It’s an annual pricing war.
Ken: All right Brian, as we come into the sunburn season, I face the same pricing battles as usual. I try to explain to the bands I non-sexually service, that me doing a gig on the cheap just wins me the chance to do more cheap gigs! Every cheap gig means twice as much work at half the appreciation — in other words, I feel like I get bent over, then these acts still think I’m an asshole because they really wanted 12 monitors instead of the zero their budget allows! I am out of tactful ways to say no. Help!
Brian: Aw, I know what you need! You need some gigs where your client isn’t a band. There are lots of summer festivals that celebrate anything and everything. My town does a strawberry festival every June.
Ken: You could be correct. Even the DJ gigs think a monitor should be thrown in, and possibly a wireless mic or four! Something a little more relaxed, a little more bucolic would be great. Some sort of agricultural event sounds nice, if awfully hot. I would like to see who is crowned Miss Rutabaga.
Brian: I’ve been known to do sound for rodeos, if that’s the kind of agro-event you had in mind. It’s no Calgary Stampede, but one of my clients has their own outdoor arena where they do weekly rodeos throughout the summer. I do a couple of fireworks shows each year too… just not the pyro side of things. You’ve got to be willing and versatile enough to take on the odd show with the odd coverage requirements. It can be a challenge sometimes, but those are the gigs that frequently turn out to be the most fun to do.
Ken: I must admit I do a few company picnic-style events in lieu of pure corporate-style parties. Last year, I recorded a meeting for the National Park Service in Zion National Park. Needless to say, it was a beautiful time of year. I drove in, set up the gig, did the job and drove back. Perhaps it’s me not taking the time to smell the proverbial roses.
Brian: Maybe so — it just seems to me that even when you are dealing with bands, if you can grab the shows where the musicians aren’t the clients, you do better in the end. Let’s see, I can work for a band that is getting paid $800 to play a show, and can maybe eke $350 out of them. Or, I can work for the same guy who is hiring the bands and charge him $1,200 for my services. And on top of having a better pay scale, you also have a mediator between yourself and the sometimes crazy demands of the band. What was that? A four-person vocal act with live piano, two acoustic guitars and some backing tracks. Hey, we need five mixes! What!?!?
Ken: As usual, you are the voice of logic and reason. I am good about holding my tongue, but we all do enough pride-swallowing stuff to kill the average human. I want to do a great job for the client, for the act, but especially for myself. The problem is too much stick and not enough carrot! Doesn’t my reputation suffer based on insufficient budgets, or my bottom line if I add something for free?
Brian: I am convinced that our reputations can suffer if we only provide what the client can truly afford. They have a $200 budget for the sound services they need. I can fit a Fender Passport system or a Peavey mixer/amp head in that budget with a handful of 57s, but what others see is me providing a bunch of cheap gear. On the other end of the spectrum, if I give every client everything they need for whatever budget amount they can scrape together, I get the reputation of providing nice gear at a great bargain. In the end, I can’t kid myself saying, “I can let the gear sit for nothing, or I can make $200 bucks with it.” The reality is that everyone comes to expect you to supply everything in your shop for a few hundred bucks. It’s just not worth it.
Ken: And welcome to the Dark Side (cue evil theme music). I have approached it from the “here’s what you’re telling me you want, this is what you need, and this is how much you’re budget will get you” perspective, trying to allow the client to see the logic and offering him/her some choices. I was just hoping for a better sales pitch to justify things in their mind. So even if I have to say no to the current gig, I have a shot at bidding in the future. Is that just wishful thinking?
Brian: I don’t know. I’m always excited to go and do a job for a new client. When I have the opportunity to showcase my level of service, I want to jump on it. Sometimes it means giving a “first time client discount” to work within a budget. The catch is, the client has to understand that it’s a one-time discount, and they have to understand what the same show will cost them in the future. On top of that, you have to be sure to, at the very least, break even on the gig. For goodness sake, don’t forget your cost of fuel these days!
To find out who was crowned Miss Rutabaga, e-mail anklebiters@fohonline.com.
