One of the most common questions I get from producers is: how much do I pay people? While there are several unions and associations that cover the performing arts, it’s still not always a straightforward question to answer. If you’re working with an Equity (Canadian Actors’ Equity/CAEA) agreement, things are a little clearer—there are set policies and minimum rates you’re obligated to follow. Otherwise, it is up to you as a producer to set the fees and rates, as well as the working conditions of a project.
This ArtistProducerResource.com Learning Pathway helps you figure out what to pay people who are working on your project.
We’re publishing it in July, right before a round of project deadlines from the Toronto and Ontario Arts Councils (learn more on our Public Funding and Grant Writing pages). We hope it will be a handy resource at the start of any budgeting process!
Where to begin
I always start a budget with my expenses (what would I like the project to cost?) — people are almost always the most expensive item in a budget.
Next I determine if I can find the revenue to make the budget feasible.
Once I’ve found the balance between what I want to have happen, and the resources I have available to make it a reality, I have the first draft of my working budget.
Considering what to pay people
One of the things unions and associations do is set a minimum rate schedule. These rate schedules are often grouped together by labour type (actors, directors, and stage managers share an association; designers have a different association, and so do technicians). It is important to understand that these rate schedules are MINIMUMS—so you can think about them as the minimum wage. You can always pay people more.
Dollars are not the only way to compensate people working on your project, though generally that is the preferred method. Depending on what you’re doing, the stage your project is at, and what you’re hoping to achieve with this part of the process, you might consider other ways of compensating those you are working with. Perhaps you can only offer an honorarium, but you will provide lunch for everyone each day.
Some other tips
Rights and Royalties
If you’re working with an existing script you may need to add this to your budget—don’t forget to research that cost early on
If you’re building something new, consider budgeting for rights and royalties from the start of your new process, and making that part of the negotiations. Often (though not always), playwrights, designers, and co-collaborators will want to talk about rights and royalties before embarking on a new creation.
Unions and associations in other performing arts disciplines
These can be helpful for determining fees—CARFAC (representing visual artists) is one of the few associations that has rate schedules for offering workshops or talks, as well as for screening short films.
Further Learning
Sometimes the hardest person to pay is yourself! Use the Rags to Reasonable Salary Worksheet to calculate how much you should pay yourself on your next (or current) project.
Use the Freelance Rate Calculator to set your base hourly rate
This Client Email Helper template by Jessica Hische generates email responses to help you say “no” to free and low-budget work and to help ask for more favourable contract terms before the start of a project.
Check out ArtistProducerResource.com’s Expenses and Revenues infographic series below
Expenses Infographic: download the PDF by clicking the image above, or find it on the Expenses page on ArtistProducerResource.com.
Revenues Infographic: download the PDF by clicking the image above, or find it on the Revenues page on ArtistProducerResource.com.
About ArtistProducerResource.com
ArtistProducerResource.com is a free, searchable online encyclopedia of information, resources, tools, and templates for producing independent performance work in Canada, currently with a focus on Toronto. Launched in November 2017, it has since been visited by over 10,000 users, transforming the way artists producers access information and share knowledge across Canada. ArtistProduceResource.com is free to access and always will be. You can become a supporter by subscribing to our Patreon—we’ll send you a monthly newsletter with highlights, features, and all the newest content on the site. Got a suggestion for ArtistProducerResource.com? Send it to us here.
