Video
Setting Project Rates: Insights from AIR’s 2025 Rate Guide
Project rates are the industry standard—many freelancers prefer them, and production companies often rely on them. But are your project rates driving your bottom line up or down?
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Key Takeaways
- Learn how to negotiate project rates based on your expertise and your role.
- Learn what freelancers are getting wrong when they work on project rates.
- Learn how to make project rates work for you - not the other way around.
Who is this panel for?
Freelancers in the audio industry and organizations that hire freelancers, anybody who builds a budget for audio
Meet the rate guide committee
Mia Lobel
Mia Lobel is a veteran audio producer, manager, and educator, and the former VP of Content and Production at Pushkin Industries where she oversaw all podcasts including Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History, A Slight Change of Plans with Maya Shankar, Michael Lewis’ Against the Rules, Broken Record, and many more. She has been making audio content since 2001 for public radio stations, non-profit organizations, museums, universities, and voice-activated services. She received a master’s degree from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and a B.A. from Wesleyan University. She has been an adjunct professor at the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY since 2010.
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Meet the instructor
Gabby Bulgarelli
Gabby Bulgarelli is a Senior Creative Producer based in Brooklyn who creates immersive multimedia content about Black music and culture. She's currently working with clients such as Billboard Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, Edit Audio, Wax Poetics, and Issa Rae's Raedio. As the Senior Producer of Louder Than A Riot from NPR Music, she reported on the way the Black femme body is policed, the trial of Tory Lanez, and the roots of the bad bitch archetype in the rap game. Before Louder Than A Riot Gabby worked on several seasons of the acclaimed podcast Mogul for Spotify and Gimlet Media. At Mogul she reported on the birth of chopped and screwed music in Houston and the 2 Live Crew’s fight to set first amendment precedent in Miami.
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Meet the Rate GuiDE COMMITTEE
Erin McGregor
As a Program Manager at the Association of Independents in Radio, Erin oversees mentorship and training on SoundPath, AIR's training platform for the audio industry. She's passionate about creating enriching opportunities for professional development for AIR’s membership and the community at large. She served as a judge for the 2025 48-hour Sonic Dash competition and leads AIR's initiative to update the 2025 Rate Guide.
Erin holds a Master’s Degree in Social Justice & Equity Studies where she studied broadcast news interviews on the CBC. She currently resides in South Philadelphia, PA.
Erin holds a Master’s Degree in Social Justice & Equity Studies where she studied broadcast news interviews on the CBC. She currently resides in South Philadelphia, PA.
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