How to Hire a Magician – Guide with Pricing
Being a full-time magician for over 25 years ago, I have been hired for every type of event imaginable. How to hire a magician is something I definitely know.
A local coffee shop used to pay me $2 per table. I have come a long way since then and will tell you all I have learned plus real prices you can expect to pay.
- Locate an amazing & appropriate magician
- Contact the magician
- Discuss performance details
- Find out availability and pricing
- Book the magician
- Give a deposit
- Confirm the week of
- Pay the balance at your event
Your guests being amazed and blown away is most important, that is why you hire a magician.
Make sure the magician is appropriate for your event. You don’t want a magician who specializes in kiddie shows performing at your 40th birthday party.
It is important that the magician performs at similar events to yours. I’ll go over the best and worst ways to find a magician, and include a breakdown of prices.
What is An Amazing Magician?
An amazing magician does mind blowing tricks and knows how to perform them in a comfortable way. An amazing magician has performed at tons of similar events before yours and knows what to do to make your event spectacular. An amazing magician makes a big impact at your event and creates a lot of amazement, excitement, and wonder.
How to Locate an Amazing Magician
First Hand
The best way to find an amazing magician is the way I get most of my business, from being amazing and being seen. When I am performing at an event there are always a bunch of people who ask for my card. My next event comes from my current event. I get calls all the time from people who saw me years ago and kept my information. If you ever see an amazing magician you like, get his card.
Word of Mouth
Word of mouth goes along with being amazing and being seen. This is how I get most of my work. Constantly I get emails and calls from people who have heard about me from a friend or colleague. A personal recommendation from someone you know who actually saw the magician perform is a great way to find an amazing magician.
“If the magician is not amazing, don’t have a magician”
Here are other ways to find a magician. You will have to check into whether or not the magician is amazing. These are in order from best to worst, top to bottom.
- Recommendation from another magician/ entertainer you have seen
- Party planner/ Event coordinator
- Entertainment company
- Google search or ad
- Online booking agency
I’m all for a recommendation. Yet I’m always careful about who I take my advice from. You have to do a little research into any magician you hear about. I will discuss this below. As recommendations move from personal to business deals where money is involved the level of magician goes down very fast.
Party planners, event coordinators, and entertainment companies all have magicians they “work with.” Their magician is amazing, their magician is incredible, their magician is the best. They might be telling the truth, just remember these companies make money when they provide a magician. Some would rather provide a mediocre magician than none at all. Be a little cautious and do your research. Keep reading…
I am not exactly sure about Google search or ads. I guess it is a good starting point to get names of magicians to look into.
I read an article by an online booking agency. It said that the reason you want to book a magician through them is just in case the magician cancels they have other magicians. That is exactly what you don’t want- some other magician. The whole point is to choose your magician. Stay away from online booking agencies. They are free for anyone to sign up and attract a lot of beginner magicians.
What Type of Performance is Best
The type of magic performance that will work best depends on your number of guests and the flow of your event. Is there going to be music? Is it assigned seating or more casual? If you have a dance club style party and your guests will be drinking heavy you won’t want to stop the music for a magician to perform a show in front of the room. You should have an idea of what will work best and then find the right magician.
Different types of events:
- Private Parties
- Corporate events
- Sales-Meetings
- Fundraisers
- Golf Tournaments
- Trade Shows
Different types of magician’s performances:
- Strolling magic and mind reading (Walk-around magic)
- Close Up Show
- Stand Up Show
- Stage Show
- Mentalism/ Mind Reading Show
- Kids Show
How To Determine What Performance is Best
STROLLING MAGIC
TIMEFRAME: Anywhere from 1 hour to 4 hours, depending on your number of guests.
AVERAGE COST: $1,000
Strolling magic is another name for walk around magic. It includes mind reading and tableside magic. The magician casually mingles among your guests performing unforgettable close up miracles. This is what I do most often, I’d say 95% of the time. It is easy to integrate into any party or event and requires very little space. I just show up, and walk around doing tricks. Strolling magic is perfect for any size group and is always appropriate.
My goal is to get to everyone. Figure on about 200 guests in 4 hours. I prefer to stay a long time so I can do extra tricks for guests who want to see more. Sometimes I stroll at an event with 100 guests for 3 hours.
Street magic has been glamorized on tv. Yet it is pretty much a subset of close up strolling magic. If you want street magic hire a close up magician to perform strolling magic and mind reading.
CLOSE UP MAGIC SHOW
TIMEFRAME: 1 hour long.
AVERAGE COST: $750
This is a performance for the whole group at the same time. It is best for groups of 20 people or less. Sometimes I will be strolling at an event and people gather around and it turns into a close up magic show.
STAND UP MAGIC SHOW
TIMEFRAME: From 10 minutes to an hour.
AVERAGE COST: $1,000
Stand up magic is a performance for the whole group at the same time, either on stage or at the front of the room. You need everyone to pay attention and the tricks have to be bigger so everyone can see. Whether a show is appropriate depends on the type of event and can be discussed beforehand. It is best for groups of 200 people or less. Sometimes I perform a short 10-20 minute stand up show in addition to strolling.
STAGE SHOW
TIMEFRAME: 1 hour long.
AVERAGE COST: $1,500
A stage show is a bigger performance and could be longer than an hour. It is on stage at the front of the room. The tricks have to be visible and might include illusions (big boxes). Bird acts are also in this category. A stage show is best for groups of 200 people and more. You might need to provide a microphone, I prefer one that clips on my collar.
Illusionists are stage magicians. When I hear of an illusionist I think of magician on stage with big boxes, music, and dancing girls. Those big tricks are called illusions. That is where the term illusionist comes from. Illusionists are perfect for performing stage shows at large events, 200 people or more.
All illusionists are magicians, not all magicians are illusionists
If you want to magically produce the guest of honor or CEO in a flashy way you need to find an illusionist. You need someone who owns a big box. You want the performance to look like the ones you see on tv, not like a science experiment made in someone’s garage. Make sure to ask for a video before hiring someone.
MENTALISM/ MIND READING SHOW
TIMEFRAME: 1 hour long.
AVERAGE COST: $1,500
Mentalism and mind reading are the same thing, they are synonyms. Mentalism is really just a subset of magic. Only performing mentalism tricks rules out a lot of really amazing magic tricks. Mentalism tricks involve something the spectator is thinking of. They are amazing, I include mentalism in all my performances. A mentalism or mind reading show is basically a standup show. It is best for groups of 200 people and less.
KIDS SHOW
TIMEFRAME: 1 hour long
AVERAGE COST: $350
I don’t perform Kids shows, I’m talking ages 5 and under. They are not easy to do. Most of the time the magic involves lots of colorful and bright props and the magician is silly. A Kids show is basically a standup show and maybe a stage show, depending how big your props are. It is best for 200 kids or less. If the performance environment is more casual and a Kids show won’t work, consider someone making balloon animals.
COMEDY MAGICIAN: What is a comedy magician? I don’t really know. Magic in general causes natural laughter. This does not make you a comedian. I find that there are very few genuinely funny magicians so when someone is a “comedy magician” I tend to steer clear. Make sure the magician is right for your party, always see video.
Is the Magician Amazing?
The most important requirement is for a magician to have VIDEO footage of them performing. Video will show you if the magician has the right look and feel for your event. Years ago I had to mail out my promo video, which was a VHS tape. It took a week to get there. Nowadays with YouTube it is so easy to have video for prospective clients to see instantly. Video can even be filmed on your phone, you don’t need anything fancy.
A full time professional magician will be much better than a part time magician. Experience is the best teacher for a performer. Those who make a career from performing magic are continually practicing their craft and adding in new tricks to their repertoire.
The magician should have a website for you to look at and, if you ask, a reference or two from past clients with similar events. With all this you should be able to get a feel whether or not the magician will be right for your event.
Important Note:
Magician awards and Magician accolades mean nothing. Being part of a magician’s group or organization means nothing. A written testimonial on a magician’s website means nothing.
Contacting the Magician
Email or phone is generally a good way to contact a magician. You can usually find these on the website. Introduce yourself and give the 4 details below. That is all you need to know. Ask what the magician thinks will work best, their availability, and price. Now is the time to find out if the magician is right for your event. A mentalist who only performs a 1 hour show would not be appropriate for a 4 hour strolling event.
- Occasion
- Date & Time
- Approximate # of guests
- Location
Magician Prices
I charge per event, not per hour. My price is the same no matter how long. The amount of time depends on the number of guests. Using the 4 pieces of information above I can tell what kind of performance will work best and for how long. I explain all this and then give my price. There are no other options.
Not all magicians work this way. Many have hourly rates and performance options. Most magicians try to get as much money as possible yet will work for less. Magicians work with many different agents and entertainment companies and take gigs from them all. Different gigs pay different amounts. Below is a table of average prices you can expect to pay for a magician. I live in NYC.
| Strolling Magic (2- 3 hours) | $1,000 |
| Close-up Show | $750 |
| Stand-up Show | $750 |
| Stage Show | $1,500 |
| Mentalism Show | 1,500 |
| Kids Show | $350 |
When you book a magician it is a good idea to give a deposit up front. You are counting on the magician. A large deposit really commits and obligates the magician to the performance. 50% is good, it locks them in.
I don’t charge more because it is a corporate event. I do charge more when I travel. BTW, you don’t need to provide a meal or dressing room for the magician.
