Producing Full Time is Hard... Until You Learn This

➡️ Work with Dark Label: http://www.darklabelmusic.com/?video=zGq2SOhoww4 📄 DOWNLOAD THE OFFER BUILDER HERE - https://darklabelmusic.kit.com/offerbuilder 🎧 Do you prefer in-depth info and specifics? That's our podcast: https://producermanagement.com/ Instagram: @darklabelmusic -------------------------- ⬇️ How To Calculate your MHR (minimum hourly rate) ⬇️ Note: This applies to freelance work only, not major label work, sync, products, etc. There are 2 different formulas (A or B). Choose the one that best fits your situation... A - YOU ARE ALREADY FULL TIME PRODUCING (OR MAY HAVE A SMALL PART TIME JOB) Step 1: Calculate Your Goal Number - Add up your monthly expenses and multiply by 2 (this accounts for taxes and profit margin). - This final number is your Goal Number (the amount you aim to earn each month). Step 2: Determine Your Available Work Hours - Decide how many hours per week you want to work (on this business specifically). - Multiply that by 4 (to estimate your monthly hours). - This is your Total Monthly Working Hours (we’re keeping it simple, even though some months have 5 weeks). Step 3: Adjust for Admin & Business Development - Take your Total Monthly Working Hours and multiply by 0.80 (reserving 20% for admin/business tasks that aren’t billable). - This gives you your Net Working Hours (the actual hours you're being paid for). Step 4: Calculate Your Minimum Hourly Rate (MHR) - Take your Goal Number and divide it by your Net Working Hours. - The result is your Minimum Hourly Rate (MHR). Example: Goal Number: $3,000 (monthly expenses) × 2 = $6,000 Total Monthly Working Hours: 30 hours per week × 4 = 120 Net Working Hours: 120 × 0.80 = 96 MHR Calculation: $6,000 ÷ 96 = $62.50 (round up to $65 if preferred) *Caveat - If you live at home / have low expenses then set a number in "Step 1" that would represent you living on your own and start aiming for that. *Caveat - If your personal goal number is higher than what you calculate in step 1 then that's totally fine. Go with that. Again, this is just to ensure you aren't undercharging. *Caveat - If you spend a large chunk of time doing spec work / collaborations (no guaranteed fee) then make sure you deduct that time you typically spend on that each month from your "monthly working hours" before calculating. Download the offer builder template and use your MHR to build project rates: https://darklabelmusic.kit.com/offerbuilder ------------------------------------------------------------------------ B - YOU ARE WORKING A FULL-TIME DAY JOB AND PRODUCING ON THE SIDE Your first milestone is to start earning 50% of what you're earning from your day job in the hours you have available outside of your day job. This video explains why: https://youtu.be/AxPZFw8h_hI?si=gIyG_99cBfFQhmp1 Step 1: Calculate Your Goal Number - Take your monthly income from your day job (gross/pre-tax) and divide it by 2. - This is your Goal Number (the amount you aim to earn each month). Step 2: Determine Your Available Work Hours - Be realistic about how many hours per week you can dedicate to producing outside of your day job. - Multiply that by 4 (to estimate your monthly available hours). - This is your Total Monthly Working Hours. Step 3: Adjust for Admin & Business Development - Not all of your working hours will be billable—some time is needed for admin, marketing, and business growth. - Take your Total Monthly Working Hours and multiply by 0.80 (reserving 20% for non-billable work). - This gives you your Net Working Hours (the actual hours you can charge for). Step 4: Calculate Your Minimum Hourly Rate (MHR) - Take your Goal Number and divide it by your Net Working Hours. - The result is your Minimum Hourly Rate (MHR)—the lowest rate you should charge to hit your goal. Example: Goal Number: $4,000 (day job salary) ÷ 2 = $2,000 Total Monthly Working Hours: 12 hours per week × 4 = 48 Net Working Hours: 48 × 0.80 = 38.4 MHR Calculation: $2,000 ÷ 38.4 = $52 (round up to $55 if preferred) *Caveat - If you feel that your rate is too high because you have limited hours then that's fine, you can lower it and then work up to your MHR. Point here is that you can start stashing away your "side income" to build a safety net for when you transition full time music production. *Caveat - If you don't need to earn the same amount of $ you make from your day job salary then you can calculate this based off the monthly income you're fine with. *Note: Once I have a producer who is earning 50% of what they earn from their full-time day job (and has some savings from previous month's work) they will either 'step down' to a part-time day job (opening up more hours for their production work) or some will just take the leap to full-time music. Download the offer builder template and use your MHR to build project rates: https://darklabelmusic.kit.com/offerbuilder