Does anyone know how to go about getting original music composed for a game, and how much it would cost me. Im not interested in MIDI, I want proper music EG CD audio tracks or MOD or MP3 files. I want about 10 differnt tracks, for titles, credits, different levels etc - Ashley Oliver Lead Programmer, Interplanitary Productions

Make it publicly known what styles of music you are looking for, and open up the position to the public. Let people compose a piece of music for you in the proper formats, and you can feel free to choose whichever composer you think would fit your project best. You can make it known up front what you expect, in terms of song length, quality and pricing, or you can work with whichever composer you choose to discuss these issues.
I'll gladly put together a sample song in whatever style or genre you like, and put it to you for consideration, and so would many others.
As far as pricing goes, in the professional circuit, I believe the authors put forward how much they expect per minute of finished music. As with all things, it can be decided any way you like however.

[edited by - krikkit on March 31, 2002 5:20:23 PM]

Try Modplug.com, it has lots of good MODs.

[edited by - ph4ntasyph34r on March 31, 2002 5:25:03 PM]

Thanks for your help, but I now have a couple more quesitons :-)

Krikket: You suggested just letting people know what I want done. Did you mean in a place like this, just leave a message, say, on the sound and music board? Also thanks for your offer of a little demo... I might take you up on that when I know a little more :-D

ph4ntasyph34r: Thanks for that... but are they free for me to use?


- Ashley Oliver
Lead Programmer, Interplanitary Productions

For the most part, no, mod galleries such as modplug.com are not free for the picking, the authors of the songs hold all copyrights on their tunes. You need the permission of the author to use it in any venture unless it is stated otherwise within the MOD file.
And to the other question, sure, why not? State what genre, style or "feel" you are looking for, and let the prospective authors audition. I''m sure some other people can recommend other forums where you can ask the same thing.

Definitely post something about it here. I would be interested in checking it out :-). I would also suggest getting the word out about what you are looking for by posting to the job listings on www.gamasutra.com and you might also try the gameaudiopro forum on www.yahoo.com - lots of professional composers are in that group. I''m sure there are a whole bunch of other places you could check as well. If anyone else has any suggestions for other sites to post to, I would be interested in hearing about them myself.

As far as cost of the music, that all depends on what you are looking for. Full blown orchestral music will obviously cost you more than a synthesizer score because of hiring live musicians, etc.



Gary Burch
Composer
http://www.mp3.com/gary_burch