Personally, my minimum fee in Detroit's northern suburbs was nothing less than the rate for two services as organist-director. Yet I sometimes made exceptions for personal, professional, and artistic considerations. Our published fees really serve two functions. They eliminate the need for substitutes to set fees as individuals operating in a vacuum. Also, they provide a benchmark in helping to determine fair and reasonable compensation for steady employment.
Members avoid the hassle of begging for more money when they can point to an official fee schedule.
Similarly, institutions are spared the embarrassment that occurs when an offer becomes an insult. The Sarasota-Manatee Chapter has never been shy on the subject of fair compensation. We are frequently asked and frequently provide fee schedules to individuals and institutions. Other chapters follow our lead. For example, just last month, our fee schedule appeared in The Coupler, newsletter of the Southwest Florida Chapter.