Waiting For My Artist Card: Negotiating Prices in the Age of COVID-19

I've been waiting for my artist card for years. I'm sure there has to be one. There must be.

How do I know this?

I imagine it is sort of like this but with artist stuff on it

Because negotiating a fee for storytelling, or any art, is tricky. For some organizations or people, when they get into the process of hiring an artist, they are flabbergasted at how much it can cost.

Some organizations want an artist to come, but they are annoyed that they have to pay you at all aside from covering dinner.

Some organizations are shocked to find out that you won't come for free or work for a pittance.

Some organizations think they've offered you plenty of compensation and they don't get why one hundred dollars is not sufficient for your time. You are only going to be telling for an hour!

Some people complain that they are hiring you to do something you love, so why are you charging so much?

Clearly, there is a formula on the artist card that must look something like this -

Artists love their work. +  They are only banging on drums/telling stories/singing for x amount of time. + They are only working with families/children. + They are not traveling far. + They really are having fun. + I am offering them exposure. = They really should be paying me for giving them this opportunity.

I suppose that is why some people approach fee negotiations with an artist like, "I guess I'll toss them a bone. I'm sure that will be sufficient."

Luckily for me, I don't negotiate fees. I leave that to The David. I let him wrangle with people over dollars and cents.

Yes, in the best of times, it is hard to negotiate a fee.

Throw in a global pandemic and you make things even harder.

In the before time -

"We have fifteen libraries. We have this much money, how many of them will you visit if we pay you x amount?"

In the now -

Client: "We want a virtual show and we want to stream it to all fifteen of the libraries for two weeks, and we want to pay you as if you have only visited one branch on one afternoon because you are recording the show. That seems fair.


Artist: "Umm. No. I'm sorry. I can't afford to do it like that. Let's talk about a fee for each library in your system. Certainly not as high as if I was there in person. That way, I am in every library, you have programming for your entire system, and I am compensated for the work I am putting into preparing this program for you.

Client: "What? You want us to compensate you for essentially working every one of our libraries this summer even though your show is pre-recorded?  That is unreasonable. The formula on your artist card says that creating pre-recorded virtual programming is much easier and less expensive to produce!"


I really need to get hold of this artist card.

this is the TIR apartment in Jonesboro!

Since it is being used against me on a regular basis, there must be a way for me to use it to help my situation.

I could take it to my mortgage broker. She'd say, "Wow, I didn't know you had an artist card. Considering this formula, I am going to drop your mortgage payments by forty percent!"

How about grocery shopping? I could present my artist card right before my credit card. "Wow! You're an artist who loves what she does. Your groceries are going to cost fifty percent less than everyone else who has to work for a living!"

Oh, at the bookstore! "Wait! You're an artist? Well, here are all of your books at ten percent of what everyone else has to pay for books!"



Yes! My artist card, the card that makes people assume they don't need to pay me, should also alert the people that I have to pay that I shouldn't be charged full price for anything!

Sadly, my artist card has not come, so, I am still in the position of negotiating a fee.

Here is a blog post I wrote years ago with some tips about setting and negotiating a fee.


I reread it this morning and was surprised to see that it still holds.

We have adjusted our fee structure because of COVID.

My travel expenses are nonexistent, but there are other expenses we have to contend with.

We have a pro Zoom account.

We have a premium Vimeo Account.

I upgraded my laptop.

I bought a camcorder.

I bought an external mic.

I've purchased lights, backdrops, frames on which to hang the backdrop, editing software, upgraded the internet to the fastest speeds allowable in my area, and spent hours rehearsing, recording, re-recording in various parts of my house to find the best place to make solid sound without echoing or feedback. I've invested hours and hours in educating myself about how all of this works. We are combining years of education, brand new skills, and our knowledge of our craft to make art in a new way with an unfamiliar tech world.

What a client is getting on the other end of this process is a high quality, well put together, specifically crafted piece that is designed for this particular medium that displays our artform to the best of our ability.

That is no small accomplishment.
That is not cheap.
That is not easy.
That is not thrown together.
That is not an afterthought.

If we charged what our work and dedication is actually worth every single time we stepped into a venue, nobody could afford it.

The price we quoted is already a steep discount unless it is in the six figures.

You are more than worth the fee you charge.

If we do not fight for the right to be properly compensated for our work, we won't be, and nobody will have any idea we should be.

That was true in the before time.

It is still true now.

Then again, my artist card might come today.

Happy making art work for you!