Online Drum Session Pricing

Let me start by saying there are no differences in sound quality or microphone count between the packages. Rather, the difference is in the number of takes and additional services included.

I originally designed the Demo package for songwriters and publishers here in Nashville that needed high quality single takes without a lot of direction and a quick turnaround. In traditional recording sessions, a demo is never intended to be released for sale and is used to be pitch to various artists or labels with the intent of being re-recorded as a master. However, if you are wanting to keep the cost down and only need a single take of killer drums, I am happy to offer the Demo rate for songs intended for release.

The Basic Master package is my main offering — 3 takes of up to 23 microphones. With multiple takes, you can further refine and edit the performance by cutting and pasting between the takes (normally called “comping” as it results in a composite take) to arrive at what you feel is the ideal drum performance for your song. If you want great live drum tracks and some options to choose from, this is the package for you.

The Custom Master package is my top tier offering. If your song requires a very unique drum or microphone setup, if you want to have a hand in choosing the drum sounds you feel will work best, if you want to have additional part or percussion overdubs, if you want hit samples from the kit for use in mixing, or if you want the drum tracks edited to the grid or delivered in a certain way, this is your option.

I do offer discounts based on song quantity for both Basic and Custom Master Session Packages. The discount available varies with the size of the project.

I also offer custom prices and deliverables for certain projects — music library, TV/movie cue, etc.

Absolutely. That is something I handle on a client-by-client basis. Just ask.

I invoice and receive payment for online drum tracks through Venmo or PayPal under most circumstances. However, I am open to alternate payment methods. Just let me know if Venmo is not a preferred option for you and I’m sure we can work something out.

No. Normally I invoice via Venmo or PayPal after completing the recording. For first time clients, I am happy to bounce MP3 roughs of the drum takes against the scratch tracks for proof of concept. I only release the high quality multi-tracks after payment has been made.

I do my absolute best to make sure that the drum takes clients receive (3 takes at least for both Basic and Custom Master packages) provide suitable stylistic options as well as incorporate all client performance notes. I can count on my ten fingers the number of retakes requested over the last several years of offering remote drum sessions.

That said, if there’s a revision a client wants made, I charge a reduced fee of $75 per song to deliver a single revised take. The fee covers my time in recalling the session notes and kit sounds.

I’m not out to break budgets or stick clients with all sorts of fees. However, super long songs can take a much longer time to record and I might request additional payment to cover my work.

I do not have a hard limit but generally say anything within the 6 minute mark is covered by the song rate. For longer works, I get with the client on a case-by-case basis. If one song out of ten is super long, I may not charge any extra because of the quantity. If one song is 7 minutes long but super simple, I may not charge anything extra. If you have a one-off 13 minute rock odyssey, we will probably need to work out a custom rate. Always feel free to ask.

I have found that some clients, while they LOVE live drums on their music, don’t have a lot of experience with managing and mixing drum multi-tracks. After more than a few clients asked for help, I decided to offer to mix down the multi-track drums from client remote session for $75 per song. I mix your custom drum tracks into more manageable stems that further tailor the kit sounds to your song. First, the client chooses and sends to me their preferred take or a take comped from the multiple ones I originally recorded. Second, I mix the final multi-track drums into stems:

• close mics
• ambient mics
• character mics and processing
• drum effects (verb, delay, whatever the song seems to need)

These stems reduce the number of drum tracks you have to deal with, are further made a part of the song with EQ, compression, and other effects, and still allow you to vary the balance between different aspects of the kit. My goal is to process the drums like I would in a mix, but not so heavy-handed as to box you in sonically. I want to leave room for further processing as the song develops.

Most of the time, clients expect me to play what I think appropriate for the song. Any programmed drum tracks are simply there as a guide or were a stock groove over which the song was written.

Occasionally, clients want to have at least one of my drum takes be as exact a performance of their programmed part as possible. I offer the Transcribed Take Add-On for $75 a song to both meet the client’s desires and cover my time in transcribing, learning, and performing the programmed drum part.

These days, a lot of artists, whether recording in traditional commercial studios with a full band or remotely at multiple facilities, like to have “in studio” footage of their songs being recorded for use in promotional materials (music videos, crowdfunding campaigns, social media posts). While not a video guru, I am happy to offer single-camera video footage of myself playing the takes that make up your remote drum session.

I offer this service for $25 per song and you receive a 60fps 1080p video looking over my left shoulder as I track. For $50 a song, I can add a second overhead camera angle or further edit the video by replacing the camera audio with a synced rough mix of the recorded drums.

If you have video ideas for what you would like to see, just let me know and we can figure it out!