COMPOSERS- HOW DO YOU CHARGE?

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Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
Yo sometime in the future I'd like to commission someone for music, and I'd like to get an idea how much to set aside in a budget for it. How do y'all calculate fees? Any examples of "I'd charge about this much for this kind of piece"?
It definitely differs from composer to composer. Most charge per minute. Additional costs may arise depending on how many instruments you want to have in there (since composing for a whole orchestra is understandably harder than for a solo piano). I for example start the bidding at 50$/minute, no matter how many instruments are used. But it can be anywhere in between and beyond 100$ and 10$. Composers for bigger studios get 1000$/minute by the way, but since you're an indie developer I doubt that you would want to hire those. How much you want to pay just depends on how serious you are with your project.

You should just remember when choosing your composer:


Just out of curiosity, how long does it take for halfway decent composer to make a minute of music with let's say 4 instruments (a rough average is fine)?
Cap_H
DIGITAL IDENTITY CRISIS
6625
4 minutes.
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
author=Cap_H
4 minutes.


In that case, would the final minute of music be the charge, or the 4 minutes making it?
Cap_H
DIGITAL IDENTITY CRISIS
6625
It depends on composer. I would do it for free (secretly phone-recording my flatmate's jamming on microkorg, drum machine, bass and e-guitar).
author=SnowOwl
Just out of curiosity, how long does it take for halfway decent composer to make a minute of music with let's say 4 instruments (a rough average is fine)?


If the instrumentation is preselected, this probably takes me six or so hours, but I tend to have music with a lot of changes and try to push myself when composing. If you're wanting something that's just 4/4, structurally poppy, and hook-heavy, I could probably write something in two hours; I think that's how a lot of composers keep their prices so low.
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
author=Cap_H
It depends on composer. I would do it for free (secretly phone-recording my flatmate's jamming on microkorg, drum machine, bass and e-guitar).


That could be a p. boss soundtrack for a certain aesthetic, NGL
I haven't composed for someone commercially yet, but it's usually more common to pay by the length of the music (usually in minutes). Prices can also vary depending on how complex the piece of music is.
author=SnowOwl
Just out of curiosity, how long does it take for halfway decent composer to make a minute of music with let's say 4 instruments (a rough average is fine)?

What Housekeeping said seems like a good average for me as well, but it truly depends on what kind of piece I'm making and if I am in the "flow". I recently composed a piece that was about 40-50 seconds long and it only took me about 3-5 minutes to do it (that includes production stuff and not just finishing the sheet music). Writing more complex stuff (IMO), like battle themes, can take hours though. The reason why it varies so much for me though is that I'm a very fresh composer (been composing for about 2 months now).

Meh, it's kind of stupid for me to try to answer these questions, since I'm so inexperienced. I'm really interested in the subject, though, so thanks for bringing this up Sooz/SnowOwl!
pianotm
The TM is for Totally Magical.
32347
Yeah, Housekeeping's estimate of six hours sounds pretty good to me. However, if I've got a hot idea burning my brain, sometimes I can compose something in an hour.

I've also never written commercially.
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
While I've got attention, would y'all charge less in the case of an arrangement of an existing piece, rather than a 100% new composition? (Like if I were awful and, say, paid for some kind of klezmer arrangement of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.")

I would not actually do that to y'all.
pianotm
The TM is for Totally Magical.
32347
Well, I don't know what people would charge, but personally, if you wrote something and gave it to me to make into something intelligible, I can say with certainty that that would be much easier for me than coming up with something myself, so that is something that I would probably factor in. Others, I can't speak for.
Mirak
Stand back. Artist at work. I paint with enthusiasm if not with talent.
9300
I charge per minute. My rates are pretty cheap because i don't consider myself an expert.

This is one of the most instrument-heavy tracks i've had to make. I charged like $75 for it? I don't remember.

Pricing varies drastically from client to client though, i remember i did this neat title screen track almost for free because i really liked how the indie asking for it formatted his request form. And i've done looooots of free tracks for people i've come to like.

Like that saying goes, in the way of asking is the way of giving. I'm a very reasonable person.

I'm actually impressed you guys can dish out a composition in 6 hours. I need various days to make sure everything sounds correctly, and that's not accounting post-processing.
Right now I'm charging 20 bucks per-minute of audio (my usual rate is 30ish). Most of the time I take probably two hours or so to write a track.
https://soundcloud.com/specialagentape/sets/soma-spirits

I've been composing about two years and I've gotten decently fast with it, I guess. Commission rates really do vary by composer, though.
Remember fellow composers, always try to rise your paid commission amount per every commercial project. Avoid places like fiverr or you condemn yourself into music slavery. 5 bucks per piece is ridiculous.

As Fulminis-ictus stated, professional composers charge a lot per minute and your goal should be that. By re-valuing your work after every successful project you can achieve these high sums.

More projects you have on your CV, more you can ask. I have had some good projects before, and just a while ago I made one 5 second theme for an indie game company and they paid 50$. You all can achieve good paychecks, you just need a bunch of projects in your cv.
I have never made music commercially yet. If it was for a free to play project, like a lot of games on this site, I'd do it for free. I'd only do it for people I believe in, though.

If it was a commercial game, I'd rather ask for a percentage of the sales and not a final "$x per minute" or anything like that.
Deltree
doesn't live here anymore
4556
Speaking from the other side of the aisle - I commissioned a musician for $100 per minute of composed material, which is a number I picked as an industry average. At the same time, I wrote into the contract that I retain full rights to the final work, so I can do whatever I want with it (like offer a digital soundtrack add-on to recoup some of the cost, for instance). That way, I can also grant permission for the artist to use certain songs in his own portfolio, so nothing too spoiler-y is out in the open ahead of time.

Going off a percentage of the sales can get murky - is that before or after taxes and publisher fees, for instance? What about fractional Humble Bundle sales? I'd rather pay up-front and assume all the risk than experience complications down the road.
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
At least in the visual art industry, percentage can also be hinky because it offers no guarantee that you'll get a fair payment or any payment at all. Up front hourly or flat fees are a lot better, professionally.
Here's a new angle.
What if I commission someone for music, and they wind up producing unacceptable material, or even something that's just not quite what I'm looking for? How do you discern the middle ground between me saying "It's no good. Do something better" and the composer saying "It is what it is. Pay up"?
Deltree
doesn't live here anymore
4556
I definitely only paid upon delivery of satisfactory completion, and those terms should be in writing as part of your agreement. I never ran into any sort of friction, thankfully, but I did make suggestions along the way as each piece came together, and then I would pay upon reception. Constant communication at each stage is important (with artwork moreso) to avoid this sort of scenario - short samples/phrases, basic MIDI sequences, that sort of thing.

I wouldn't think you're obligated for pay for bad work you can't use, at any rate.
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