VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

richvoice · Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 9:16 pm Post subject: Additional studio fee

So I booked a gig at a local studio for an industrial narration. It took place last Wednesday - the gig went great, they were perfectly happy with my work (they being the studio guy in charge and the engineer, the client wasn't there) - then I left on Thursday for a week, and just got back tonight. While I was in the air today, I got a message from the manager at the studio, so I called her at my layover; she wants me to come in tomorrow to re-record a few lines.

We didn't talk fees. I'm sure that for union work, there's an additional session fee, but this isn't union work; I don't want to piss off the client or the studio by demanding anything, but I also don't want to set a bad precedent ("Yeah, he's already been in three times, but I really need this line re-done, just call him in, it's not like it'll cost us anything").

The original job was a few hundred. If this was in my home studio after direct communication with the client, I probably would have specified that my fee includes up to two line re-takes after the fact. But I'm invoicing the studio, and re-takes were never discussed (live and learn). So... what's typical in this situation? If ANYthing is typical, I know it's non-union, Wild West, etc. But surely this happens occasionally.

Thanks,
Rich
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Philip Banks · Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 9:36 pm Post subject:

You did nothing wrong. They called you. Another "minimum session fee" is appropriate or expenses at the very least.

Imagine you are on your way to the studio and a paying client calls you with an urgent job, must be done now, few hundred dollars. Do you call ahead and cancel the free job?

If a client asks us to do something, we get paid. That is what we do.

"What drink would you like with your meal" asks Ronald McDonald

"Nothing today but as it's free I'll come back tomorrow and have a large Diet Coke."

Worth a try?

Kristin Lennox · Flight Attendant Joined: 30 Apr 2011 Posts: 858

The studio hired you, yes? Do you suppose they're not charging their hourly studio fee for this re-take session?

Of course they are. cool

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Lee Gordon · Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 12:43 am Post subject:

In the past, I have dealt with similar situations and if the request is coming from a studio or agency with whom I have had a long-standing relationship (i.e was instrumental in helping me establish my career and/or has consistently given me business), I'll ask if it is something that's billable to a client or if they would have to eat the additional fee. Usually, it's billable, so no problem. But if my fee were coming out of the pocket of my "friend," I might offer to waive the extra fee and rationalize it as a PR expense.

Of course, if they expect you to take time out of your day, make a special trip to their location, and possibly deal with parking or other of life's inconveniences, it would certainly be reasonable for them to expect to have to compensate you.
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bransom · DC Joined: 06 Nov 2008 Posts: 650 Location: St. Louis, MO

I do pretty much what Lee does: if it's a studio that I work with often, and like, and I'm coming back in because of something they messed up (ie. non-billable), I'll do it for nothing. Otherwise, depending on how generous I feel, I may only charge them the second/subsequent hourly fee rather than the higher first hour/minimum fee.
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Bish · Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 6:54 am Post subject:

You did a job of work in a supervised session at a third-party location. The manager and the engineer released you from the session with direct technical approval and implied artistic approval (by proxy) from the client. Was the client too important or busy to patch into the session?

Obviously, on-going business relationships are always a factor, but you are not the yo-yo here... it's bad enough when this happens on ISDN sessions from home... but to make a specific journey back to the studio free of charge because of their screw-up or lack of approval process is not a freebie! I mean... that involves getting dressed and having a shower. In and of themselves, they are chargeable items!

My standard line to clients:
Fixing my screw-ups are free. Fixing yours are chargeable.
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todd ellis · Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 7:09 am Post subject:

Jason Huggins · Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 7:49 am Post subject:

I once had a client come back with, "So you can screw up but we can't?" I supplied this analogy.

I have always likened it to a painter. If you hire a painter to paint your house, tell him the specific colors and agree on a price but then, a couple days after he satisfactorily completes the painting, decide that you would prefer a darker trim color, do you expect the painter to come out and repaint for free? If you DO, then you don't understand how professional business works and you need to hire your buddy to do the painting...not a professional.

richvoice · Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 8:10 am Post subject:

Thanks all, great advice and viewpoints. Jason, I love the painter analogy; I was thinking of it in those terms yesterday as well, and your analogy describes what I was thinking perfectly.

Kristin, you make a great point, and it was the studio that hired me. However, here in podunk Tucson, I could actually see them not charging the client for this re-take. Of course, I have no way of knowing for sure, and most likely they are. But business has much more of a... Mayberry feel than it did when I was back in the Bay Area.

In any case, all of your great input really validates what I was thinking yesterday: an additional fee. I'll probably start with half the original, and negotiate from there. I'm willing to negotiate it away to avoid burning any bridges, and I can chalk it up to experience (iron out the details up front!); it will also have the benefit of educating the client and studio going forward. But that's a possible endpoint, not the right starting point.

Thanks again!
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Cheers,
Rich
http://www.richvoiceproductions.com
@RichMillerVO

Bish · Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 8:16 am Post subject:

Lee Gordon · Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 9:12 am Post subject:

Karyn OBryant · Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 10:18 am Post subject:

ConnieTerwilliger · Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 2:07 pm Post subject:

Lee said...

Lee Gordon · Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 1:42 am Post subject:

It is rare, I'm sure. But it is a possibility I don't think we even consider most of the time.
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Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice

Philip Banks · Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 2:13 am Post subject: