What should a music producer charge?

Enough to cover your overheads, your unbillable hours and your tax, before any profit. Most producers work it out from what other people charge, which is a guess built on a guess. The Rate Calculator works backwards from your actual costs, how many hours you can realistically bill, and the tax you will owe, and tells you the number your rate has to clear.

Is this accounting software?

No, and it is important that it is not. Your accounting package is the record of what happened. These tools are for the part before that: scoping the job, quoting it, seeing whether it is profitable, and knowing what is owed and when. The app does not issue invoices.

Will it work for a one-person studio?

That is exactly who it was built for. There is no team seat to buy, no workflow to configure, and nothing assumes an assistant or a studio manager. The unit of work is a project, and a project is one job for one client.

Do I need the courses to use the tools?

No. Membership includes both, and plenty of members use one far more than the other. If the business side is the part you need, that is a perfectly good reason to be here.

Can I get my work out if I leave?

Yes. Your projects, estimates and records stay yours, and cancelling a plan does not delete them.

Producer tools

The business of being a music producer.

Learning to make records is one job. Getting paid properly for them is another. 11 tools for scoping the work, working out your rate, tracking the money and keeping the paperwork straight, built for one-person studios.

The tools come with Academy membership. Nothing below is a mock-up, it is the actual toolset. Membership is invite-only, so have a proper look first and then tell us where you are up to.

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Projects

The only tool that is a whole job rather than a screen. A project carries the record and the paperwork together, from the first reference to the last payment.

Pre-production

References and the brief, settled before anyone books a day.
Songs

Every song in the job, with its parts, sections and lyrics.
Recording

A songs-by-parts grid: what's tracked, what's left, what's not needed.
Review

Each song's latest version, who has heard it, and what feedback is still open.
Share

One link for the client. They see what you choose and nothing else.

Client work

Winning it, doing it, getting paid for it

Time Entries

Log studio hours by voice or by hand against the job, so billable time adds up as you work rather than from memory.

Estimates

Line-item quotes that show your margin before you send them, not after the job goes wrong.

Contracts

Two-party agreements written, sent and signed without anybody printing anything.

Tasks

Sorted by how long each one takes, so a spare twenty minutes turns into five things finished.

Business

The money side, in numbers you can act on

Cashflow

Money in and money out across the year, so a quiet March stops being a surprise in March.

Client Payments

Every job's payment schedule in one list, so nothing gets chased a month late.

Overheads

What leaves the business every week, month and year — the number your rate has to cover.

Rate Calculator

What you actually need to charge, worked back from your costs, billable hours and tax.

Toolbox

Reach-for-it helpers from the studio floor

Room Mode Diagnostic

Your room's dimensions in, and the frequencies it has been lying to you about out.

Chord Cheatsheet

Chords, substitutions, and somewhere to go when the second chorus needs to lift.

11 tools. One plan.

All of it included, with your courses and the community. Cancel whenever — your work stays here either way.

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Questions people ask

What should a music producer charge?: Enough to cover your overheads, your unbillable hours and your tax, before any profit. Most producers work it out from what other people charge, which is a guess built on a guess. The Rate Calculator works backwards from your actual costs, how many hours you can realistically bill, and the tax you will owe, and tells you the number your rate has to clear.
Is this accounting software?: No, and it is important that it is not. Your accounting package is the record of what happened. These tools are for the part before that: scoping the job, quoting it, seeing whether it is profitable, and knowing what is owed and when. The app does not issue invoices.
Will it work for a one-person studio?: That is exactly who it was built for. There is no team seat to buy, no workflow to configure, and nothing assumes an assistant or a studio manager. The unit of work is a project, and a project is one job for one client.
Do I need the courses to use the tools?: No. Membership includes both, and plenty of members use one far more than the other. If the business side is the part you need, that is a perfectly good reason to be here.
Can I get my work out if I leave?: Yes. Your projects, estimates and records stay yours, and cancelling a plan does not delete them.

By invitation

Want the tools?

They come with Academy membership, which is invite-only. Tell us what you are working on and how you are running the business side now, and we will come back to you.

Request access

Takes a minute. Tell us what you are working on.

Not ready to ask? Get new lessons, tools and word of the next intake by email. About once a month.