i'm not sure how i feel about the budgets i work with vs. the budgets i might "want" to work with
sure, making ten 6k records is fine.....and that's right in my game.
but i wouldn't mind doing a 60k record for the mere fact that i could actually get paid (probably MONTHS after the fact) a lot more for my efforts.
being as it is, i've been mixing more and more and tracking less and less......budget isn't really in my realm much anymore as i've started producing less as well. i just charge per song, or negotiate a day rate and go to work
more often then not, i get a deposit up front, and paid upon completion of my work.
it's interesting to see such a HUGE difference in what fibes and i typically deal with, to what michael typically deals with.....speaking mainly of the things michael outlined, i know nothing of his business dealings and don't mean to imply i do.
perdiems, travel, accomodations.....these are things that go like this for me.....
i make a turkey sandwich in my kitchen, put it in a plastic bag and take some grapes to the studio, throw it in the fridge. that's my perdiem.
travel, the band gets a cardboard box, places reels of tape in it, fills out UPS info, and ships it to me
accomodations, i store the reels in a cool dry place until i'm done and i ship em back.
pretty soon i'll simply walk upstairs and make the sandwich and head back down to continue mixing.
ain't life grand!