VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

[Simon Phillips]

Is there a going rate for adding background music (supplied by the client) to IVR prompts? Or your suggestions per prompt?

Thanks
Simon

[JimRon]

How long do you think it'll take to edit the prompts to add the music and adjust the levels and mix it lal down? Charge them a per hour or per half hour rate. Or figure how long it'll take to do it and charge a flat rate for the entire project. Some engineers start at $50 an hour, some are higher, others are lower. What do you feel comfortable charging? What do you think the client will balk at?
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Jim Feldman
www.jimfeldman.us
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[Simon Phillips]

Thanks Jim. That ball-park figure of $50/hr for engineering work is useful to know.

It's for ongoing work for a company that produces IVRs. They're happy with my standard rates for the voice-only prompts but rather than putting in the music themselves, which is what I'm used to, they want me to do it when requested. So I'm trying to work out a set add-on fee for prompts with music rather than an hourly rate or individual price for each project.

Voice only prompt = $x
Voice + music =$x +$y

I expect it will only take a minute or two each time (presuming once I've got the levels right on the first prompt, the subsequent ones will be quicker), so I was thinking an extra one or two dollars a go, which would roughly fit with that engineering rate. Just wanted to check before I decide and put it to them. Obviously if it turns out to be a lot more time-consuming I'll have to rethink.

Thanks again,
Simon

[Lizden]

Simon,
Your formula seems sound (no pun intended)

Keep in mind though that if your client wants music behind IVR prompts ("For sales, press 1; for tech support press 2) then the music will be the same level throughout
BUT
If you'll be producing Message-on-hold greetings where there is time between each greeting (anywhere from 5 to 10 seconds) to create a 3 to 4 minute audio filer, then you'll have to do volume envelopes & that takes much more time.

Just something to keep in mind.
_________________
Liz de Nesnera O.A.V. ~ Livin' The VO Dream!
English/French Bilingual VO w/ ISDN
HireLiz.com / liz@hireliz.com

[Simon Phillips]

Thanks Liz.

I will keep that in mind, maybe even specify that the fee is for the former rather than the latter service. Volume envelopes don't sound like my kind of thing at all.

[Mandy Nelson]

I don't know what software you use but you can set up batch conversions to help and make it much easier on your end. If the client is a good, consistent one and you are using their music then $50 -$100 is great because once you have the process down it is a painless way to add to the coffer.
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006 member of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Mic. Bonded by sound.

Manfillappsoc: The Mandy and Philip mutual appreciation Society. Who's in your network?

Have you seen my mic closet? ~ me to my future husband

[Diane Maggipinto]

i just tack on a studio hourly fee for the project, plus $50 per needle drop (buyout) on top of my minimum fee and per word cost.


yeah, there's maths in vee ohs
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sitting at #8, though not as present as I'd like to be. Hello!

www.d3voiceworks.com

[Simon Phillips]

Thanks Mandy and Diane.

I mainly use Garageband which is easy enough for playing several tracks at once. I also have TwistedWave and Audacity, although I rarely use them. I really like TwistedWave though, just in the habit of using Garageband where I find the layout of extra tracks very useful for keeping things organised while I'm editing.

Haven't used batch conversion on any of these so that's something to look into...

[Simon Phillips]

Well, I put the ball in their court and asked if they had a suggested rate for adding the music. They've offered an extra £3 per prompt which is more than I would have asked for.


Thanks again for all the advice
Simon