Hello, I come from a game studio in Asia. We have some games published but none of them has original soundtrack/background music/sfx, only free ones. We are planning to hire composer(s) for future projects, probably long-term cooperation, but we're not sure about some points. How much would it cost for a single piece? - an estimation would be enough - And sfx? Are composers willing to make adjustments or so if we are not satisfied with the music or it doesn't really suit our preferences/games? How long does it take to complete one song?
And last but not least, are the musics going to be ours to use only, or composers have the right to post them publicly on their own page/portfolio unless we pay extra for it?
Thank you in advance!
Hiring composer for your game?
-
MayPeX
- Regular
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Mon Nov 04, 2013 6:06 am
- Projects: The Treated, Casey
- IRC Nick: MayPeX
- Location: England
- Contact:
Re: Hiring composer for your game?
There are a few ways about hiring a Composer for you work.
Many Composers here pay per piece to the minute. For example £4 for a one minute track and £6 for a two minute track etc. Then they may add a charge for editing the track. In a way this is a setup safer for the Composer since they will be paid by the track, so they don't write a whole album to find out they're not being paid.
A cost of a track and depend on anything.
Another way which is professionally used is to give a flat amount of money on contract.
Lets just say for example you are going to pay £1,000 for 13 soundtracks based on what you as a company needs. You may choose to pay this money in segments, You can per £50 per track and then the remaining amount when you finish. Or you can pay half now, and the next half when you finish. Or you can pay in thirds, you have a choice. You as a company need to make sure you don't waste your money hiring someone.
I would never recommended paying more than half the intended payment to someone, they need a incentive to work for anyway. (I know most of you guys love to write music anyway, but lets just keep this strictly professional).
The Composer is given their criteria, briefs and references to begin their tracks. When they submit a track, it gets reviewed by you the company. If you don't like it they write it again. After all it's your game, you want to make sure what you release comes across how you want it.
Paying a flat fee would generally be more expensive than a pay per track method solely, but with the flat fee you're paying for the tracks, editing of said tracks, rewriting of tracks etc all in one package. It's easier than having to make constant small transactions based on the Composers demands. It's less time management for the company which is good, having to make little payments regularly is tedious (Again professionally speaking, this is just a common method in the industry.)
As for the rights of the tracks, that's something you have to negotiate. Generally you as a company want the rights to the tracks to use for your game, essentially you want to own the tracks, (in some sense).
As for how long a track takes to make? It depends on your time frame, the earlier you get a composer in, generally the better. Each composer works at their own pace, some are quicker than others and some spend more time to detail. Industry contracts/jobs can last from 3 months to a whole year.
A relative example is a band producing a 12 track album. The record label gives them a year contract to fulfill. The band then has a year to produce their album, this process includes the reviewing process of tracks. It is said that bands can go through 70 songs before they get the 12 songs that are approved. THIS IS ONLY RELATIVELY SPEAKING.
The tracks the Composer makes for you should only be used for your game, this has to be mentioned in the contract. A exclusive deal that only permits soundtracks composed only for said game. It is nice to allow the composer the remaining rights to use the music they made for their portfolio. However you can state that the music ownership is given to you once the tracks are submitted, this gives you full control to use at your own discretion.
Think about what you want from your composer to make your soundtrack and what rights you want to give to them. Producing a contract they can read about everything that is required of them can help build a more secure relationship between you and the composer. Whatever is stated on the contract has to be abide by, both you as the company and the composer.
A termination needs to be included, whether you as the company of the composer breaches the contract. For example if the composer doesn't meet their deadline, they gave you 9 soundtracks when you asked for 11. Part of the termination can be you simply don't pay them the remaining money and the rights of those tracks submitted belong to you.
Or if you as a company breach your own contract the composer is liable to excess fees or walking away from the job along with their work.
The contract ensures a composer can't just back out of the job half way through with their music and damage you as a company. Most of the time though, if music is submitted for you game, it belongs to the company.
Many Composers here pay per piece to the minute. For example £4 for a one minute track and £6 for a two minute track etc. Then they may add a charge for editing the track. In a way this is a setup safer for the Composer since they will be paid by the track, so they don't write a whole album to find out they're not being paid.
A cost of a track and depend on anything.
Another way which is professionally used is to give a flat amount of money on contract.
Lets just say for example you are going to pay £1,000 for 13 soundtracks based on what you as a company needs. You may choose to pay this money in segments, You can per £50 per track and then the remaining amount when you finish. Or you can pay half now, and the next half when you finish. Or you can pay in thirds, you have a choice. You as a company need to make sure you don't waste your money hiring someone.
I would never recommended paying more than half the intended payment to someone, they need a incentive to work for anyway. (I know most of you guys love to write music anyway, but lets just keep this strictly professional).
The Composer is given their criteria, briefs and references to begin their tracks. When they submit a track, it gets reviewed by you the company. If you don't like it they write it again. After all it's your game, you want to make sure what you release comes across how you want it.
Paying a flat fee would generally be more expensive than a pay per track method solely, but with the flat fee you're paying for the tracks, editing of said tracks, rewriting of tracks etc all in one package. It's easier than having to make constant small transactions based on the Composers demands. It's less time management for the company which is good, having to make little payments regularly is tedious (Again professionally speaking, this is just a common method in the industry.)
As for the rights of the tracks, that's something you have to negotiate. Generally you as a company want the rights to the tracks to use for your game, essentially you want to own the tracks, (in some sense).
As for how long a track takes to make? It depends on your time frame, the earlier you get a composer in, generally the better. Each composer works at their own pace, some are quicker than others and some spend more time to detail. Industry contracts/jobs can last from 3 months to a whole year.
A relative example is a band producing a 12 track album. The record label gives them a year contract to fulfill. The band then has a year to produce their album, this process includes the reviewing process of tracks. It is said that bands can go through 70 songs before they get the 12 songs that are approved. THIS IS ONLY RELATIVELY SPEAKING.
The tracks the Composer makes for you should only be used for your game, this has to be mentioned in the contract. A exclusive deal that only permits soundtracks composed only for said game. It is nice to allow the composer the remaining rights to use the music they made for their portfolio. However you can state that the music ownership is given to you once the tracks are submitted, this gives you full control to use at your own discretion.
Think about what you want from your composer to make your soundtrack and what rights you want to give to them. Producing a contract they can read about everything that is required of them can help build a more secure relationship between you and the composer. Whatever is stated on the contract has to be abide by, both you as the company and the composer.
A termination needs to be included, whether you as the company of the composer breaches the contract. For example if the composer doesn't meet their deadline, they gave you 9 soundtracks when you asked for 11. Part of the termination can be you simply don't pay them the remaining money and the rights of those tracks submitted belong to you.
Or if you as a company breach your own contract the composer is liable to excess fees or walking away from the job along with their work.
The contract ensures a composer can't just back out of the job half way through with their music and damage you as a company. Most of the time though, if music is submitted for you game, it belongs to the company.
-
Appota
- Newbie
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 11:53 pm
- Completed: Chainsaw Rage ; Robo's Escape ; Ava Me - Anime Dress Up
- Projects: Project - X ; Fruit Shooter
- Organization: Appota
- Location: Vietnam
- Contact:
Re: Hiring composer for your game?
Thank you very much for your thorough explanation, it's very helpful for us! I suppose for the time being we'll up to the pay per track method and will make adjustment when possible.
Re: Hiring composer for your game?
I'm a composer for film and games based in Los Angeles, and I just want to add that rates vary greatly by composer's experience, type of music, and the level of production. Personally I feel that the quotes MayPex used in his examples grossly undervalues a composer's work; £4 per minute of music is unheard of in the professional world. For that amount you most likely will only get amateur composers basically doing things for free, and the production will be completely synthesized with sampled instruments. Now I'm not saying that you won't be able to find someone at that rate, in fact, I'm sure you'll be able to find lots of composers willing to do things for free, however, please keep in mind that you do get what you pay for.
To give you an idea of the other end of the spectrum, an epic/heavily orchestral score produced with live musicians (think Final Fantasy, Journey) will cost you at least $500-$1000 per minute of music, which include composer's fees and the production costs.
MayPex is correct in that generally the company keeps the publishing rights to the music, which means you'll be free to use the music in anything associated with your game, including promotional videos...etc. The exclusivity of the music will depend on pay. Since it's a contracted work, anything is negotiable.
Composers are almost always willing to make adjustments. It can also be written in the contract how many revisions can be asked.
In average it takes about a day to write 3 minutes of completely orchestrated music. Less if the instrumentation is simpler. Then you have to add in production time which include recording and mixing/mastering.
My advice for you is to have a budget, type of music, and level of production in mind when you approach a composer. Don't be discouraged if the composer's rate is too high initially, most composers are willing to negotiate details, or even do favours to a certain degree if they like your project.
Good luck!
Ian Chen
To give you an idea of the other end of the spectrum, an epic/heavily orchestral score produced with live musicians (think Final Fantasy, Journey) will cost you at least $500-$1000 per minute of music, which include composer's fees and the production costs.
MayPex is correct in that generally the company keeps the publishing rights to the music, which means you'll be free to use the music in anything associated with your game, including promotional videos...etc. The exclusivity of the music will depend on pay. Since it's a contracted work, anything is negotiable.
Composers are almost always willing to make adjustments. It can also be written in the contract how many revisions can be asked.
In average it takes about a day to write 3 minutes of completely orchestrated music. Less if the instrumentation is simpler. Then you have to add in production time which include recording and mixing/mastering.
My advice for you is to have a budget, type of music, and level of production in mind when you approach a composer. Don't be discouraged if the composer's rate is too high initially, most composers are willing to negotiate details, or even do favours to a certain degree if they like your project.
Good luck!
Ian Chen
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users