What things actually cost
Most artists have no reference point, get quoted a number, and have no idea whether it is normal. These are broad independent-market ranges in United States dollars. Region, experience and reputation move all of them, and the top of each range keeps going well past where this table stops.
The expensive part is the optional part.
Rough shares of a typical independent single budget, to show the shape rather than to be quoted. The part that decides whether you are paid is the sliver on the left; the part that decides whether you are heard is everything else. Spending nothing on the left and thousands on the right is the common mistake.
| Thing | Common independent range | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Studio time | $40 to $150 an hour | Day rates are usually cheaper per hour. Ask what is included: engineer, gear, session files |
| Mixing | $150 to $800 a song | That is the experienced-freelancer band. Name engineers start around $1,000 and go up with no ceiling. Ask how many revisions are included before it becomes billable |
| Mastering | $50 to $200 a song | Automated online services run $5 to $25 and are genuinely fine for some material. Most engineers discount per song across an EP or album |
| Cover artwork | $50 to $1,000 | Premade and template covers sit at the bottom, commissioned custom work around $200 to $500. Get the layered source file and written permission for commercial use |
| Photography | $200 to $1,000 | Licensing is separate from the shoot fee. Confirm you can use the images in ads |
| Music video | $500 to $10,000+ | The range is genuinely this wide and the top has no ceiling |
| Distribution | $0 to $50 a year | Or a percentage. Both models are normal; paying both is not |
| Music lawyer, one hour | $300 to $500 | Enough for one agreement read before you sign it, which costs far less than signing the wrong thing. Section five is the read-through to do first |
| PR campaign | $1,500 to $8,000 a month | Independent publicists at the bottom, established firms at the top, and a single-release campaign commonly runs six to eight weeks. Ask for the last three campaigns and what they actually produced. Nobody can promise coverage |
Every registration in section three is free or nearly free. Nearly everything in this table is production quality and promotion, which is optional and scales with ambition. It is entirely possible to have spent five thousand dollars on a record and nothing on the registrations that let it pay you, and it is a very common way round to get it.
A mixing engineer quotes you $900 for one song. Is that a rip-off?
On its own, that number tells you almost nothing. It sits just above the experienced-freelancer band in the table, just under where name engineers start, which could be exactly right for an engineer with credits you recognise, and steep for somebody starting out. What decides it is what comes with it: how many revisions before it becomes billable, whether you get stems, whether mastering is included, and how long it takes.
Ask to hear three mixes they have done in your genre. That answers the question far better than the price does, and a good engineer will expect to be asked.
Open the Board to read what people have asked.
All nine sections, one link each, sent now. Then one section every few days for two weeks: five short emails, and then they stop. One click stops them sooner. After that, the only email you get is if we correct something that matters.
Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice. Rates, statutory splits, platform rules and organisation fees all move, and every figure was checked in September 2026 against at least five independent sources. This is written from a United States starting point. If something is wrong, tell us on the Board and it gets fixed. A word you do not know is in the glossary.