talkmagic.co.uk

I'm going to the magician at a wedding soon and I'm doing it for free because they are family. I was thinking, if I get some more work doing magic, how much should I charge? I really have no idea. My plan is to advertise my services at the wedding.

Well I'd say to check out some of the sticky threads on the site, they're all full of some great info. It's great that you're out there actually performing though, even if it is to faliny at weddings, it's still more than these youtube teenagers are doing. I do a fair few weddings though and they are always great fun. Maybe you'll be interested in my pdf, it's got a fair few card effects as well as a couple of others, but they are all things I use at these kind of venues. If you're interested pm me.

I would say do a few events for your family, friends and friends of friends (people at the wedding) - but you can ignore all the pricing structure for professional magicians, and set it at something to reflect your experience.

For example, when I was 17 I did a friends wedding for £40 an hour. To paraphrase that video I saw yesterday, now I wouldn't take a * for £40.

At the moment just try to see it as pocket money, be honest about your experience and your pricing.

It really annoys me, when someone has been into magic for a month, they've already got a website and a million business cards, and they proclaim themselves a professional and tell everyone they charge £500 an hour. I'm not saying this is you, I'm just saying, if people who claim to be magicians go around ripping people off, then the whole group suffers because of it. Be honest, be fair, and build slowly.

This comes up almost weekly on forums and to be honest a forum isn't where you should ask, in my honest opinion.

Best advice I can give, charge what you think you are worth. The work you get for that fee will be equivilent to the standard you think you are at.


A bit cryptic, but its the best way to explain it!

Hope you don't mind me asking a question on this thread. I just do magic for fun and will always just be a hobbyist, when you guys go to weddings or other "table hopping" type gigs how many actual routines would you perform on the night.
I'm trying to get a little "set" of coin and a few card routines that I can use. At the minute in have no real "set", it's just I do one trick then think "ok, what can I do now."

I do about 6 effects, in two sets of three

I have sets of routines that work well together, but I have about 20 effects I would be happy doing, so I can be adaptable if I need to be. I try to have routines that use the same props, eg. a few card effects, a few elastic band effects, a few coin effects. If a prop only does one trick, I only have one routine with dice for example, I would have to decide beforehand if I was going to perform it, or I leave it in my case, and take it out later in the night.

Charge £50 an hour to start with. That will help you find your feet. If you prove a success you'll soon start to work out what you can charge in the future.

All the best.

Kevin.

PS A forum is a good place to ask.

i'll do it for thrupence...... and your plumpest turkey

Ahh, good thread, I was just wondering the same so thought I'd do a quick search. I have to say I love the sound of a good turkey, and it just so happens my first gig of sorts is on the 9th of December, I wonder if it would keep in the fridge

Here is a reasonable way to figure out a fee. I think I may well have mentioned this before but it won't do any harm to mention it again. First, figure out what you honestly think you are worth. Then figure out what is the minimum you will accept. Then price yourself in the middle.