Valuing your professional skills (QAA3) #FEEUK

Objective:

To enable a learner to generate a quote in response to a request for a goods or services (e.g., a music performance at a wedding), which will help the, to develop skills essential to a freelance (self-employed) career.

Overview:

This is a practical activity for any size of group whereby learners are taken through a series of steps to put together a quote for a performance in response to a (fake) email. They should be encouraged to complete each step independently or in small groups, and then quotes should be compared and discussed at the end of the session.

Activity:

Email prompt:

You receive the following email:

Dear Quirky Quartet,

I saw you perform at a festival recently and thought you were incredible! I wondered if you could perform at my civil partnership on 1st August 2022? The event is in a hotel in the centre of Sheffield (I know you’re in Manchester), and we would like you to perform for around 2 hours in the afternoon as people are having pre-dinner drinks.

We would be happy with any programme that you think appropriate, but we would really love it if you could play Bach’s ‘Toccata and Fugue in D minor’ at the end, which has always been one of our favourites!

If possible, we would love for you to write something especially for us which would be a premiere. It only needs to be around 5 mins, and in whatever style you would like. It will be quite noisy in the space, so it will need to be something that isn’t too sparse or quiet.

Could you let me know how much you would charge please?

All the best,

Eddie

(Pronouns they/them)

Students are then taken through a series of tasks which they can complete one their own or in small groups:

What sorts of costs are involved in you and your 3 other quartet members agreeing to perform at this ceremony? Make a list of all of the categories you can think of, e.g., ‘travel’, and add these to the chat as you think of them. [5 mins, ca be individual lists or lists in Zoom chat, or something more interactive, e.g., Mentimeter, Post-IT notes)
How much would you estimate you would charge for this, before we have undertaken research on costs?
Open a blank Excel (or other spreadsheet package) workbook, add headings, and set this up ready to use to calculate what your quote will be (NB. If desired, the tutor can share an Excel template with students over email / Zoom chat). [5 mins]
Which websites can help you arrive at these costs (e.g. for musicians’ time), e.g. MU, https://musiciansunion.org.uk/rates?
How much should you charge for ‘subsistence’ (food and drink while you are travelling and performing)? Hint: https://musiciansunion.org.uk/rates, then ‘live performance rates’ and ‘national gig rates’ [5 mins]
How much will travel cost from Manchester city centre to Sheffield city centre, for 4 people? You can choose your mode of transport. Hint: https://musiciansunion.org.uk/rates, then ‘live performance rates’ and ‘national gig rates’ [10 mins]
How much should you charge for time spent performing, for 4 people? Hint: https://musiciansunion.org.uk/rates, then ‘live performance rates’ and ‘national gig rates’ [5 mins]
What are the costs of making an arrangement of Bach’s ‘Toccata and Fugue in D Minor’ for quartet? Hint: https://musiciansunion.org.uk/rates, then ‘Composer fees’ and ‘Arranging’ [5 mins]
What are the costs of an original 5-minute composition for quartet? Hint: https://musiciansunion.org.uk/rates, then ‘Composer fees’ and ‘Concert music commissions’ [5 mins]
What is your total fee for this event? Compare this to your initial idea (from 2 above) of how much you would charge for this which you wrote down at the start of the session. Would anyone like to tell us what their final cost was and how it compared to their original idea? [5-10 mins]
What other considerations might we take into account that we have not yet? [5-10 mins], e.g.:
Outline the fee in total, or split (performance, arrangement, composition)?
Can you all make this date? (or deps needed? = more rehearsals)
Split the fee….

i. Equally? Or some travelling further than others?

ii. How many involved in the arrangement and composition?

Whose bank details?
Subsistence may need to be higher if there is only the hotel for food and drink
MU guidance states that musicians should take one 15-minute break every 2 hours
Arrange all of ‘Toccata and Fugue’, or perhaps (better), part?
Preparing an invoice
Payment terms – pay within 30 days after the event?
What is your response to this email – write your reply? [this can be done if there is time, or after class]

The above is suitable for a session of 60 mins or 90 mins.

If students would benefit from two sessions on this topic, here is a second prompt that might be used for a second, similar, session:

Hello Quirky Quartet,

Me again! I hope you’re well, thank you so much for making our civil partnership so special back in August. I’m sorry about Aunt Agnes - she gets a bit carried away!

I wonder if I could ask for your performance expertise one more time? I run a music festival in Bath, and we’d love for you to do a couple of sets.

How much would you charge for two 45 min sets on the main stage starting at 8pm? Any music would be suitable.

Also, I have a small budget to commission new music, but it’s only £200. Would you be able to write a new work for this amount, and if so, how long would it be?

On a side note, your performance at our ceremony inspired my daughter to take music GCSE, and she now says that she wants to be a composer. Thank you for inspiring the younger generation!

All the best,

Eddie

(pronouns they / them)

Skill Development:

- Finance skills

- Communication skills

- Tax skills

- Budgeting skills

- Project management skills

- Digital skills – spreadsheets

- Research skills, using internet resources

- Team-working skills if this activity if completed in small groups

- Communication skills if the final step is completed, where students write a response to the email.

Resources:

Access to online resources for the research elements
NB This can be done online or in person, which have different resource needs

Access to a spreadsheet (ideally students would follow along and create their own spreadsheet, but this can also be done by a tutor at the front of the class (perhaps with students searching for costs on their phones).

References:

https://musiciansunion.org.uk/rates

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