Minimum and maximum fees are an important part of how we ensure musicians on Encore are always paid fairly. Learn more about Encore's commitment to fair fees here.
Maximum fees
Maximum fees are assigned to some jobs where clients have specified that their budget has a definite upper limit.
For example, if John came to Encore looking for a band for his wedding and he had a budget in mind of £2500, the maximum fee would be set around £2750.
Sometimes clients are prepared to pay slightly more than budgeted if they find the perfect musicians for their event, so this maximum fee is often set slightly above their given upper limit to account for this.
Having a maximum fee ensures that clients like John are not sent quotes from musicians or ensembles who are far outside of their price range, and ensures that musicians do not waste their time quoting for jobs for which they may be unaffordable.
The Encore bookings team checks every enquiry which is submitted to ensure that the client has a suitable budget range in mind and the musicians being booked will be paid fairly.
Every job also has a minimum fee to ensure that musicians on Encore are always paid fair rates.
Minimum fees
This is the minimum amount we would expect a musician to quote for a particular job. Having a minimum fee for each job prevents undercutting by musicians who may be willing to work for less than adequate rates, as a result pushing down the expected price for musician hire.
It is based on a number of factors, including suggested rates from musician bodies like the MU and ISM, the industry experience of our bookings staff (who have all been freelancers themselves), and job specific information from the enquiry itself (such as the client's budget, the size of the ensemble required and whether equipment hire is needed).