pre-session prep or even a rehearsal or two.

[playon]

I usually charge $75-100 a song, it also depends if it's a bunch of parts or if it's just the basics, etc.

[Bryan T]

If I'm getting paid in money, then I charge my teaching rate. Often, I barter for studio time.

Bryan

[Cowboy]

I cut all kinds of deals, so a standing rate is difficult to define. My usual is $40.00 an hour; $20.00 for each additional instrument.

I seldom take much more than an hour; when I do, there is a lot of tracking, or a really picky producer, both of which are fine with me.

As one guy said recently, "Man - hiring you is a LOT cheaper than spending the $$$ on studio time to do it myself!!!!!"

Cheers,
Cowboy

[datguytim]

depends - usually at least $350 a song - MINIMUM. Unless it's a 'bro' deal.

[Bryan T]

What is the current union rate?

[Brain2Me2]

The price changes depending on who hires me...

But my base price is $100 per song, for local acts, small labels, or any of the ones you mentioned.

On the other hand I've learned to charge up to $450 per song for well know artists... They have a budget already prepared for that, when they are recording a new album. They'll tell you, "we have $450 for the guitars", sometimes you won't even have to ask for it.

So, don't hesitate to charge accordingly if you know the ca$h is available.

Carlos