talkmagic.co.uk

You also need to consider that part of what poeple are paying for is experience.

I've heard of novice magicians with less than a handfull of real world gigs under their belt trying to charge £500+ for a 90 minute table hopping session. They do so because because they've heard that's the going rate for a magician and don't equate that they're not in the same league just yet.

so does anyone agree or disagree with my minimum payments then.
if so shoould we make it a seperate thread for discussion, a little more openess on charges may well help us all in the long run.

It's the same in the disco industry, there are so many people now able to buy cheap equipment from Maplin, illegally download software and songs and go and DJ a wedding for £60 it's killing the smaller disco enterprises.

Larger discos who spend £000's on lighting and effects are booked on reputation and repeat business and charge £500-£1000 a gig, but the smaller players are being undercut because people either want the dog's doo-dah's or Stacey's brother Craig will do it for £40 and a few beers.

[rant] The fact that he's not insured, is using a laptop with no back up, has cheap nasty speakers with poor quality sound, will probably be playing all the latest chart music that's full of swearing rather than the edits and he doesn't know the first thing about DJ'ing someone's wedding doesn't matter... {/rant]

So I sympathise with the professionals. I have no intention of performing, but if I ever thought I was anywhere near good enough I would do it properly and charge accordingly.

If only there was some kind of union for performers, that might help.

That said, I've heard through actor acquaintances that an increasing number of projects are happy to use non-union members. The thin end of the wedge...

If you work an area then presumably word-of-mouth will help people avoid the rubbish ones and go for the best, regardless of price (to a point).

Ted,
I have never, ever had a booker question my Union Membership (Equity). Equity is generally thought of by the public as an actors union, not a "performers", and if we all kept to the rate card, we would probably be the guys working for £50, have you SEEN the daily rates for walk-ons for example?
I know Equity members who are pleased with £100 per day, I work "non-Union" jobs for customers around the World, and (literally) earn that before breakfast some days.
In the last year I have auditioned for 200+ voiceover jobs, and not ONE has specified use of Union talent as a requirement - whilst having some great benefits, (such as the Public Liability Insurance rates), it seems to be becoming increasingly irrelevant, for me anyway.
For magicians, my feeling is that being a Member of Magic Circle may make you more appealing for a booker, (they THINK it means "better", although we all know this is not necessarily the case...), being a member of Equity might help (if they want you to be "entertaining"), but none of these affects price/fee at all.
We all charge what our chosen markets can support. If we screw up - we'll not work again.
The World is changing, everything is more easily available. We each need to find our own way of reacting to it in order to get back to earning what we all need to earn, or want to earn.
Bruce