After a few weeks of lurking through this forum I'm finally going to come out and say hi. I am a student composer with a passion for music. I began composing during my first year of college in 2005 when, on a whim, I took a composition course and fell in love with it. Since then I have been involved in numerous things, many of which took me out of school for a while, but I've always worked little by little to hone my compositional skills. Last year I returned to school to pursue a degree in media music. A few years back I started exploring the world of digital composition using Sibelius and Logic (up til then I was just composing on the piano or using pen and paper) and that completely changed my life. As others here have done, I'd like to share my portfolio with you and see what you think.

About the last six months or so I decided to try and get into the world of online game composition, and that is what led me to this site. I want to thank you for giving me this wealth of information. As a beginner in this world, it is invaluable. So far you've helped me to see that I do NOT have to work for free as well as given me an idea of how much to charge (I'm starting out at $50 a minute for nonexclusive work while being open to negotiations). However, I have a question regarding the use of nonexclusive tracks. I understand that, since you do still own the rights to these tracks, you can allow other developers to purchase a license to use these tracks as well. How much do you charge for this? I would assume that you don't charge as much as the original client paid. If not, roughly how much (percentage) do you knock off the price?

However, I have a question regarding the use of nonexclusive tracks. I understand that, since you do still own the rights to these tracks, you can allow other developers to purchase a license to use these tracks as well. How much do you charge for this? I would assume that you don't charge as much as the original client paid. If not, roughly how much (percentage) do you knock off the price?

It really depends on your clients as well as your situation. Future sales are a gamble which may or may not happen. I would advise setting a rate where, if you got zero future sales of that music, you'd still feel like you came out ahead. Don't make it so cheap that the time and effort invested in that track outweight the monetary compensation the client paid. When starting off rates are typically much lower but grow as you gain more experience and stature. For some, I've heard non-exclusive rights are 50% less, for others it could be as much as 80% off the exclusive rights rate. Take a look at your whole situation and see what will be most fair for you but still something your clients will be able to afford.

Hope that helps!

Nate

I would assume that you don't charge as much as the original client paid.[/quote]
If I hear your question correctly, you're saying that you wrote some custom tracks for a developer, with a non-exclusive license. Then you'd like to license these same tracks to another developer, but you're wondering what to charge that second developer.
If that is your question then my answer would be "charge exactly the same as with the first developer."
When you license a work, you're letting them use your work in their game. Since the value of your work hasn't changed, and the license terms are the same, the rate should be about the same.

Btw, make sure that your written agreement with them makes it very clear that you are licensing them use of your track on a non-exclusive basis, and that your written agreement is in writing, written down somewhere .

Register for GameSoundCon 2012 San Francisco
October 24-25
www.GameSoundCon.com

I would assume that you don't charge as much as the original client paid.

If I hear your question correctly, you're saying that you wrote some custom tracks for a developer, with a non-exclusive license. Then you'd like to license these same tracks to another developer, but you're wondering what to charge that second developer.
If that is your question then my answer would be "charge exactly the same as with the first developer."
When you license a work, you're letting them use your work in their game. Since the value of your work hasn't changed, and the license terms are the same, the rate should be about the same.

Btw, make sure that your written agreement with them makes it very clear that you are licensing them use of your track on a non-exclusive basis, and that your written agreement is in writing, written down somewhere .

Register for GameSoundCon 2012 San Francisco
October 24-25
www.GameSoundCon.com
[/quote]

Yes, that's exactly what I was wondering. Thanks for your input...I really appreciate it