This is not so much a question of “How often to raise rates?” but rather “When is it time to raise rates?” You can easily go without a rate increase if your present market cannot bear an increase. You’ll know when to consider raising rates when you get wind that other harpists or harp teachers of your caliber get more money than you do, and you feel that clients can afford to pay your new price.

Your value is perceived by what you charge—undercut others and people question your abilities, set high fees and your abilities should match their expectations. Do your research first. Find out what others currently charge in your area for the same work. As a performer, ask local booking agents and wedding coordinators for a range of typical fees from live musicians. As a music teacher, ask music store owners for a range of in-person lesson fees, and search online to find the range of fees for virtual lessons taught by harpists. In the end, you must feel comfortable charging your new rates to communicate to potential clients and students that you are worth the cost.

—Anne Roos is a Grammy Award winning harper from South Lake Tahoe, Calif. She has over 30 years of performance, teaching, and coaching experience. Find her at harpistanneroos.com.

Money is such an emotional subject. Students and clients feel the weight of rate hikes much more than any discounts given, which seem to be forgotten pretty easily. With that in mind, we need to raise rates at least every five years. When I do raise my rates for teaching, it is often a big jump like $5–10 more per hour in order to keep up with the economy.

For freelance work, I have discussions annually with colleagues and make sure to match their rate. I always ask the freelance client, “Does $X fit into the budget?” If a beloved client balks at the price change, I can offer them a “repeat client discount.”  That way, I open a dialogue honestly and don’t lose the client over awkwardness.

—Janelle Lake actively freelances throughout Chicagoland and on private jets, is principal of the Elmhurst Symphony and Southwest Symphony, teaches at Loyola University, and runs her home harp studio.

Once you set your rates, you should stay with them for a while and see how they are working for you. But, just as you don’t pay your hair stylist the same amount that you paid someone 20 years ago, you wouldn’t keep the same rate as you accepted in 2000! If you’re self-employed, there isn’t a boss giving you a raise each year. So you need to give yourself a raise to stay current with the cost of living. A good time to check in with yourself might be the first of the year. If the economy is doing great, then giving yourself a raise might be entirely appropriate. If things are bad where you are, you might stay at your current rate until things turn around. Small increases every so often are better than a huge increase after a long time. For clients you play for every year (think Christmas!), you might tell them that the rate has gone up but you will honor their old rate this year.

For teaching, it’s fine to raise your rate a small amount from time to time, but be sure to give your students (and their parents) at least a month’s notice in writing about your increase. •

—Felice Pomeranz is professor of harp at Berklee College of Music, author of Berklee Harp, and Director of The Gilded Harps, in Boston.