hello all, please go easy on me, i'm a newbie.

i am a fairly accomplished music producer, but i have virtually zero experience when it comes to game audio.

i was approached by a small indie dev to compose some music for a mobile release.

i was wondering if anyone could please shed some light on the standard going rates, and, perhaps more importantly, on a possible sales royalty share. i was tentatively counting with rates i am familiar with, along the lines of ca $500 per minute (this is a small project with probably a total of, say, 5 minutes of original music required).

where i am entirely in the fog is when it comes to possible sales shares. is this a somewhat common practice? how many percentage points; and before, or after recouping declared expenses?

thank you!

7 hours ago, salmonroe said:

 

where i am entirely in the fog is when it comes to possible sales shares. is this a somewhat common practice? how many percentage points; and before, or after recouping declared expenses?

 

Mosts client will want to recoup their costs and only share profit versus sharing revenue. It's very important you specify which you're willing to accept. While I've made some money from profit sharing, I've had a better run doing straight payments once I provide the content. If you do go into a profit sharing agreement make sure you have all of the needed details laid out in the contract. Stuff like: 

- when and how the client should report earnings to you

- how and when payments are to be made 

- how long does the client need to report earnings to you

- what will happen if the game is launched later on a secondary platform/etc

These are just a few items. Hope that helps! 

Nate

Also, factors to consider:

Did they approach you with money to spend on a soundtrack? Will the mobile game be free? Are they planning in game purchases to add on income? 

If it is a real low-budget release, then they may want to have a contract to wait and share profits with you. But I agree with nsmadsen, if you can quote them a per-minute rate that works for them, that is much easier even for a game composer.