Recording Fees

[pcnd5584]

Could any board member (I have already tried Barry Williams) advise on a suitable hourly rate for a professional, experienced organist for recording fees, please? I have also tried the ISM and the RSCM and, whilst I can find plenty regarding wedding and funeral fees and fees for services, I can find no reference anywhere to recording fees.

 

Any advice would be appreciated greatly.

 

Thank you.

[innate]

I'd have thought the MU/BPI rates would be a good place to start. I think there are two basic rates: the standard rate which is somewhere around £110 for a 3-hour session and the Classical Orchestral rate which is lower, perhaps £75 for a 3-hour session, which is only applicable for listed orchestras engaged for classical orchestral music sessions ie non-commercial. These are minimum rates and if you are playing on your own or a solo part (as in a concerto) then you should expect a significant upgrade. The BPI agreement covers only audio recording for release as such, doesn't cover any secondary use such as use as a backing track or for tv or film, and only 20 minutes of music can be recorded in the 3 hours. For film sessions there is a MU/PACT agreement which is approximately £50 per hour, with no limit on how much music is recorded in the session; many top "session" players negotiate a rate of anything up to double that, if they are on "key" chairs eg solo piano, drums, lead trumpet.

[pcnd5584]

Thank you, Innate - at least this gives me something to work with.

[David Drinkell]

If anyone has heard the Chieftain's album 'A Dublin Christmas', the organ heard is that of Belfast Cathedral, played by yours truly (the only Dublin bit is the bells of Christ Church Cathedral). The recording was great fun and an experience I will always remember fondly.

 

It got a Gold Disc in the USA, but I never made a cent out of it!

[innate]

David, it may be worth you registering for PPL in the UK and similar organisations in other jurisdictions, in order for you to receive your share of the money broadcasters pay for broadcasting music recordings.