Hi,

I wish to ask a simple question about game music.

I am an experienced composer but I haven't done any music for games before and I took a job for making music for a tower defense game.
I have no idea how much money I should ask for the original music. It's a android mobile game and I will be working in MIDI.
My works are definitely above avarage game music and I am getting great responds from communities and my client.
I'll be making about 3 themes which each last for about a munite or little longer. I guess about 3 to 3,5 minutes of music in total.

Is there an avarage cost per second or minute game music fee in this industry?

Thank you.

Hey,

Congrats on the gig!

Industry rates for top level composers is floating between $800-$1250 per minute of music composed for exclusive rights. This is for AAA ranked projects, so something for the Android is most likely going to cost much, much less. Everyone's rates are different. Here are some things to consider:

What type of rights do they need: exclusive or non-exclusive?

How long do you have to work on the game? (Side question: how long would it take you to complete the job?)

Is the game an established IP? In those cases you can often bid a bit higher.

Do they plan on using the music for promotional media such as online videos and such? Depending on the client you can charge more for that as well.

How much of a budget does the client have? Is the whole game being made for only $200 total? Or do they have a much larger budget? It doesn't make sense for you to charge way beyond their means but you also want to make sure you're getting paid what is fair.

For iPhone projects I've charged everything from only $100 to license out an existing song to over $2,000 for full game audio solutions to a well known IP.

Thanks,

Nathan

Quote:

Original post by nsmadsen Hey, Congrats on the gig! Industry rates for top level composers is floating between $800-$1250 per minute of music composed for exclusive rights. This is for AAA ranked projects, so something for the Android is most likely going to cost much, much less. Everyone's rates are different. Here are some things to consider: What type of rights do they need: exclusive or non-exclusive? How long do you have to work on the game? (Side question: how long would it take you to complete the job?) Is the game an established IP? In those cases you can often bid a bit higher. Do they plan on using the music for promotional media such as online videos and such? Depending on the client you can charge more for that as well. How much of a budget does the client have? Is the whole game being made for only $200 total? Or do they have a much larger budget? It doesn't make sense for you to charge way beyond their means but you also want to make sure you're getting paid what is fair. For iPhone projects I've charged everything from only $100 to license out an existing song to over $2,000 for full game audio solutions to a well known IP. Thanks, Nathan

Thanks for the reply!