Re: [Harp-L] Studio Charge for Harmonica

[Bob Cohen <bcohen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Jul 25, 2006, at 7:07 PM, icemanle@xxxxxxx wrote:

> Remember, there is no definitive answer. If you are a low to mid  
> level player or are working on your experience, let me know who  
> will pay you $150/hr for studio time. I'll head on over to that  
> studio myself.

This is a really tough issue because what's good for working pros  
isn't always good for people just starting out and vice versa.  I've  
been a freelance writer for years and it always drives me nuts when I  
hear people saying things like "I don't care whether I get paid.  I  
just want to get published."  That is what helps keep prices down.   
So to Chris, I hear you!

The sad and ugly truth is that most of us, talented though we may be,  
are very expendable.  And even if the next guy doesn't write as well  
as me or blow harp as well as you, he'll do it passably enough for  
most every day readers and the drunks in the bar.

This phenomenon is the bane of all the creative arts.

Plus when you're first starting out, you have to give the people who  
are hiring you an incentive.  With the seasoned pro its reliability  
(usually) and cachet but that comes at a cost.  Most project don't  
require marquis name sidemen so savvy (and sleazy) editors and  
producers know how to find journeymen and up and coming talent.  It's  
a kind of economic vampirism in which "the man" sucks the life and  
dreams out of young people for his sustenance.  Live music is even  
worse.  There is no shortage of musicians who'll work for nothing or  
close to it.  The room full of drunks'll be just about as happy as  
long as you can play "Mustang Sally" and "Cold Shot."  That's how  
owners have managed to keep the gig rates at essentially the same  
level for (in my experience) the last 15 years.

Bob Cohen