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“How much does a music video cost?”, “How much does a website cost?”, or “How much does a commercial cost?” are the most frequent questions I get from potential clients. The answer is always: “It depends”.

I remember, early in my career, when I was trying to hire someone for creative work and I would ask the same question. Of course, they would answer “It depends” and I remember getting so frustrated with them. “Stop being elusive! Just give me a price so I can see if I can afford it!”, was my usual thought. Now that I’m older, and working as an artist myself, I see why they answered this way. This post is intended to give you some insight as well.

When people ask me how much will a music video cost, my impression is that they think there is a sticker price for it, as if you were to buy something off the shelf at a Wal-Mart. Instead, I invite them to think about a music video or website in terms of level of quality instead of the end product. Here’s one of the analogies I give:

If you wanted to buy a digital camera so you can take a photo of yourself you have a few options. On the low end you could buy a low resolution camera for $50, on the high end you could spend $10,000 on a high resolution camera. Both cameras will take a picture that will represent you, but one will be dark and grainy and the other will take professional looking images with rich colors. The end product is the same; the real question is what kind of quality do you want?

Hopefully you see the connection. You can pay a really low price for a music video or website, but how do you want people to see you or your brand? The more money put into, the better quality you will get in representing yourself. So instead of asking “How much will it cost?” turn it into a statement like, “This is what I have budgeted for this creative project. What level of quality will it get me?”

As a client, the best thing about this is that it will be different from artist to artist. For example, as a director, I can deliver a higher quality project at a lower price because I own a lot of my equipment, while others have to rent it. So as a client, you’re more empowered to get a better deal when you shop around and look at artist’s portfolios and say, “I’ve budgeted $X for this. What kind of music video/website/commercial can you deliver for that price?”

So to recap, price isn’t about end product; it’s about the level of quality.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at: dannyjive@dannyjive.com

Daniel Finley – Producer/Writer/Director

http://www.dannyjive.com