Your price is a statement of your value, experience, and business needs. This guide will help you move from guessing to building a confident, sustainable pricing strategy for every gig type.
Section 1: What Goes Into Your Price? (The Formula)
Break down the costs:
Your Time:Â Rehearsal, programming, admin, travel, performance.
Your Skill & Experience:Â The “value add” of your expertise.
Your Gear:Â Depreciation, maintenance, transport.
Business Costs:Â Insurance, website, marketing, guild dues.
Profit:Â The money that pays you and grows your business.
Section 2: The Pricing Strategy Spectrum
Explain different models:
Market-Based: What’s common in your city/venue for similar acts? (This is where you could give anecdotal, non-union examples like “In the Midwest, a solo wedding ceremony musician often charges $200-$500 depending on repertoire and travel.”)
Value-Based:Â Charging based on the event’s importance (e.g., a corporate keynote vs. a background restaurant gig).
Cost-Plus:Â Adding a profit margin to all your calculated costs.
Section 3: Price by Gig Type (Actionable Framework)
This is where you use your categories list. For each (e.g., Weddings, Clubs, Session Work), provide:
Key Factors that affect price for this gig type (e.g., for weddings: date popularity, customization, emotional value).
Typical Price Ranges (Presented as anonymous market observations, not union scales).
Example for “Club/Bar Gig”:Â “In major markets, a 4-hour weekend night for a 4-piece band might range from $400-$1200+ total, heavily dependent on draw, ticket sales, and venue budget.”
Negotiation Levers:Â What to trade on (e.g., longer set times, merchandise percentage, streaming rights, a food/beverage rider).
Section 4: How to Present Your Price
The psychology of quoting a firm rate vs. a range.
How to write a professional proposal/email that justifies your price.
Section 5: Tools & Templates
Link to a downloadable pricing worksheet (PDF/Excel) where they can plug in their numbers.
Reminder to use your contract templates to lock in the agreed price.