Arranging Fees

[Neo Bri]

I do a lot of arranging. Usually I do a flat fee for a school or something, but recently I was asked to work at an hourly rate.

I sort of always felt it strange, since it feels like being rewarded for being slow. But I suppose the other side of that coin is that the better, more competent, and faster arrangers ultimately cost less, even if they charge more per hour.

Thoughts on this? How do you charge for your arrangements and commissions?

[hyperbolica]

Depends entirely on if you are giving up copyright to the music. Its too depressing to work for an hourly rate. It just winds up being embarrassingly low. I'd do it for a flat fee. You know how lonit takes to do the work.

[Neo Bri]

What do you think the industry-average hourly rate might be, roughly?

[hyperbolica]

My experience with writing and publishing in general would suggest a wide range depending on a lot of factors from speed to reputation and quality and editing even style and audience and size of ensemble. I'd say the range would be from about $3/hr to maybe $100. But again, is it a one-time sale or like Elkjer and Christopher Bill are you set up for retail. Are there other royalties involved for arrangements. Lots of variables.

[Wilktone]

I think it's more common to charge by the measure times the number of instruments you're arranging for. Here's something to give you an idea:

https://billfulton.com/store/music-services/

[Neo Bri]

Thanks for this, Wilktone!

[tbonedude]

What I charge for arranging depends on who's commissioning. For local musicians/friends, I charge half of my regular lesson rate for arranging, and I charge by hour spent. If it's being commissioned by someone I do not know, it's my full lesson fee per hour spent.

[ExZacLee]

This is a difficult question, a lot of factors to figure in, but here's my general approach to my arranging income.

I don't charge per hour, my prices should go up as I get better, not down. I'll try and figure in time when I'm quoting a job and then work to get it done in that time period.

For educational institutions (colleges and high schools), I will often work for a bit less depending on the school, budget issues, and things like that. Here in Oklahoma education budgets are a garbage fire and I usually work with professors or band directors to get them something affordable. In return for the low rate, I retain any and all rights to the performance (no work-for-hire) and ask that they tell other profs and BDs to contact me if they want a chart (and not copy the damn thing and just give it away - I won't work with people who have done that.) It's not about the money in this case, it's about giving back to an institution that I owe my life to. If it's a private school or a major research university with a $100M endowment I can usually charge my full rate.

The following link is to an AFM page - I use it as a guideline. For some things I charge more than union, for things I am personally involved with I often charge less. At the end of the day, it's what are you willing to work for...

http://www.afm.org/wp-content/uploads/2 ... c-Prep.pdf