# Music Video Budget Template: A $25,000 Example (Free XLSX)

Source: https://storiara.com/templates/music-video-budget
Last updated: 2026-09-14
Author: Charles Hirschhorn, Storiara

> A music video budget template lays out a short shoot with film account numbers: director and producer fees and on-camera talent above the line, a one-day crew with camera, lighting, playback, and a location in production, then edit, color, and social cutdowns in post. This one is a $25,000 video with a 12-hour shoot day, a picture car, a roadside motel, and 10% contingency.

The sheet is the budget for a fictional music video, Reina Castillo's "Highway 58," shot in one 12-hour day at a roadside motel and on the highway shoulder near Boron in Kern County. It uses the same account numbers as the [film budget template](https://storiara.com/templates/film-budget), which makes it easy to read for anyone who has seen a feature budget, and it adds up to $25,000. For how to scope a video before you price it, read [how to budget a music video](https://storiara.com/blog/how-to-budget-a-music-video). This page is about the template and the numbers in it.

## Where $25,000 goes on a one-day video

| Section | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Above the line: director, producer, actors, rehearsal | $5,200 | 20.8% |
| Production: crew, camera, lighting, playback, location, car | $13,762 | 55.0% |
| Post: edit, VFX, color, cutdowns | $3,488 | 14.0% |
| Other: insurance, drives | $750 | 3.0% |
| Contingency, 10% of below the line | $1,800 | 7.2% |
| Grand total | $25,000 | 100% |

The director's fee is $2,500 and the producer's $1,500, both flat loan-out fees covering treatment through final cut. The artist is on a $0 line because her appearance is covered by her label agreement. Keep that line in anyway, so nobody has to ask later whether she was supposed to be paid.

Camera is the largest production account at $3,297. The DP is on a full $800 rate for the shoot day and half rate ($400) for the scout, the 1st AC is $450, and the package with anamorphic lenses rents for $1,200 for the day. Add $150 in media and 18% fringe on the $1,650 of camera labor ($297).

## Day rates for a 12-hour day

Music videos are usually one long day, so this budget quotes every crew rate for 12 hours instead of the 10-hour rates used on the SALT FLATS feature budget. Under California's Labor Code 510, hours 9 through 12 are time and a half, so a 12-hour day is 8 straight hours plus 4 x 1.5, or 14 straight-time hours.

That puts a $250 PA day at $250 / 14 = $17.86 an hour, above California's 2026 minimum wage of $16.90. The minimum legal rate for a 12-hour day at that minimum wage would be 14 x $16.90 = $236.60. A $450 day for the gaffer or key grip is $32.14 an hour. If the day runs past 12 hours, double time for every crew member comes out of the $1,800 contingency. For a crew of 12 at an average base of about $30, one extra hour is roughly 12 x $60 = $720 before fringes.

## Filling in your own video

1. Fill in the header from the treatment: song length, locations, concept, and what the label wants delivered.
2. Put the director, producer, artist, and any actors or dancers in the 1000 series. Mark loan-outs and $0 lines.
3. Add the rehearsal. Four hours in a studio for lip-sync and blocking cost $256 here, and it's cheaper than working it out on the shoot day.
4. Build the crew department by department with day rates for the day length you'll actually shoot.
5. Add playback. The playback operator in 2501 brings speakers and a timecode slate so the editor can sync every take to the track.
6. Price the location, permit, picture car, and catering. Catering is 22 meals at $25, crew and talent included.
7. Add post: edit days, color, any VFX, and each cutdown the label asked for.
8. Add insurance, take 10% of below the line as contingency, and check the grand total against the label's number before you send the budget.

## Where music video budgets come up short

Cutdowns are the most common miss. A label often wants a vertical version for short-form platforms, and if the DP didn't frame for it on the day, the editor has to reframe every shot. Deliverables in 4200 cover the 9:16 and 1:1 versions, and the header puts them in writing before the shoot.

The picture car gets budgeted as a rental with nothing else. The Mustang comes with its owner at $400, plus $232 in fuel and mileage for the driving shots. If the car needs a tow or a camera car for moving shots, that's a separate line.

Permits are a real cost even for a roadside shoot. The $300 allowance in 2602 is a placeholder; check the fee and any law enforcement requirement with the county film office before you lock it. The [film permit](https://storiara.com/glossary/film-permit) entry covers what permits usually include.

Releases aren't a budget line, but they need to be done. Get a [location release form](https://storiara.com/templates/location-release-form) signed for the motel and releases for both actors.

## How it connects to the rest of the paperwork

A one-day shoot still needs a breakdown and a call sheet. The [music video script breakdown](https://storiara.com/blog/music-video-script-breakdown) shows how to tag a treatment when there's no screenplay, and the [call sheet template](https://storiara.com/templates/call-sheet) works for a single day. If the video is closer to an ad in structure, the [commercial production budget](https://storiara.com/templates/commercial-production-budget) uses the AICP bid form that agencies expect.

## Music videos in Storiara

Storiara can start a project from an uploaded script or from notes and ideas, and its Budget module lets you set shoot days, prep and post weeks, and contingency in the setup wizard, then add and edit line items and export the budget to Excel. See the [budgeting feature](https://storiara.com/feature/budgeting).

## Frequently asked questions

### How much does a music video cost?

Budgets range from a few hundred dollars for a self-shot performance video to six figures for label videos with dancers, stages, and VFX. This example is $25,000 for one 12-hour shoot day with a crew of about a dozen, two actors, a picture car, and a location.

### What's usually the biggest line in a music video budget?

Camera, once you add the DP, the 1st AC, and the package. On this template camera is $3,297, and the director's fee is $2,500. Location and art costs grow fast when the treatment calls for a built set or several locations.

### Does a music video budget need a music license?

Not for the song itself when the label or artist commissioning the video owns or controls it. Get that in writing. Any other music you use, like a second song in an intro, needs its own license.

### Do crew on a music video get overtime?

Employees in California do. This template quotes day rates for 12 hours, which include 4 hours at time and a half. A $250 PA day works out to 14 straight-time hours, or about $17.86 an hour. Anything past 12 hours is double time.

### What deliverables should a music video budget include?

At least the 16:9 master and the vertical and square cutdowns the label will post on social platforms. This budget carries $300 for those versions. Ask the label for their delivery specs before you bid.

## Sources

- [California DIR, minimum wage FAQ](https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_minimumwage.htm)
- [California Labor Code section 510 (daily overtime)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=510)