Recently, an out-of-the-blue phone call from an event organizer caught me off guard. She wanted an opera singer for a charity event. The call was startling because I didn’t immediately recognize the name of the person who had referred me and my agent usually handles these things. Besides, I don’t usually do the type of event she described—and she clearly didn’t know anything about hiring opera singers and had no idea what kind of fee to offer or expect to pay. I got the details and offered to call her back later with a quote.
I didn’t know what to charge. My agent isn’t interested in handling these small gigs. The charity was unfamiliar and also out of town. The format for the performance was not one I would normally agree to. And it’s always a challenge to work with an organization that doesn’t understand what singers do or how we work. To be blunt, normally I would pass this type of gig on to one of my students—but hey, there’s a recession on, and I had the evening free. If they would meet my price, it would be worth the effort. I called back with a figure that I knew was ambitious but fair under the circumstances.
I didn’t hear from the event organizer again. That was fine. I didn’t really care about the job, but it was a good exercise for me in thinking about filling in the gaps between opera contracts with other singing work, and about what to charge for that work.
I don’t accept certain types of singing gigs any more, but my personal philosophy has always been that it’s better to work as a singer than not, even if that singing work is not ideal. (Besides, the occasional embarrassing gig is an integral part of every singer’s life, and pays off in war stories if not in cash and prestige. My strangest to date: a cantata about cockroaches.)
In addition to my own experience, I’ve been party to some recent conversations with singers about what to charge for concerts and events, and how to negotiate fees and contract specifics with sponsors who may not understand what is and is not reasonable when dealing with singers. This is a part of the business and we all need to be prepared to handle it, especially in the current climate.
The business of singing has changed considerably since 9/11. The challenges of the current economy are continuing some of those changes and may soon have all of us battling for our singing careers and taking jobs outside our norms. Some opera companies are toppling; others are cutting back. Voice teachers are reporting some private students cutting down on their number of weekly lessons or suspending study entirely.
The general public perceives classical singing as a luxury for the wealthy elite. Our industry certainly isn’t going to be seeing any bailouts—and professional singers already fight an uphill battle to educate the public about what we do and what we are worth. Who among us hasn’t encountered the attitude that we should sing for free or for little pay because it’s so “easy,” because we have a “gift,” or simply because we “like to do it”?
How can we grow our careers during these tough economic times? How can we maintain our artistic integrity? How do we adjust? And if you aren’t accustomed to negotiating for your own contracts, how do you know what to do or how much to ask for?
First, take heart in the knowledge that entertainment and the arts, no matter what the politicians like to say, are not luxuries. We, as entertainers, provide much-needed distractions in times of trouble. Why do you think music is such a comfort at funerals? It speaks what words cannot. During the Great Depression and World War II, the film industry took a giant leap forward as people flocked to the movies to forget their troubles for a few hours.
More recently, many classical singers were performing when those planes flew into the Towers and crashed in that field en route to the Pentagon. I was double cast in a performance scheduled for that very night. The theater was full, and both casts were there as well. It’s not easy to stand in front of a packed audience and sing “Tutto nel mondo è burla” when the world as you know it has just plunged into uncertainty and unprecedented grief, but we did it for the audience members, to help heal them as well as ourselves.
Music comforts and music heals. What we do is not trivial, and people will need it more now than ever before, so we must do what we can to ensure it remains available.
Second, we may all need to be prepared to scale back, but that doesn’t mean we can’t give meaningful, exciting performances. We are artists. It is our job to find a way to make it work. So don’t be afraid to think outside the box in finding work for yourself, or in suggesting ways to make your work affordable. Perhaps you can do a shorter concert and charge less, or cut down on the number of performers involved. Painful as it would be, perhaps you can perform with recorded accompaniment rather than a live pianist. Fully staged and costumed productions can be streamlined (and made marvelously effective) by keeping the production very simple and paring it down to the music and the drama, or by presenting a semi-staged concert version. Now would be a great time to mount chamber opera and other small works, or even one-acts.
I hope opera companies and symphonies will be more inclined to use, for some things at least, local talent they might have traditionally overlooked. And surely this would be the perfect time for some wonderfully creative collaborations with other arts organizations. For example, my local Shakespeare company is very interested in sponsoring a concert of art song, with opera, poetry, and play excerpts.
Finally, the issue of naming and negotiating your fees. Please understand that I am referring to work at the local level, the type of work that is bread and butter for some singers and an occasional supplement for others. This is work your agent doesn’t get you and doesn’t care to handle.
It’s very helpful to have in mind an established minimum fee—to put it in diva terms, this is the amount of money it takes to get you out of bed and make yourself presentable and ready to work. Every artist should have this personal standard in mind as a starting point. In fact, if you do several different kinds of singing work, you should have a minimum fee for each kind: opera and symphonic work (which would differ depending on a number of factors, including the size of the organization, the size of role you’re being offered, where you are in your career, your relationship with the organization, and more), church jobs, local recitals and concert series, festivals, benefits and other charity gigs, school shows, corporate events, weddings, funerals, and other special occasions.
This fee is going to depend on a number of factors, including:
1. Your experience level and local reputation. Obviously, an inexperienced singer fresh out of school is not going to command the same fees as someone with a long résumé full of important credits.
2. Your location. Going rates in large, cosmopolitan cities tends to be higher than in smaller communities. Do some investigation and find out what other entertainers are getting paid for similar gigs. (They needn’t be classical singers. Gather information and then decide what might be reasonable).
3. The perceived value of your work. You have less control over this. If you are working with people who don’t value what you do very highly or live in a community not accustomed to classical singing, the best you can do is try to educate them and put it in perspective for them. Hopefully, if they do a little comparison shopping, they will discover for themselves what is reasonable.
Having a minimum helps you establish in your own mind, as well as in others’ minds, what your time and expertise are worth. You can always waive the fee if it seems like too much for a certain gig that you have compelling reasons for wanting to do. It makes it seem like you’re giving the sponsor a bargain (and who doesn’t love a bargain?) or doing a favor. Plus you may be able to get added value in exchange for a lower fee by negotiating for extras such as free rehearsal space, another recital in a future season, a later arrival date for rehearsals, or even goods and services. If you’re asked to take lower than your minimum, always try to negotiate something extra to make up for it.
Your minimum fee gives you a starting point for negotiations, but it’s only a starting point. You have many factors to consider when you are asked to name a fee. Here are a few:
1. What exactly are you being asked to do? How many performances are there? How many pieces will you sing? Are these works already in your repertoire, or will you have to learn them? Do you want to learn them, and do you have time? Be sure to get as many specifics as you can before you decide what to charge.
2. What is the time commitment, beyond the actual concert? Will you have to rehearse? How often, and when?
3. Will you have to travel to the rehearsal and performance venue, and if so, is it convenient? Will you have to stay overnight? If so, what kind of accommodations will they provide? Will they provide or subsidize transportation? Be sure to figure travel time, accommodations, and transportation costs into your fee.
4. Are other performers involved? Are you expected to contract them? (For example, will you be responsible for engaging a pianist?) If other artists are involved, who is in charge of organizing the concert? If you are organizing and contracting, be sure you get paid for your time and effort.
5. What expenses will you incur in preparing for this concert? Will you need to coach? Buy a new outfit? Purchase music?
6. What organization is sponsoring the concert? Is it a cause you support, and do you have any desire to donate all or part of your services? If you decide to donate, have the sponsor pay you and then donate the same amount back. You will have to pay taxes on your fee, but you can also write the donation off.
Consider that you are being paid not only for your time and effort, but also for your special expertise, and consider that you may need to educate sponsors about exactly what they are getting and how much you are worth. It’s an unfortunate fact of singer life that many “civilians” really have no idea how much training and expense goes into developing and maintaining a professional quality voice, and even less of how much they might need to pay for it.
Be polite and matter-of-fact when you tell them your fees. Tell them what you do and don’t do, and what you need to do your job correctly. Don’t apologize for being a professional, and don’t be afraid to explain (politely, of course) that in hiring entertainers, as in anything else, they get what they pay for.
I have been known to gently inform persistent low-ballers that the fee they are offering is what they should expect to pay grad students, not seasoned professionals, and to explain to them the difference.
The basis of all good negotiating is knowing what your product is really worth, and knowing the market in which you are trying to sell it. You must value your work and present it as a professional. This means not being afraid to ask for what you need, in terms of money or support, and also not to be afraid of offending a reasonable person by doing so. Accountants, cleaning ladies, plumbers, and doctors are not concerned about establishing fees and asking to be paid what their services are worth. You should not be, either. The difference is, you may have to educate your clients first.
Singers can never afford to be shy, and in these times least of all. Be creative, be assertive, be professional, and be brave. We will survive, and we will survive while singing.
