Money, Money, Money
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- dewilde
I am doing some work for an online music company, kind of in the same vein as Spotify. They want me to design the UI for an IPad app, which I will then adapt to ipod, website, all that good stuff. I am primarily a print designer, and have worked mainly in the action sports industry. This arena is new to me so i need some advice with quoting the job.
They have offered me some stake in the business, which i am interested in. The guy hiring me only owns 35% so i dont want to ask for too much because I think it's coming out of his stake, but he sounds pretty open. As usual, their budget is slim, so i am trying to give them a rate to design this. I am going to give them a number and he will come back and say "how about _% and cut your quote to _".Pretty common issue, I dont want to bid too low, but I also don't want to scare them away.
Any guidance would be rad, and very much appreciated! thanks.
(if it makes a difference, they are located in France)
- Miguex0
Welcome to the world of hussle!
There's no right or wrong here, they want you to believe they have no money, and you want them to believe you are worth every penny they can afford.The first is convince them that a good branding/ visual component is ESSENTIAL to their project. The truth is, they will take ANYONE that can do the project, but in order to do that CONVINCE THEM YOU ARE THE ONE. (That's if you really care about the project).
Not sure if this helped much, I had my share fare of working with start ups and it never worked out for me. There's a one in a million chance they will develop the next soundcloud or the next instagram, the question is, do YOU believe in the project enough to think this will happen?
Good luck man
- i_monk0
You still need to make enough that no matter how the company does, you're being paid for your time and talent.
You can't pay your rent with x% of a failed company.
- ETM0
What is their revenue model? If it's in the vein of Spotify et al, those companies are not making money as it is. Spotify won't be profitable for years. When do you see a return on that percentage?
I'd at least get some cash as well.
Excerpt from a Business Insider post:
"Spotify won't ever make a profit because of one-sided deals with record companies that give Spotify the short end of the stick every time, according to MP3.com founder Michael Robertson.
Spotify isn't the only service at risk — all the other online radio and music streaming services like MOG and Rdio also face similar problems with record companies..."
- ukit20
I would question the chances of success of any company willing to offer stock in exchange for designing an iPad app.
- ArmandoEstrada0
You're getting hustled. You know the saying, "I got a bridge in Brooklyn...."
- they already paid me a nice chunk for their logo...so i have already gotten somethingdewilde
- Then I take it all back. Can I have some stock?ArmandoEstrada
- dewilde0
thanks guys, i def want to get a little cash out of it, but in 4 years I dont want to hear that they sold the company to Apple for $20milion and i couldve had 10%, haha. It's always a gamble, but they are willing to pay me...
- brandon_phillip0
Use your best judgement - but as an aside to all the quotes above. Music is lava hot right now. Did you see any of the presentations from SXSW this year? Turntable.fm, Rdio, Spotify, and lots of bands are bellying up to the table to show stake in the game. Because as much as I love vinyl, music is changing again within itself - this time this digital revolution is changing in consumption trends by the youth. If these Frogs have enough cash to build something legit, then they can afford to pay you (your asking rate or lower than your asking rate) along with giving you stake in their game. David Choe took a chance and is now sipping cocktails in the penthouse.
- sherm0
cash up front, profit sharing or whatever on the back end as negotiated.