How should musicians charge for one-time gigs?

I was having a conversation with the taxi uncle while en route to Sentosa for grill fest performance today and as usual, he asked me what I do, what I play and whether I do this for a living.

And then he asked me whether I can claim the taxi ride’s fare and was shocked to learn that I cannot because that’s part of our pay.

My taxi ride fare to Sentosa is generally between $25.00 on a good day and $39.00 during a peak period.

In order to reduce the cost, sometimes we are given a media/event pass which allows us to waive the entry fee and help us to save some money.

For this show we were not given an entry pass so we have to add another $6.00 for the entry fee to Sentosa.

Today’s one way total is $32.90 + $6.00 which amounts to $38.90 just to enter Sentosa. So a 2-way transport cost could be just a little shy off $80.00.

I have always understood why some musicians choose to add an additional fee if the gig is in Sentosa and sadly, I also found out that there are musicians who are openly charging less than $200/set in order to get the gig.

I also understand that musicians charge differently according to their level of experiences so there’s really no way to pin an actual starting amount.

So this is the way I think about price.

Hourly rate.

Number of hours required for me to be at the event venue. Typically it ranges from 4 hours onwards. This includes any downtime between performances, soundcheck and other activities which needs you to be at the venue itself.

Let’s set it at $25/hour.

So $25.00 x 4 hours = $100.00
Number of performing sets required by the organizer.

Usually for events, I see an average of 2 sets of 30 or 45mins worth of performances.

For this, depending on your level of experience, I would say the prices start from $200/set onwards.

Let’s say we are doing 2 sets of 45mins at $200/set.

$200 x 2 = $400.00 for 2 sets worth of performance.
Cost of gears.

The way I see it, as we are chasing perfection in our sound and elevating our performances, we will definitely invest in some kind of gears along the way.

If you look at your freelance gig like a business, whenever we buy something to make money, it’s like investing in acquiring an asset. An asset needs to have ROI (Return on Investment) Value.

When an event organizer engages you to perform, they’re not just engaging you for your musical skills, they’re also renting your equipment that you personally need. A lot of us fail to recognize that we need to make that money back when we invest in something.

My set up alone cost me $5000.00 approximately and that allows me to do many different things at my gigs while sounding good.

If I were to charge a rental fee of 5% of my overall cost of purchasing these equipment, I will be charging an additional $250.00 on top of everything else.
Transport fees.

Some of us take public transports, some of us take private hires and some of us drive. All these are additional costs that we all need to pay whenever we head to a venue to perform.

Depending on your mode of transport, I will set aside some amount of money when I think of how I am going to charge my client.

I will definitely need to get a private hire because most of the time, I’m in a suit and carrying loads of gears.

A typical private hire ride costs me $25 on average to go from my house to the performance venue and $25 on average back. So safe to say, I will need to put my transport cost at $50/show.
Costume Rental Fees (If needed)

Typically, I don’t really see a lot of a need to charge a costume rental fee unless the event requires you to dress up specifically for a theme. I do, however, see more gowns being rented out for female singers for their performances.

So do remember to add in these costs as well when you are doing your calculations.
Let’s sum everything up.

So now we have these factors to calculate

4 Hours of Attendance: $100.00
2x 45mins worth of Performance: $400.00
Music Instrument and Gear Rental: $250.00
Transport Fees: $50.00

Gross Total:

$100 + $400 + $250 + $50 = $800.00

In conclusion, the way I should charge my client for a typical performance should be at $800.00.

Of course, this varies from performer to performer and this is simply how I charge. This article doesn’t dictate how all musicians should charge and you need to factor in your own considerations before quoting a client.

aochengsu