One of the most difficult jobs that any commercial performer faces is how to decide what to charge for his performances. There are so many potential factors to take into consideration when setting a satisfactory fee that it’s hardly surprising that people entering into it fresh will probably have no idea where to start.
Obviously there are factors from the entertainer’s point of view which have to be satisfied. His fee needs to cover his travel, general expenses and any other costs that the act might generate (such as consumables, for instance).
The performer will also want it to be an appropriate amount of money to reflect his personal magic expertise, experience and perhaps professional standing. Plus he may have a particular minimum amount that each show needs to generate for it to be a sensible pay/time ratio, especially if magic is his main source of income.
But even if the performer is armed with all the above relevant information and can as a result come to some sort of figure, there is one element of the whole process which is largely unquantifiable and therefore extremely difficult to factor in. And that is knowing what the bookers are expecting.
If someone is having a party and is considering booking a magician, we all know that often the very first question that they will ask is “how much?” This can be a bit annoying for us, because we know that there is no straight and simple answer to this question as there are so many variables which need to be factored in (as mentioned above), and until those details have been ascertained, it’s not usually possible to quote a figure.
Although this makes complete sense to us, for the booker who has never engaged an entertainer before, the question of cost is possibly an all consuming detail, because they may literally have no idea at all what to expect as it’s an area of business which previously they have never dipped their toe into.
You can imagine a conversation going on in the booker’s head prior to making the enquiry. “Well, it’s only a bit of magic for 45 minutes for a few little kids, so it can’t be that much.” Or conversely, it could be along the lines of, “I’ll bet it’s going to be really expensive, because this guy says he’s entertained royalty.”
Based on this internal discussion, the booker may well come up with a ballpark figure, and it is this unsubstantiated amount which your fee is probably going to be measured against. This could be good, or bad, depending on the total the booker imagined you might charge. You might seem ridiculously expensive (“£175 to keep a few kids quiet for three quarters of an hour? Takes me almost an entire day to earn that!”), or amazingly good value (“£275? Crikey I was expecting nearer £600”).
It’s little wonder then that it can be hard to hit it just right, and is the reason why you should never try. I have always felt that a show fee should be right for you and what you need first and foremost, and should not be adjusted to what you think the enquirer might be able to afford. You simply can’t second guess what the booker is anticipating, so provided you get some bookings at your preferred rate, that’s probably the best you can hope for. Only if you get none, should you have a re-think!