So, about those big bucks. It’s always so hard to justify them to myself and others. In high school professional pay was great, but I always thought it must be hard to live off. I’ve long wondered just how much I get an hour for a gig if I factored in all my expenses and time. The question is even more important now that I have a patron (my husband) and a dependant and it’s possible that my time is more important than the cash. I determined to take meticulous notes of the hours and dimes I spent for this gig so I could evaluate it rationally after the fact. I don’t know how to factor in the cost of my husband’s time (two Saturdays and a Sunday gone) or the stress of playing a concert half dead. I’d like to add a couple hundred Euro for that, but musicians don’t get sick leave or maternity time or any benefits at all, and I don’t know how to factor those costs in either. Nor do I know how much amortization of the expense of my harp to factor in or how much of the cost of the fives strings I had to replace while preparing for the gig (at 10 Francs a pop). So, I’ll just give the bare numbers and we can know it’s actually a bit worse than that. Fortunately, Europe pays musicians better than the US does so my hourly rate turned out to be a whopping 9.03 Euro an hour. That doesn’t include the commute or lunch break. If I include the commute, because as a musician without regular work, the place a concert is means time away from practice and other gigs and is not consistent, then the sum is a voluminous 7.06 Euro an hour. For those not in the know the Euro is dropping now so those numbers correspond to 12.11USD (11.89CHF) and 9.47USD (9.29CHF). I think I’d have to pay a babysitter more than that. It’s a good thing Switzerland doesn’t have a minimum wage or I’d risk making less than it.
Is it fun? Yes and no. Is it worth it? Hm, I wonder how long it would take me to recover the cost of music school at that rate?
It is not so much that the Euro is dropping as that the Franc is strengthening. That will make microscopes harder to export, but imports a bit easier to afford.
As to paying off a musical education - that was always unlikely unless full time work was in the cards. In fact paying off any education monetarily is only in the cards if full time work happens. However, how can you put a price on a music education that led you to Basel and all the great things that are happening there?
Excellent points, and there's more to life than money. The money calculations will help me not to be intimidated into charging less, though. I also learned a great deal more than how to play music while in school and some of those lessons are priceless.
GREAT post, Janet! I've face similar issues a few times since Lily was born. In fact, just recently turned down the opportunity to audition for a community orchestra around here -- could have been a perfect fit and "fun" for me, but the commute time, time spent practicing (and the subsequent pain in my back), and mainly time away from my family (even with Hubby as a wonderful, free babysitter) just didn't add up to be worth what they offered in money. :) I have gotten some gigs that were ideal situations, though, where we were glad I could just show up, play violin for an hour on a weekend, and make a couple hundred bucks for the family! It's kind of hit and miss! In some ways it seems teaching out of your home is the ideal situation, but it can be hard (at least around here) to build up students if you're not associated with a school. And not every musician likes to teach. Anyway, great post. :)
We had two repeat performances this weekend that upped the average hourly rate by 2.30 Francs. And how do you calculate this sort of potential for more gigs? It's hard to know what one is worth and what's worth it. Stephan and Joseph had fun in Strasboug, and traveling with a four-month-old is much easier than with a three-month-old!
