Recommandations: minimum fees
Many artists find it difficult to realistically calculate fees for artistic services and works. In Germany, there are a number of sector-specific recommendations on minimum fees from interest groups. Here you'll find an overview.
Minimum fees are intended to protect artists from (self-)exploitation. Fair working conditions and fair remuneration are of existential importance. Minimum fees are intended to help establish a fair relationship between the time spent and the work performed. The minimum fees do not take into account the experience an artist brings to the table. Of course, the recommendations are not intended as a "fee cap", but rather as a point of reference for calculating one's own fee. The industry associations see them as the absolute minimum fee that should be set.
The need for collective fee recommendations is demonstrated by the nationwide survey results of "SO_LOS! Die Initiative für faire Honorare" from autumn 2022. Only just over a quarter of those surveyed are currently guided by collective fee recommendations. Many face poverty in old age.
ver.di is campaigning for basic fees for self-employed creative professionals and has developed an accounting model based on the TVöD. In addition, the various professional groups, such as the ver.di art group or the ver.di music group, are actively campaigning for fair pay in the respective sectors.
Since 1st July 2024, the Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) has linked its cultural funding to the adherence to minimum fees for artists and creatives. This requirement applies to all institutions and projects that are at least 50 percent funded by the BKM. The standard for the minimum fees to be observed is based on the corresponding nationwide recommendations of the professional associations for artists and creatives.
In its most recent study (September 2023), "Construction Site Gender Equality: Data Report on the Economic and Social Situation in the Cultural Labor Market", the German Cultural Council once again highlighted that a significant portion of freelance professional artists in Germany continues to earn below-average incomes. This income situation leads to subsequent problems, particularly in terms of social security.
The Federal Association of Visual Artists (BBK Bundesverband), together with its regional associations, has drawn up guidelines on fees for visual artists. This guideline contains recommendations for the calculation of fees for all services that artists provide in their profession. You can view the guidelines, which were published in December 2022, here. A standard hourly rate of €70 (net) is recommended for billing artistic services from 2023 onwards, e.g., for conceptual work (research, planning), setup and dismantling of one’s own works, and public relations.
Fee Calculator for Visual Artists
To make the information from the BBK fee guide practical, the Professional Association of Visual Artists Rhineland-Palatinate e.V. has developed a fee calculator, which has been available to visual artists across the state free of charge since July 2024.
Exhibition fees for visual artists according to the Berlin model:
The bbk Berlin has also initiated the Berlin Model, which sets exhibition fees for artists in municipal galleries in Berlin. The Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion has set up a fund for this purpose, which has been enshrined in the state budget since January 2016. The municipal galleries can apply for exhibition fees for their artists from this fund. The exhibition fees set out in the Berlin Model are to be understood as minimum fees and also apply to all exhibitions funded by the state.
(as of August 2022)
- Solo exhibition (1-2 artists): at least €2,500/artist
- Small group exhibition (3-9 artists): at least €800/artist
- Group exhibition (>10 artists): min. 400 €/artist
- Group exhibition (>30 artists): min. 150 €/artist
Since 2015, the Bundesverband Freie Darstellende Künste (BFDK) has published recommendations for minimum fees based on the rates of the standard stage contract. At the delegates' meeting on 12 October 2022, it was decided to raise the lower fee limits again due to the gradual increase in the standard stage contract from the 2022/2023 season.
Minimum fees for non-KSK-insured persons (net):
- Month: € 3,600
- Week: 830 €
- Day: 165 €
- Performance (10% of the monthly fee): 360 €
Minimum fees for KSK-insured persons (net):
- Month: € 3,100
- Week: 715 €
- Day: 140 €
- Performance (10% of the monthly fee): 310 €
The lower fee limits do not take longer professional experience into account. The BFDK is therefore endeavouring to develop fee recommendations that take more detailed account of the experience of artists, for example in a tiered model. The development of this tiered model is being worked out since 2022 in a participatory Fair Pay! process.
The Netzwerk freie Literaturszene Berlin (NFLB) recommends the following fees for artistic and non-artistic services in literary projects:
(as of March 2024)
Minimum fees for artists as a lump sum:
- Author reading or performance (group reading) 300 €
- Author reading or performance (individual reading) 450 €
- Recital reading or performance (group reading) €250 (for formats in the absence of the author or reading of translations)
- Recital reading or performance (individual reading) 350 € (for formats in the absence of the author or reading of translations)
- In addition to performance fees: Additional fees for necessary preparation/post-processing of the event 160 €/day or 20 €/hour
Minimum fees for project organisation and organisers:
- Artistic and organisational project management 280 €/day or 35 €/hour
- Project assistance 200 €/day or 25 €/hour
- Bookkeeping 200 €/day or 25 €/hour
- Event technology 200 €/day or per hour
- Helping hands 120 €/day or 15 €/hour
Minimum fees for editorial work and mediation:
- Moderation: €250 flat fee
- Moderation for topic-specific formats and author/work discussions: €350 flat fee
- In addition to the flat fees: Additional fees for required pre-/post-event preparation: €160/day or €20/hour
- Translations:
- Basic fee per standard page (30 lines of 60 characters each) for prose translations €25/hour
- Basic remuneration per standard page (30 lines of 60 characters each) for demanding prose translations €30/hour
- Basic fee per line, especially for poetry 2.50 €/hour
- Text documentation 200 €/day or 25 €/hour
- Press/public relations €200/day or €25/hour
- Graphics/design €200/day or €25/hour
Minimum fees for jury activities:
- Meeting fee 200 €/day or 25 €/hour
- Application processing 200 €/day or 25 €/hour
The German Comics Association recommends the following minimum fees for comics. The fee schedule is expressly intended as a recommendation for minimum fees:
(as of 2018)
- Author reading (group reading): 300 € (flat rate) possibly with conversation/discussion, also applies to speeches, lectures
- Author reading (individual reading): 400 € (flat rate) with discussion, if applicable, also applies to speeches/lectures
- Additional fees for necessary preparation/post-processing of the event: €160/day and €20/hour for additional expenses incurred by authors and performers due to participation in the concept, rehearsal phase, preparation for talks, preliminary meetings, etc.
- Workshop leadership: €40 per hour, excluding preparation and materials
- Pre-/post-workshop preparation: €30 per hour
Reading tip: Further recommendations for services in the field of comic projects can be found here.
Recommendation for minimum fees of the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion:
Daily rate with Künstlersozialkasse gross: at least 375 €/musician (new music, early music, jazz), based on the "Berliner Modell" of the DACH Music of November 22, 2023
Calculation model of DACH Musik Berlin for the minimum fees in public music funding ("Berliner Modell"):
For the first time, the music associations of the independent music scene in Berlin, which are members of DACH Musik, have developed a transparent calculation model that meets the requirements of the reality of freelance musicians to determine the minimum fees to be achieved in public funding.
Amount of a daily rate for freelance musicians in the area of public funding: 631.14 €
The Berlin model ("Berliner Modell") does not assume that this figure can be achieved immediately. In order not to overburden the existing funding structures, DACH Musik Berlin proposes that the minimum fees should be introduced gradually. This gradual introduction must be accompanied by a correspondingly proportional increase in funding. As a first step, we are currently working with the Berlin Senate Administration to determine what increases are required to reach the first fee level.
Proposed gradual introduction of minimum fees:
2023: 60% (375,00 €), 2024: 80% (504,91 €), 2025: 100% (631,14€)
The DACH Musik Berlin is an association of:
- IG Jazz Berlin e.V.
- initiative neue musik e.V. (inm)
- Association of Early Music Berlin e.V. (VAM Berlin)
- Zeitgenössisches Musiktheater Berlin e.V. (ZMB)
The unisono (German Music and Orchestra Association) has also defined minimum fee standards for the 2022/23 season in order to sustainably improve the payment of musicians. These minimum fee standards apply primarily to publicly funded music projects. Special conditions apply to temporary work in orchestras and choirs.
Rates for musicians (absolute lower limit):
- Rehearsal rate: 135 €
- Daily rate (incl. concert): 265 €
- + 25 % for special services
Special services are:
- Solo/voice leading or solo ensemble musicians, especially in the field of early and contemporary music
- Transportation of large instruments
- Tuning of keyboard instruments
- Multiple performances on the day of the concert
- Particularly long (over 3 hours) or particularly difficult works
- Distances between home and performance venue of over 100 kilometers
- One-day projects
Beyond the minimum fee standards as the lowest limit, adequate fees should be aimed for. To this end, the following daily rate applies in perspective: 675 € (see recommendations of the German Music Council)
The German Music Council advocates a gradual establishment of this daily rate with a simultaneous increase in cultural budgets over three years:
2024: 540 €
2025: 675 €
The minimum fee standards also apply to occasional musical events ("Muggen") and church concerts. Students also receive the full minimum fee standards if the project does not primarily serve to promote young talent.
Remuneration recommendations for freelancers at memorials and museums were published by Geschichte wird gemacht - Netzwerk für faire Arbeitsbedingungen in Museen und Gedenkstätten on 12 December 2020. The calculations of these rates are based on remuneration according to TVöD-13.
Fees for guided tours and seminars:
- Fees recommended for guided tours of exhibitions or memorials are €65/hour. The same fee rate applies to seminars lasting several hours. Guided tours conducted as part of seminars are not remunerated additionally.
Fees for scientific and conceptual services:
- Fees for scientific services (e.g. conception and realisation of educational offers or exhibitions, archive research, scientific processing of collections, development of a public relations strategy, etc.) amount to 65-80 €/hour. For longer-term tasks, the fee is based on the corresponding payment according to TvöD-13 plus ancillary labour costs.
Fees for further training:
- A daily rate of €200 is charged for participation in further education and training courses for freelance educational and academic staff offered or organised by museums and memorials.
Cancellation fee:
- If a guided tour or seminar is cancelled within one week of the scheduled date, a cancellation fee of 50% shall be payable. If a guided tour or seminar is cancelled the day before the scheduled date, a cancellation fee of 100% shall be payable. A cancellation fee of 50% shall be payable if assignments lasting several days are cancelled.
Foreign languages:
- A good command of foreign languages is a prerequisite for a wide range of activities, such as guided tours, archive research and much more. Orders must be checked to see whether foreign language skills are required for their fulfillment. If this is the case, the fee rate will be increased by 20%. This applies proportionately if only individual parts of larger orders require the use of foreign language skills.
Fee recommendations of the Federal Association of Freelance Cultural Scientists of 18 March 2022:
The fees do not include ancillary costs (office costs, ancillary production costs, travel costs, accommodation costs) and statutory VAT.
Fee zone 1: 75 to 95 €/hour
- Scientific activities, consulting, research, e.g. supervision and implementation of research projects, exhibition conception and realization
- Conception and realization of art and cultural projects
- Project and cultural management, consulting activities
- Preparation of publications and writing texts
- Practical activities e.g. text and image editing
Fee zone 2: 50 to 75 €/hour
- Practical activities, e.g. literature research, editing
- Public relations work for cultural projects
- Inventory of cultural assets
- Archive and depot management
Fee zone 3: Flat rates
- Simple standard guided tours 95 to 120 €/1.5 hours: This includes regular and repeated guided tours of museums and exhibitions or regular tourist city walks. In addition, conception costs are added according to fee zone 1.
- Special guided tours 250 to 850 €/2 hours: This includes one-off guided tours of the city's history and cultural history outside museums and exhibitions on behalf of the client. If the client wishes to purchase the content of the tour concept or parts of the elaboration, e.g. for publication or other further use, additional costs will be incurred. Additional costs may also be incurred if the client wishes to further utilize the tour concept.
- Scientific lectures 250 to 300 €/1 - 1.5 hours: Additional traveling and accommodation costs and, if applicable, costs for research according to fee zone 1.
In October 2022, the German Association for Art History updated the fee recommendations for freelance art historians in close cooperation with the Federal Association of Freelance Cultural Scientists:
Fee zone 1: 70 - 90 €/hour (net)
- Management and realisation of research projects
- Exhibition conception and management
- Conception and management of art and cultural projects, lectures, mediation formats, teaching events, workshops and media formats (e.g. podcasts, videos, audio guides),
- Writing project proposals for third-party funding acquisition
- Consultancy activities (e.g. museum, media and cultural event consultancy)
- Conception and coordination of publication projects (e.g. content structure, selection of contributors, text and image editing)
- Writing texts (e.g. essays, catalogue contributions, exhibition texts, texts for digital and print media)
- House research and documentation
- Scientific research (e.g. archive, document, image, film and online research)
- Identification and valuation of art and antiques, conception of communication strategies
Fee zone 2: 50-80 €/hour (net)
- Literature research
- editing
- Public relations for cultural projects
- Inventory of cultural assets
- Archive and depot support (e.g. for collections, galleries, studios)
- Travel organisation (e.g. for study trips, excursions)
Fee zone 3: Flat rates for mediation formats
- Please note that this is only about the use of materials or the use of previously designed formats (see fee zone 1). Mediation formats can be:
- Simple standard tours: 80 – 100 €/hour)
- Carrying out guided tours, workshops and lectures: 500 – 1,500 €/1.5 – 4 hours
- Carrying out study trips: daily flat rate €500 – €750
- Scientific lectures: 500 – 1,000 €/1 – 1.5 hours
- Fees for speeches (e.g. exhibition opening): €400 – €800/15–30 minutes)
- Moderation: Daily flat rate €800 – €1,500