Session pay for steel players

Ray Montee (RIP) · Post by **Ray Montee (RIP)** » 15 Oct 2002 10:28 pm

Just recorded 9 tunes in the studio today. Haven't done this for a number of years. What is the going rate (average)? I'm curious what the big names as well as the average working musician might expect to earn. Do they ever provide the band members with CD's from the session? WHAT if they don't pay you....can they legally produce and distribute and sell the CD of their vocals with the music of sidemen included thereon?
Would truly appreciate some factual comments. Many thanks.......

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 16 Oct 2002 5:35 am

I'm not sure there is a definitive answer, Ray, but I'll try to give my slant (FWIW).

Most sessions I play are in small studios that are trying to make a living. Most aspiring artists/songwriters are not rolling in dough. I ask for $50 / hr with a two hr minimum, but I will sometimes cut someone a deal if I think it's appropriate. The way I rationalize it is to determine how much my spare time is worth to me and add expenses. With gas and wear & tear on equipment and an expectation of $30 or so an hour for my spare time, $50 seems reasonable. I'm doing some work these days just using my POD and going direct. I bring in my guitar and pak-a-seat and that's IT. I may be able to work more cheaply under those circumstances -- it's all very subjective.

To get me set up in the studio I ask a minimum of 2 hours pay ($100). So the client gets 2 hours -- usually about two songs. If you only have one song, it's still $100. If we squeeze in 3 or more songs, it's still $100. If we go over 2 hrs, it's $50 / hr thereafter for any portion of an hour.

I may cut a deal if
1. I feel sorry for his/her financial situation and I really like the music
2. I'm really hard up for work
3. The artist has other work to offer me

I don't rely on this as my living and feel it's appropriate pay and practices for the midwest (this ain't Nashville) and the folks I work for seem to agree. With the available work around here, I could never make a living doing studio work.

Re: royalties, musicians who play on someone's recording have NO rights I'm aware of. Whether they pay you or not, whether they sell tapes or CDs, they don't owe you any more than whatever amount they paid to have you lug your steel to the studio. If the artist is recording copyrighted material, he/she must pay a 'mechanical' fee to the copyright owner, usually through a company like the Harry Fox Agency.

That's how I see it, at any rate.

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 16 October 2002 at 06:48 AM.]

Jody Carver · Post by **Jody Carver** » 16 Oct 2002 5:40 am

Ray
You should have paid them for letting you play that corny old guy stuff.

John Lacey · Post by **John Lacey** » 16 Oct 2002 7:30 am

The going rate in the Calgary area for overdubs is about $100/song. On 9 or 10 songs you might cut them a deal, ie, $75-80/song.

Jody Carver · Post by **Jody Carver** » 16 Oct 2002 7:46 am

I get paid by the pound. My guitar weighs about 45 lbs,,my amp about 130 lbs..I do better than scale. I get $20.00 per lb...Im doing a date in two weeks,,,I'll bring the
heaviest amp I have. With that Bigsby Quad
you have,,,you should be a rich man.[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 16 October 2002 at 08:48 AM.]

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 16 Oct 2002 8:07 am

We had a good discussion on this awhile back. Here's a link to the thread.

http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum15/HTML/000337.html

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 16 Oct 2002 8:39 am

Jody...I hear you! When I play anymore I judge my "asking price" by the difficulty and work envolved in setting up my "stuff"!

For carrying my "stuff" in is basically what I base my fee for....the remainder is based on whether it will be a fun job or a travail!

Thank God for not needing the money for doing this anymore!
WWW.genejones.com

....

Ray Montee (RIP) · Post by **Ray Montee (RIP)** » 16 Oct 2002 8:40 am

Thanks to each of you and to Jim.....I had missed the earlier post on this subject. All the info' is very much appreciated, I assure you.

Reggie Duncan · Post by **Reggie Duncan** » 16 Oct 2002 10:44 am

I get $25 per song, minimum $100.00. Sounds like I need to move to Calgary!

James Brown · Post by **James Brown** » 16 Oct 2002 11:11 am

Are these UNION rates?

Michael Holland · Post by **Michael Holland** » 16 Oct 2002 12:05 pm

Are these UNION rates?

I was wondering if someone was going to say the 'U' word! No, scale in Nashville is about $350 for a three hour master session and half that for a demo session. There's a maximum track time that can be cut in that session, too (it's like three songs or 15 minutes).

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Fessenden SD10 - Mesa/Boogie amps

Carl West · Post by **Carl West** » 17 Oct 2002 5:52 am

Jody Jody Jody, I'm lost for a comment

Carl West
Emmons LaGrande lll

Jay Ganz · Post by **Jay Ganz** » 17 Oct 2002 6:16 am

The last session I did went a couple
hours & I got a $100. That only covered
a few tunes since I got no advanced copies
to fool around with before I went to
record. Usually if I get ahold of the
stuff before hand, I can get more songs recorded in the same amount of time.

Frank Parish · Post by **Frank Parish** » 17 Oct 2002 3:18 pm

Jody,
I never thought of pay by the pound. The last session I was on I used a D-10, a 62 Stringmaster, two Evans amps, a rack set-up and various other things I could drag in there along with my seat and two volume pedals. It must have been a 400 pound gig!

John Macy · Post by **John Macy** » 17 Oct 2002 4:07 pm

Master scale is currently $321.29 (+ $19.00 for health plan to the player cause they don't offer a health insurance plan there) for a three hour date--plus $32.12 paid by the employer to the players pension fund....