what to charge musician for album cover photography

ive been asked to do some photos for a local musician this coming june for his newest album. i have NO CLUE what to charge! any suggestions on how to go about getting a price together for somthing like this?

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by ntinlizi

ive been asked to do some photos for a local musician this coming june for his newest album. i have NO CLUE what to charge! any suggestions on how to go about getting a price together for somthing like this?

Well, if it's The Rolling Stones, you could probably charge a lot. But if it's Ira Slidemore, and the Trombone Four, that's a different story. What would you charge for one of your normal sessions...maybe work around that. Keep in mind, even a low price on a local artist album will further spread your name, and look good on your resume. And as always, it's whatever the market will bear. Me thinks $150 - $200 seems reasonable for a small, somewhat unknown local artist.

[Brian Mullins]

What's the distribution he is expecting? Your income from it should be wildly different if its for 100 CD's vs. 10000. You can come up with whatever rate you like but, for example, charge $300 for the shoot and 500 CD's. Then .50 for each CD over 500, in 100 item blocks. Having a structured and tiered pricing agreement is fairly standard in commercial photography and insure that if he is the next "big" thing, that the art on the front of the CD (which helps sell it) is compensated for fairly.

i only just "officially" started the business jan. of this year, so my prices are still a bit on the low side, i charge $50 sitting fee, then whatever prints, cds, or packages that the client chooses. for something like this, i would guess they would want just a CD of the images, i normally charge $200 for a CD of about 30 images. and yes, they are only small time local right now, does alot of gigs in and around the Seattle area.

Originally Posted by Brian Mullins

What's the distribution he is expecting? Your income from it should be wildly different if its for 100 CD's vs. 10000. You can come up with whatever rate you like but, for example, charge $300 for the shoot and 500 CD's. Then .50 for each CD over 500, in 100 item blocks. Having a structured and tiered pricing agreement is fairly standard in commercial photography and insure that if he is the next "big" thing, that the art on the front of the CD (which helps sell it) is compensated for fairly.

thanx brian, that is deffinately something to be taken into consideration, and i'll keep it in mind!

[BCampbell]

You need to know the budget. These local musicians are usually working in the red, supporting their music career with day jobs. They can get a better ROI spending the $300 on marketing, and shooting themselves with a P&S. Remember, a CD case is about 5x5", any camera can make a decent print at that size.

You have to decide whether you're willing to lose the gig by sticking to standard pricing, Charge cheap and have a reputation for charging cheap, or explain your pricing but shoot for free and hope that builds some goodwill, leading to other clients. At the least you can add it to your cv.

I'm shooting a CD cover for a friend tommorow, and I'm only asking for a copy of the CD when it's ready. His budget is only $50, he's a friend, and he's a central figure in the local music scene. It makes no sense for me to accept $50 or turn him down.

i think i will just charge what id normally charge for any session $50 sitting fee and $200 for the CD. he's worked with another photographer but prefers my work to theirs, so he knows full well that this is a business transaction...not a hand out.

thank you all for your thoughts and advice!