Show notes
This episode is part of a nine-part series on commissions. How to prepare for them, respond to them, deliver them, and, crucially, how to stop them burning you out. If you haven't followed the podcast yet, hit follow so you don't miss an episode.
Today, episode two of nine. The five mistakes I see every artist make when pricing commissions. I see them every single week. In coaching conversations. In the Mastermind Circle. In private messages from artists I have never met who have found my work.
Different artist. Different medium. Different decade of experience. Same five mistakes. Every time.
If you listened to episode one, you'll remember I opened with a story about a textile artist, mid-career, who sent me a costing for a corporate commission and told me he was embarrassed. Today we are opening up his costing. Not literally his numbers, but the five mistakes inside it. Because every one of them will be familiar to you.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Quote in the currency your costs are in; otherwise, you're letting the currency markets quietly price your work for you. If the market shifts in the time it takes you to create the commission, you can easily lose 5 to 15% of your fee.
Your client sees the finished piece, but you lived a “three-month shadow life” around making it; your fee has to reflect the shadow life, not just the visible outcome.
Day rates anchor your income to availability; move to project fees so you’re pricing the value of a lifetime of practice, not slices of your calendar.
Treat bespoke and repeatable work as two different commissions with two different pricing logics and stop trying to negotiate all of that over email.
BEST MOMENTS
“When artists and creative practitioners move from day rates to project fees or to flat fees based on the scope of the commission, two things happen, the fee goes up and the quality of the relationship improves.”
“Every commission disaster I've ever coached on can be traced back to a decision made over email.”
“A good commission process protects three things. Your time. Your practice. Your sanity.”
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PODCAST HOST BIO
With over 35 years in the art world, Ceri has worked closely with leading artists and arts professionals, managed public and private galleries and charities, and curated more than 250 exhibitions and events. She has sold artworks to major museums and private collectors and commissioned thousands of works across diverse media, from renowned artists such as John Akomfrah, Pipilotti Rist, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Vito Acconci. Now, she wants to share her extensive knowledge with you, so you can excel and achieve your goals.
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