CONTRACT MUSICIANS & ARTISTS: WHEN TAKING A COMMISSION, WHAT DESCRIPTIONS AND REFERENCES WORK BEST FOR YOU?

I am definitely not a professional in the field, but I can share what I usually ask people who want me to make music for them. Again, i'm a hobbyist, so i charge a set price per song, instead of charging per hour. I've never understood how the "per hour" system works in freelancing, an environment where the employee can't guarantee the hours claimed to have been worked were in fact well spent. Anyway:

0. I encourage them to listen to my music portfolio before writing a request form.

There have been various times where people have requested things that are out of my specialty, scope, or skill. Showing (and in your case, listening to) my music portfolio saves a lot of time because people can get a read on my level of skill, and the kind of things I've done, this usually either gets them real pumped up, or they prefer to walk away. Both cases are fine. Experimentation with new genres is definitely possible, but it's more preferable when people go to the right person to get what they need, specially when dealing with hobbyists like me. I always make a note to be honest and admit when I'll be playing out of my comfort zone, as a heads up.

1. What genre are you looking for?

There is a base price per minute depending on which genre of song we're talking about in my case, as the difficulty making each varies. In case they want a midi or chiptune, I set a lower base price than when I'm asked for an orchestral or electronic composition. So the first thing I do is ask what sort of music track they're looking for.

Many times my clients don't have a good knowledge of musical genres, so I often tell them to link to certain songs they liked that sound similar to something they might want. I usually disencourage this practice though, because it inadvertently "stains" the creative process. The clients I love are the ones that give me a bit of creative freedom, and offer me the chance to surprise them. I've never received complaints about one of the songs I made where I had full reigns, so I still hope i'm not doing things wrong.

2.- Approximate duration of track.

As I said, i charge per minute. I also ask at this point if the track is meant to be looped. I usually ask for an approximate duration because I've been in the situation where people are not really sure what they need, so we end up attaching more and more sections to completed pieces until the result is awful. Setting a duration from the beggining has helped me get things done more quickly and efficiently.

3.- Description

You already do what I mostly require whenever someone asks for a theme.

When it's about characters, they send me their written Bio, they send me their visual reference sheets, "fanart" they've commissioned or obtained, and a general description of any personal desires they'd like in the song, like a certain set of instruments, or something like that. If the theme is for the character doing a particular action, like mourning a friend or something, I request that they share a written recolection of what will happen while the music plays, to give an idea of what's needed.

When it's about a location, I need more or less the same stuff. I preferably ask for a detailed description of the place, visual references, mood of the track, if there is any kind of particular instrument they'd like, etc.

I also ask things about the mood and pacing of the track, whether is frantic, or calm, whether it is sad, or joyful, and such things.

4.- Finally, additional requests

Additional requests I ask that they think about, that they may have regarding the finished product. Most of the time they don't fill this one out, but sometimes I get stuff like

"Name it 'The Ballad of Mr. Horse'", "Please send it in .ogg format", "I'm using VX Ace, please make it loop", "I need it both in mp3 128kbps AND HQ FLAC", "can you draw a cover for it?", etc.

And well, that's it. Based on what we discussed, I give them an estimated timeframe of completion, and start composing once the deposit has been made.