How much does an audition actually cost and what will I realistically get out of it?

Posted on by jessharper90

Hello friends,

This has been looping around in my head for a while, and I have wanted to get it out on digital paper for ages. The industry is tightening its belt every day, and we’re all feeling the pinch, so here’s a whole lot of real talk for you. I want you to dive head first into everything this profession brings with as much knowledge as you can, and I want to help you save money where possible.

Types of auditions we have available to us as classical/ opera singers:

  • Masters programs
  • YAPS
  • Chorus auditions (both opera house and radio choir)
  • Competitions
  • Agents
  • Soloist (for a specific role or a fest job in a house)

I’ll be bringing you a blog or vlog getting into more detail on the nuances of these auditions when I find time, but for now I just want to crunch some numbers with you.

Part one: Show me the money


Auditioning for Masters programs – costs involved

  • Application fee (depends on the country) – €50-€250
  • Postage/ extra random things* – €50 – €200
  • Audition videos – €200
  • Coachings beforehand/ with the teacher you want to work with ** – €200
  • Flights/ travel/ accommodation costs to attend audition – €100 – €1,500

Total: €600 – €2,350 (depending on the country, institution, how many applications you send, where you’re travelling from etc)

Pros of doing it: You’ll get your masters degree and network

YAPS

  • Flights/ travel/ accommodation costs to attend audition – €100 – €1,500
  • Application fee – €0 – €100
  • Audition videos – €200
  • Coaching your rep beforehand- €300
  • Flights/ travel/ accommodation costs to attend audition – €100 – €1,500

Total: €600 – €2,100

Pros: You’ll get paid (not a lot, but paid!), do roles, masterclasses and get lots of coachings

Chorus – both opera and radio choir

  • Flights/ travel/ accommodation costs to attend audition – €100 – €1,500
  • Application fee – €0
  • Audition videos – €200
  • Coaching your rep beforehand- €400 (you’ll have excerpts and they are NOT. EASY.)
  • Flights/ travel/ accommodation costs to attend audition – €100 – €1,500

Total: €700 – €2,100

Pros: Work/ life balance (some choruses do get worked very hard though) and tasty contract conditions

Comps

  • Flights/ travel/ accommodation costs to attend audition – €100 – €1,500
  • Application fee – €0 – €300 (but that being said, don’t apply for something if the entry fee is more than about 6% of the first prize)
  • Audition videos – €200
  • Coaching your rep beforehand- €400
  • Flights/ travel/ accommodation costs to attend audition – €100 – €1,500

Total: €600 – €2,100

Pros: Networking, singing for multiple casting agents on one day, prize money, visiting somewhere new, sometimes great quality videos

Agents

  • Application fee – €0 – €90 (DO NOT pay any more than room hire and pianist fee. Any ‘agent’ asking for more than that is probably a con artist)
  • Audition videos – €200
  • Coaching your rep beforehand- €200
  • Flights/ travel/ accommodation costs to attend audition – €100 – €1,500

Total: €500 – €1,900

Pros: Networking, private audition with the agent likely more engaged with you than they would be a larger setting (competition etc), potential work/ being sent to closed auditions

Soloist

Note – these are more or less impossible to get without an agent sending you (they don’t have to have signed you on to their books, but if they like you and want to see how you go with auditions, they will send you to a few)

  • Audition videos – €200
  • Coaching your rep beforehand- €200
  • Flights/ travel/ accommodation costs to attend audition – €100 – €1,500

Total: €500 – €1,800

Pros: Getting a sick gig straight up, planting the seeds for unknown future sick gigs, casting agents thinking of you for projects in other houses too

*I have heard from a few singers that there are some institutions now that insist you get a complete ENT scoping and send video proof of the health of your vocal mechanism BEFORE you have even been accepted for your audition.

** Some teachers offer trial lessons half price or the institution pays them anyway, so it’s free for you, which we love.

Part two: How successful am I going to be? How much money am I sinking in to this profession?

  • You’re going to get rejected, on average, 98% of the time***. Don’t take it personally, you’re doing great.

  • The cost of 30 auditions each year is approx: €15,000, which is made back super quickly once you’re working, but is as big an investment as it looks. Find yourself some remote working options ASAP. This will save you.

  • You won’t be successful first 2-3 years of auditioning fulltime, until all of a sudden you are. Most of those costs up there are tax deductible though, which is tasty (check that with a financial professional, don’t take my word for it!).

  • Your videos are only being recorded once or twice a year, so I would build that into your yearly budget of singing expenses. You also don’t have to hire a videographer – get a solid mic that attaches to your fancy AF phone camera and do it yourself. You also get excellent quality videos at most competitions these days too, which offsets the costs in a big way.

  • Approach every audition with rep you can sing NOW, not what you will sing in five years. You’re there to solve the casting problem, so be yourself and bring your best arias with you!

*** Unless you’re a super rare voice type and you have the goods to back it

P.S. Thanks for being here! If you like the blogs, find them useful, and want to see more of them, feel free to buy me a coffee or something else (but no pressure!) xxx

2024 Travel tips – not just for singers!

Posted on by jessharper90

Travel, evidently, in 2024 is a hilarious experience. Bags are getting lost at record rates, none of the famous cities want tourists anymore (no shade, just an observation), and the cost of everything has skyrocketed.

With all that in mind, and wanting you all to enjoy your travel (work or leisure) as much as possible, I have compiled some tips and things to be mindful of that I have found super useful over the last few years.

  1. If you can travel off peak (season, day of the week, hours of the day), do it. The cost of your travel will be cheaper, and there will be fewer people for you to contend with.
    • Peak seasons in the EU:
      • Christmas/ NYE (think 20th December till 3rd Jan)
      • High summer (July/ August)

  2. There is pretty much always a cheap alternative for the well known train/ bus you’ve heard of (eg. If you want to get from Vienna to Salzburg on the train, you should look up Westbahn, as opposed to ÖBB). Usually said train/ bus will depart from a different station to the central one (so you will save money and spend time), but it’s almost always worth the price difference (depending on how essential timing is for you on any given day). Make sure you look up alternatives to travel if your budget is super tight. This is where the internet is a marvel.
    • Omio is a great app for this
    • Google maps is also a winner

  3. Especially relevant for the Aussies, Kiwis, and Americans – don’t feel you have to hop to a new city every 2-3 days. This is the most exhausting way to travel, and you won’t enjoy visiting a city if you feel time pressure. Spend a solid 4-7 days in a few places over a 2-3 week period. You’ll enjoy yourself a lot more and save a fortune on accommodation. You can take day trips from your base, which is always an easier exercise and more enjoyable.

  4. Money saving accommodation/ food hacks:
    • Get a hotel/ hostel for 1-2 nights, get an air bnb or a hotel room with a kitchenette for longer stays. Booking.com is a good place to find sick deals too
    • Definitely sample local cuisine, but eating at least one meal in your accommodation each day will save you lots of your hard earned money
    • An overnight sleeper train saves you a night of accomodation

  5. Learn ‘hello, goodbye, please, thankyou’ in the/ a local language. Everyone will be a lot nicer to you if they can see that you’re trying. Just because English is your mother tongue, doesn’t mean everyone else should be adjusting for your benefit. They might, of course, but you should put in some effort too!
  6. Don’t be a douchebag. Find out the local customs and traditions and be respectful of them. Just because you’ve turned up and spent some money doesn’t mean you’re entitled to anything special.

  7. Pack as lightly as you can. Whether you travel for one week or three months, you will not need more than 5 days of clothing with you, plus a layer for colder weather and ONE fancy outfit. This really negates the potential issues with loosing luggage etc
    • In winter you will be packing more, but wear your jacket on the plane and utilise the plethora of thermal underwear that exists in the modern world (so warm yourself from the inside layers of clothes to the outside, don’t wear multiple jackets)
    • A travel washing line is the best travel-related investment you could ever make
    • My main point with this piece of advice is that you will be lugging your stuff around with you, and that gets BORING VERY QUICKLY, especially on cobble stones. Pack light and thank me later

  8. YOU MUST HAVE COMPREHENSIVE (so health and possessions) TRAVEL INSURANCE. I don’t care where you get it from, but if you can’t afford to be insured, you can’t afford to travel, ok?
    • Always check and know the terms and conditions of said insurance. You may not get your laptop back without a police report, for example

  9. Keep tabs on your belongings ALL THE TIME, especially in a busy place. Pickpockets are very good at what they do.
    • This also applies to tracking devices in your suitcases. In my personal experience the Apple Air Tag has been the best for our needs

  10. Leave more time for everything than you think. Peak travel times usually align with peak weather systems, which means all modes of transport can get cancelled due to blizzards, heatwaves, global IT meltdowns, etc. It’s rare that all your travel plans will actually go like clockwork (unless you’re in Switzerland or a Scandi country), so consider it a win when it does. No, Germany is not on time anymore either. Sorry to break that to you.
    • Not that they would own up to this, but all travel companies (trains, busses, ships, planes) also cancel services for the simple reason that not enough tickets were sold for that trip, so you may be on an alternative trip. It’s not good enough, and none of us should stand for it, but I want you to be informed!
    • Always check cancellation policies too – you may be eligible for cancellation up to 10 mins before departure (for some busses, but unlikely for other modes of transport)

  11. Within the EU you have fantastic passenger rights when flying. If you are delayed by more than 2 hours to your final destination you are entitled to €200-€600 per passenger (depending on the distance etc). It might take a bit of time after you have travelled, but trace that compensation and don’t back down until you get it.

Musician specific tips, for those of you going for lessons and language classes:

  1. Check well before, and then shortly before, that the teachers you want to see will actually be there. Many hide during summer or will be teaching at festivals/ summer schools

  2. Summer schools are great (except for the ones that suck and fleece singers in particular – do LOTS OF RESEARCH before accepting a place and sending all your hard earned money.) I always recommend AIMS in Graz and Accademia del Bel Canto Rodolfo Celletti

  3. Wear a Humidiflyer when you fly. It is the greatest invention ever

  4. If you’re travelling with your instrument, not only does it need to be insured up the wazoo, make sure you research your airlines in particular and see which ones have musical instrument policies/ positive reviews from other musicians. Shove an AirTag in the case and thank me later

  5. If you’re taking couture with you for a gig, pack it in your carry on as far as possible. Insurance up the wazoo also applies here

  6. Pack light also applies to your audition makeup. You only need two lipsticks (soprani…)*

  7. Enjoy yourself! Travel is wonderful!

*Mostly directed at myself

P.S. Thanks for being here! If you like the blogs, find them useful, and want to see more of them, feel free to buy me a coffee or something else (but no pressure!) xxx