[Harp-L] Paying the pipers

[Michael Easton <diachrome@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

After laying down a harp track for a local musician's  cd recently I  
got the urge to put out my own cd  in about 2 years.
I figure by that time I will have the money, songs and players lined  
up for the recording.

While I've offered my services gratis for this (no money was  
mentioned) and another cd (non-profit cd so nobody got paid) I was  
wondering how the rest of you handled paying local players as guest on  
your solo or band projects?   It's hard to figure out who would do it  
for free and who would expect to be paid.

I plan on setting aside money  and thought about letting them know  
upfront what I can afford per song in case they were expecting to be  
paid. I know some musician friends will do it for free but I need to  
enlist singers as well who may not want to do it for free.

Finding the best players to interpret the songs is more important to  
me then just throwing together a bunch of guys to put out a cd.
Several of the local players play on the national blues and jazz stage  
and have their own recordings so I need to respect their ability to
bring something to the project.

Also what is expected when you bring in a producer to help with the  
arranging?  I never met the musician whose cd I played on. Only his  
producer.

You can reply online in case it will help other players wanting to put  
out a cd.

thanks


Michael Easton
www.harmonicarepair.com