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average engineer wage
Hi guys,
Sensitive one here! Just did my accounts for 2004 and am a little horrified about what I made considering I was pretty busy. Interested to know the average wage for a studio engineer per hour, and/or the average salary of an engineer. I currently own/run a mid sector studio in Ireland and am charging ?25 Euro per hour Monday to Friday and ?28 Euro per hour Saturday Sunday. Are my rates too low considering the studio is capable of really good sounding recordings? 1 control room 20' X 13' and the studio is 21'X13. If you want to see what gear is in the studio its all below. I want to upgrade the monitors to something like Genelec 8050 but after looking at the accounts I'm not sure I can stretch to that! More than an engineer I often take on production and musician roles of projects in the studio for no extra fee. Could I be charging more? What are average charges? How much has the Home Recording boom hit your studio? How can we differentiate from home recordists besides getting a Neve in? regards, Martin GEAR LIST Mixers: Yamaha 02R digital automated mixer (loaded with 3 TC Unity ADAT cards) + Mackie 24-8-2 analog recording mixer with metwebridge Recording: IZ RADAR 24 Track 24Bit 192 KHZ Digital Recorder, Akai DR16 - 16 track Hard Disk, Alesis ADAT. Steinberg Cubase SX 2. Frontier Dakota & Montana 32 in/out ADAT interface for PC (record direct to Cubase, transfer from RADAR etc) Mic Pre's Great River (Dan Kennedy/Neve) MP2-NV (2 Ch), Avalon 737SP Tube Channel, Focusrite ISA430 MKII, TLA 5051 Tube Channels (x2) Mics: Soundelux U195, Neumann TLM193 (like a U89), Neumann KM184 (x2), AKG SolidTube Valve Mic, Senheisser MD421 (x2), AKG C451B, Beyer M80, Shure SM57's and SM58's. AKG C1000s and 328's. AKG 418 (x2), Sennheisser E604 (x2) Compression Purple MC76 (Urei 1176), Klark Technic Quad, Avalon, Focusrite 430 MKII, FMR Really Nice Compressor (X1) Many other compressors built into gear like the Avalon 737 SP Outboard Gear: including gear by Lexicon, TC Electronic, Sony, TLA, Klark Technik, Behringer, Alesis, Korg, Tascam Sampler: Steinberg Halion, Akai S2800 and Yamaha A4000 with over 80GB sample library Computer: AMD Athlon 3 Ghz Keyboards: include Roland XV5050, Yamaha ANX1, Technics weighted-key piano, Korg M1, Hammond XB-2, Kawai K4, Korg 01r/W, Proteus 2 Orchestral, Proteus Proformance Piano module, Roland Juno, Korg mini800. Piano Yamaha upright acoustic concert piano Guitar Amps: Marshall 8 x 12" stack powered by 9200, 200-watt valve power amp. Pre-amped by JMP-1. Fender Blues DeVille, Also Fender Twin reverb. Instruments and gear on site includes a Sonor drum kit, Fender Stratocasters, Telecasters, Bass guitars, Lowden Acoustics, 1950s 3/4 size Upright Acoustic Bass, Mandolin, Violin, Double Bass Cello, Accordion, MCA PedalSteelGuitar, Congas, Bongos, Tambourines, Maracas, Cabassa and much more... There are far too many extras to mention, call or mail us for information on YOUR needs! |
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#2
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What you charge has little relationship with the size of
your room, or whether it is capable of "really good sounding recordings." It also has little to do with an impressive equipment list. What you charge has everything to do with your business plan, and what your business says you must charge to: a) pay your taxes b) pay the rent or mortgage c) pay your equipment loans or leases d) pay for COGS e) pay your help or independent contractors f) incrementally upgrade or repair obsolete equipment g) pay the utilities h) pay yourself in roughly that order. If you are not charging/making what your business plan says you must, then you either need to manage the business better, or get out of the business and find another way to invest your time/money. Certainly you know that one of the best ways to make a small fortune in the recording business is to start with a large fortune. Your meticulously created and thoroughly critiqued business plan will tell you everything you need to know. If you don't have a business plan, there is only one question you need to ask and answer - Why not? Your equipment list suggests that you didn't come across this stuff sitting in the middle of the glade with a sign on it "Free". What did you plan to do with all the money this list represents? Did you put the answer to that question down on paper? The bottom line is, nobody can tell you how much you have to charge. Only you can answer that question. It might require you to design a new business model for yourself. It is my opinion that had the "major" studios done this some years back instead of doing whatever it was they were doing, the "home recording boom" or "project studio" would not exist to be the threat they appear to be. Sharpen your pencil, get a fresh slice of paper, put batteries in your calculator, and start working like a venture capitalist. Would YOU lend money to you given your business plan? If you're too emotionally attached, find someone who isn't to help you. Leave the Guinness in the frig until you finish. Get a business plan book (or some software) if you must. TM Martin Quinn wrote: Hi guys, Sensitive one here! Just did my accounts for 2004 and am a little horrified about what I made considering I was pretty busy. Interested to know the average wage for a studio engineer per hour, and/or the average salary of an engineer. Could I be charging more? What are average charges? How much has the Home Recording boom hit your studio? |
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#3
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"T Maki" wrote in message ... What you charge has little relationship with the size of your room, or whether it is capable of "really good sounding recordings." It also has little to do with an impressive equipment list. What you charge has everything to do with your business plan, and what your business says you must charge to: a) pay your taxes b) pay the rent or mortgage c) pay your equipment loans or leases d) pay for COGS e) pay your help or independent contractors f) incrementally upgrade or repair obsolete equipment g) pay the utilities h) pay yourself in roughly that order. No offense or sarcasm intended, but I think you forgot the most important thing, which is: j.) what you must charge in order to stay competitive & not get shut out of various pieces of business, regardless of what "a-through-h" indicate that you need to make. IOW, if "j" does not equate to "greater than 'a'-through-'h' altogether", you're fighting a battle you simply can't win. Neil Henderson |
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#4
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I'd say the 25 E per hour would be a nice wage SANS equipment. The
amortized time value of your equipment investment, plus mortgage or rent payment, plus utilities (heat + electricity), plus equipment maintenance, supplies and extras, should also be figured into your rate. RP |
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#5
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Neil Henderson wrote:
No offense or sarcasm intended, but I think you forgot the most important thing, which is: j.) what you must charge in order to stay competitive & not get shut out of various pieces of business, regardless of what "a-through-h" indicate that you need to make. IOW, if "j" does not equate to "greater than 'a'-through-'h' altogether", you're fighting a battle you simply can't win. It's all taken care of in the business plan. Competitive contingencies are addressed in a well-written business plan. If the competition is not addressed in detail, then one would be better off in Las Vegas or Monaco. At least one would have a little fun. TM |
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#6
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Hi TM
thanks for your lengthy mail and good advice. Looking back on my original mail I guess its naive to think everyone here can tell me what I should be charging but I really wanted to find out what everyone else was charging. I just want to go through a few points that I didn't quite hit it home with me though. What you charge has little relationship with the size of your room, or whether it is capable of "really good sounding recordings." It also has little to do with an impressive equipment list. Correct me if I'm wrong but surely the size, number and acoustic quality of rooms in a studio is the second biggest factor to equipment for determining your market position as a studio. If your recording a solo artists or artists on a tight budget you can get away with small rooms. Artists who want to play live together separated in booths (or not), who want more space, who want to use the sound of rooms on the recording and who want comfort through space will be prepared to pay more for that. Thats why I specified that I have one studio room and one control room and said what size they were. I also believe the reputation that I, with the studio has of producing "really good sounding recordings" is also a huge factor and one alone that gets me 60% of my work. If I was producing crap sounding recordings and being rude to the customers I don't think the studio would survive long. The level of your equipment is something that works in harmony to all of this.. ...... thats my strategy on it anyhows! My strategy in the studio up to that last while has been a low cost value strategy but for the past 15 months I've been trying to change that to more of a quality model in order to differentiate from home studio recordists. I guess at the moment I'm in between the two which I know from business courses is a dangerous place to be. Over the past 2 years I've been bringing the equipment more upmarket (monitors are next to get an upgrade) but my current premises (next to my house) restricts what I can do to expand the place physically. Guess I'll keep doing the lotto ;-) regards, Martin |
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#7
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Martin:
Neil and T make good points regarding business plans &c. I look at your situation from my vantage point in downtown Philadelphia, and I see someone who ought to raise his rates significantly: $32usd/hour (at this morning's conversion rate) for that gear list and an engineer who knows what he's doing would be considered a steal in this town; I charge that much (and sometimes more) to freelance in other people's rooms. I don't know your market, though--have you got a bunch of "have workstation, now I can hang my recording studio shingle out and sell time *cheap*" types where you are? --Gordon Rice |
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#8
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Without any real way to back this up, I think with your equipment list
you're not far off from 40 Euro/hour. See what the successfull 40/hour places are like in a 2 hour's drive from where you are at, and see if you can adjust your setup to be in line with what they have to offer. "Mend it, don't end it" (Bill Clinton paraphrase) |
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#9
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Very helpful stuff so far guys. thanks!
"Martin Quinn" wrote in message ... Hi guys, Sensitive one here! Just did my accounts for 2004 and am a little horrified about what I made considering I was pretty busy. Interested to know the average wage for a studio engineer per hour, and/or the average salary of an engineer. I currently own/run a mid sector studio in Ireland and am charging ?25 Euro per hour Monday to Friday and ?28 Euro per hour Saturday Sunday. Are my rates too low considering the studio is capable of really good sounding recordings? 1 control room 20' X 13' and the studio is 21'X13. If you want to see what gear is in the studio its all below. I want to upgrade the monitors to something like Genelec 8050 but after looking at the accounts I'm not sure I can stretch to that! More than an engineer I often take on production and musician roles of projects in the studio for no extra fee. Could I be charging more? What are average charges? How much has the Home Recording boom hit your studio? How can we differentiate from home recordists besides getting a Neve in? regards, Martin GEAR LIST Mixers: Yamaha 02R digital automated mixer (loaded with 3 TC Unity ADAT cards) + Mackie 24-8-2 analog recording mixer with metwebridge Recording: IZ RADAR 24 Track 24Bit 192 KHZ Digital Recorder, Akai DR16 - 16 track Hard Disk, Alesis ADAT. Steinberg Cubase SX 2. Frontier Dakota & Montana 32 in/out ADAT interface for PC (record direct to Cubase, transfer from RADAR etc) Mic Pre's Great River (Dan Kennedy/Neve) MP2-NV (2 Ch), Avalon 737SP Tube Channel, Focusrite ISA430 MKII, TLA 5051 Tube Channels (x2) Mics: Soundelux U195, Neumann TLM193 (like a U89), Neumann KM184 (x2), AKG SolidTube Valve Mic, Senheisser MD421 (x2), AKG C451B, Beyer M80, Shure SM57's and SM58's. AKG C1000s and 328's. AKG 418 (x2), Sennheisser E604 (x2) Compression Purple MC76 (Urei 1176), Klark Technic Quad, Avalon, Focusrite 430 MKII, FMR Really Nice Compressor (X1) Many other compressors built into gear like the Avalon 737 SP Outboard Gear: including gear by Lexicon, TC Electronic, Sony, TLA, Klark Technik, Behringer, Alesis, Korg, Tascam Sampler: Steinberg Halion, Akai S2800 and Yamaha A4000 with over 80GB sample library Computer: AMD Athlon 3 Ghz Keyboards: include Roland XV5050, Yamaha ANX1, Technics weighted-key piano, Korg M1, Hammond XB-2, Kawai K4, Korg 01r/W, Proteus 2 Orchestral, Proteus Proformance Piano module, Roland Juno, Korg mini800. Piano Yamaha upright acoustic concert piano Guitar Amps: Marshall 8 x 12" stack powered by 9200, 200-watt valve power amp. Pre-amped by JMP-1. Fender Blues DeVille, Also Fender Twin reverb. Instruments and gear on site includes a Sonor drum kit, Fender Stratocasters, Telecasters, Bass guitars, Lowden Acoustics, 1950s 3/4 size Upright Acoustic Bass, Mandolin, Violin, Double Bass Cello, Accordion, MCA PedalSteelGuitar, Congas, Bongos, Tambourines, Maracas, Cabassa and much more... There are far too many extras to mention, call or mail us for information on YOUR needs! |
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#11
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Martin Quinn wrote:
Correct me if I'm wrong but surely the size, number and acoustic quality of rooms in a studio is the second biggest factor to equipment for determining your market position as a studio. Market position in what market? I think it might be instructive to pose the question from a different angle. Rather than attempting to justify your rates (or justify raising them) based on the room(s) you have, ask the question What size/type/etc. room can be justified at the rates that my market can bear? Hilton can build a magnificent hotel in a backwater town, and certainly be "positioned" in the market. Would a town of 650 people in a location nobody cares about support a $450.00/night hotel? If Hilton doesn't make money, should they raise the rates to $600.00/night? An exaggerated example, certainly, but it points to the process of planning and running the numbers. If your recording a solo artists or artists on a tight budget you can get away with small rooms. Artists who want to play live together separated in booths (or not), who want more space, who want to use the sound of rooms on the recording and who want comfort through space will be prepared to pay more for that. Have you analyzed your revenue streams over the last (insert meaningful financial periods of your choosing here)? What is the ratio of "tight budgets" to "prepared to pay mores"? Do you know in detail exactly which of your customers is contributing to bottom line profits and which are just dead wood? Do a little Pareto analysis. 80/20 works in almost every human endeavor. After careful analysis, you'll probably see that 80% of your customers are only contributing to 20% of your profits. The numbers won't be perfect, but close enough to prove the point. And if the numbers go in your favor, that's a bankable bonus g. Conversely, 20% of your customers are contributing 80% of your profit. Identify each group and decide what you want to do about what you find. Maybe you need to "fire" some of your customers so you can concentrate on building up your business with the profitable 20%-ers. And profile them. Go after new business that fits the profile of your most profitable current customers. The profile will include every discernible detail of their relationship with you. Now, I said PROFITABLE, not just the ones that keep you "busy" or warm a chair. I also believe the reputation that I, with the studio has of producing "really good sounding recordings" is also a huge factor and one alone that gets me 60% of my work. But is that what is generating 60% (or hopefully, greater) of your bottom line profit? If not, why not? It doesn't matter what the percentage of "work" something generates. It's the amount of profit generated by the proper allocation of your assets and resources. My strategy in the studio up to that last while has been a low cost value strategy but for the past 15 months I've been trying to change that to more of a quality model in order to differentiate from home studio recordists. I guess at the moment I'm in between the two which I know from business courses is a dangerous place to be. Yes, it is. And you're wise to recognize it. Your low cost value strategy certainly works fine for a while. But when do you graduate to market value? Another exaggerated example: You set up a lemonade stand by the highway. You sell fresh-squeezed lemonade from your own lemons. You sell it in big glasses with lots of ice. You price it at the Euro equivalent of 10 cents. You get lots of customers on hot days because you're the only game in town. Lots of profit because you're the "low cost value" supplier. Now McDonalds opens a store 1000 ft. up the highway. They sell lemonade, too. Only their's is powdered concentrate, and they charge $1.69 for half the amount you sell for $.10. You're the low cost value alternative, but everybody is spending their money at McDonalds. What's wrong with this picture? These are just some suggestions as to how a business plan can help you. You seem to be a pretty bright guy, and you'll be able to work through all the difficulties. Believe me, there's no disgrace in finding out that you have to change your procedures to meet new conditions. But there can be great satisfaction in developing a plan that works for you. Be resourceful, creative, and never stop asking questions. Believe me, in the over 30 years I've been in this business, I've had to revise my strategy and plan a number of times. As recently as the last couple of years, and I'm not finished yet. In my case, there are a lot of things I just don't want to do anymore, some people I don't want to work with anymore and different things I want to do and try. Let's not see a post here in the future about the stuff you're liquidating on eBay, okay? Take care and good luck. TM |
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#12
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I liked the post about setting your prices based on your expenses. It's a very sound business principle. I'm sure there was a little bloat in the Hit Factory's charges, but I doubt it was anywhere near what people think. If I set my rates based on expenses, I end up pretty near Avatar's rates and I regularly get as much as an amazing studio (which I'm not going to name) which I think should be charging about double what they're making. The problem is there are a lot of people on the low end who are able to charge a lot more than they should. A stsuio with a digi001 at $30/hr is probably reasonable, but by the time you've recorded a full length album, you could have bought the gear yourself a couple of times over. |
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#13
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Informed, detailed and inspiring post TM. Thankyou.
"T Maki" wrote in message ... Martin Quinn wrote: Correct me if I'm wrong but surely the size, number and acoustic quality of rooms in a studio is the second biggest factor to equipment for determining your market position as a studio. Market position in what market? I think it might be instructive to pose the question from a different angle. Rather than attempting to justify your rates (or justify raising them) based on the room(s) you have, ask the question What size/type/etc. room can be justified at the rates that my market can bear? Hilton can build a magnificent hotel in a backwater town, and certainly be "positioned" in the market. Would a town of 650 people in a location nobody cares about support a $450.00/night hotel? If Hilton doesn't make money, should they raise the rates to $600.00/night? An exaggerated example, certainly, but it points to the process of planning and running the numbers. If your recording a solo artists or artists on a tight budget you can get away with small rooms. Artists who want to play live together separated in booths (or not), who want more space, who want to use the sound of rooms on the recording and who want comfort through space will be prepared to pay more for that. Have you analyzed your revenue streams over the last (insert meaningful financial periods of your choosing here)? What is the ratio of "tight budgets" to "prepared to pay mores"? Do you know in detail exactly which of your customers is contributing to bottom line profits and which are just dead wood? Do a little Pareto analysis. 80/20 works in almost every human endeavor. After careful analysis, you'll probably see that 80% of your customers are only contributing to 20% of your profits. The numbers won't be perfect, but close enough to prove the point. And if the numbers go in your favor, that's a bankable bonus g. Conversely, 20% of your customers are contributing 80% of your profit. Identify each group and decide what you want to do about what you find. Maybe you need to "fire" some of your customers so you can concentrate on building up your business with the profitable 20%-ers. And profile them. Go after new business that fits the profile of your most profitable current customers. The profile will include every discernible detail of their relationship with you. Now, I said PROFITABLE, not just the ones that keep you "busy" or warm a chair. I also believe the reputation that I, with the studio has of producing "really good sounding recordings" is also a huge factor and one alone that gets me 60% of my work. But is that what is generating 60% (or hopefully, greater) of your bottom line profit? If not, why not? It doesn't matter what the percentage of "work" something generates. It's the amount of profit generated by the proper allocation of your assets and resources. My strategy in the studio up to that last while has been a low cost value strategy but for the past 15 months I've been trying to change that to more of a quality model in order to differentiate from home studio recordists. I guess at the moment I'm in between the two which I know from business courses is a dangerous place to be. Yes, it is. And you're wise to recognize it. Your low cost value strategy certainly works fine for a while. But when do you graduate to market value? Another exaggerated example: You set up a lemonade stand by the highway. You sell fresh-squeezed lemonade from your own lemons. You sell it in big glasses with lots of ice. You price it at the Euro equivalent of 10 cents. You get lots of customers on hot days because you're the only game in town. Lots of profit because you're the "low cost value" supplier. Now McDonalds opens a store 1000 ft. up the highway. They sell lemonade, too. Only their's is powdered concentrate, and they charge $1.69 for half the amount you sell for $.10. You're the low cost value alternative, but everybody is spending their money at McDonalds. What's wrong with this picture? These are just some suggestions as to how a business plan can help you. You seem to be a pretty bright guy, and you'll be able to work through all the difficulties. Believe me, there's no disgrace in finding out that you have to change your procedures to meet new conditions. But there can be great satisfaction in developing a plan that works for you. Be resourceful, creative, and never stop asking questions. Believe me, in the over 30 years I've been in this business, I've had to revise my strategy and plan a number of times. As recently as the last couple of years, and I'm not finished yet. In my case, there are a lot of things I just don't want to do anymore, some people I don't want to work with anymore and different things I want to do and try. Let's not see a post here in the future about the stuff you're liquidating on eBay, okay? Take care and good luck. TM |
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