As a graphic designer, your work is valuable. Equally important is the price tag attached to your work. If you have decided to pursue graphic design either as a career or a hobby, you deserve to be compensated for the art you produce. In your design endeavors, you might have the opportunity to design cover art for a mixtape. How much should you charge for a mixtape cover design?

Depending on the band or artist you design for, as well as your talent as a graphic designer, mixtape cover designs will vary. You can expect to receive as low as a few hundred dollars to over $10,000. 

Read on to learn more about how much you should charge for a mixtape cover design. The chance to create artwork for a collection of music with the potential to become a timeless piece is exciting enough, but knowing your worth and deciding how much you will charge for a cover design is something that can help you along your graphic design journey.

How Much Should You Charge for Mixtape Cover Design?

If you have already designed artwork for a mixtape or album cover before, you may have a set price for your talents. However, perhaps most graphic designers have not had the opportunity. If you are asked to design cover art, you will want to understand a few guidelines for setting your price. 

Different factors affect how much you should charge for a mixtape cover design. Each has important reasons:

• The popularity of the band/artist
• Your talents
• How the cover art will be used

The band or artist for which you design the cover art has a major influence on the price of their request. If it is an established band, they may be stern in their offer, and if they are famous enough, they might even request cover art at no cost. Even for an iconic artist, this can be great for getting your work out there, but you must be careful that you do not get the reputation of always designing mixtape cover art for free.

You may have more freedom in deciding how much to charge for your mixtape cover designs. In this case, you must value your work just as much as – if not more – than the people who receive your work. If you feel that your cover art is worth $2,000 based on prior experience and the reputation of yourself and the band or artist, you should not feel hesitant to remain steadfast in your price. However, if this is your first mixtape cover design or you are an amateur graphic designer, you might consider setting your price between $200 – $500. Without experience in the field, you can alter your price when more commissions come your way.

Lastly, you want to consider how the cover design will be used. If it is a well-known band or artist and you have the freedom to set your price, you might raise it a bit. In another instance, the artwork may be restricted to a contract. Sometimes, artwork for a newly released album is only licensed for a few years, in which case, you may not charge as much, since it is not a permanent item.

Charging for a Mixtape Cover Design vs. Album Cover Design

An important question that arises when charging for cover designs is the difference between a mixtape and an album. Granted, the two may be used interchangeably, but there is a technical difference. Mixtapes are generally less organized, with a handful of new songs created by a band or artist. Albums often tell a larger story and may be a bigger deal when released.

When charging for a mixtape cover design, acknowledge whether it is actually a mixtape or an album. For albums, you can typically charge more since the release is a more important step in a band or artist’s career. Mixtapes tend to be more casual releases, which can mean cheaper cover art.

If the band or artist uses the terms “mixtape” and “album” interchangeably, be sure to discuss with them their intentions for the release. If they talk about it more seriously or formally, the collection of songs can be designated as an album. If they clarify that it is simply a mixtape, you might consider charging less than you would for album cover designs.

Design Mixtape Cover Art With Placeit

When you decide how much you are going to charge for a mixtape cover design, take a look at Placeit for their pre-made templates. With thousands of mixtape and album cover templates to choose from, you’ll be able to create something professional, with full commercial usage rights, in the matter of minutes or hours, instead of weeks or months.

This may allow you to accept more gigs as a designer because you can increase your pay-per-hour.

Takeaway

Once you establish yourself as a graphic designer who regularly creates cover art, you can set a concrete price with the potential for negotiation. If you lack experience with cover art, you will not be able to charge equal prices to offers you have heard before from other graphic designers.