The Indie Game Developer's Guide to Working with a Composer

The Indie Game Developer's Guide to Working with a Composer

Greetings everyone --I've been trolling around GG since about April of this year and have really had a great time following many a .plan here. It's really great to be here over a matter of months and see projects come to completion.

One thing I've noticed, however, is that most of the folks who post their .plans are either programmers or artists. Not there is anything wrong with this, of course -- but I thought I'd chip in as a resident sound designer and composer. To lend some credibility to my statements, I should mention that I've worked on a few GG projects, including Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa and Basic Bob.

What I'm going to try to do, over the course of a few .plans is to lay out the process of working with a composer in getting original music created for your game. I welcome your comments and feedback!

Step 1: Do you need original music?
Well? Do you? Although this seems crazy for me to say, especially since I'm in this business, going with original music is not always the smartest move. For example, if you consider yourself to be incredibly picky and are terrified of the unknown and demand absolute control, you should probably skip on original music. You should also skip if you are extremely tight on funds. However, that rule comes with a caveat. There are many composers out there who may gladly score your game for next to nothing (or maybe nothing). I have seen many folks, including those in the forums here at GG, attest that those who are doing things for free are probably not worth paying, and thus can only work for free. Although this may certainly be true for some, for others, they may be experienced composers, but are just trying to get started. After all, you can produce x, y, and z, but if you have no credits it is hard to get that initial gig.

Given this, it might be worth taking a chance on these folks, especially if they are willing to offer you a free, speculative demo with no strings attached. In other words, "here's my demo, try and do an in-game level music". They come back to you and it, well, sucks.

At this point, you could bow out and say, thanks but no, and off you go. Some folks may be willing to do this for you. Those who really want to work with you will do this gladly, especially if it looks like you have a great project.

So, you're not overly controlling and you have some money (or are willing to take on someone with little or no experience for next to nothing). Now what?

Step 2: The Rates
"You charge HOW?"
This is by far my most commonly asked question. The most common way in the professional industry is to charge by the finished minute. What does this mean?

By finished, I mean just that -- done. All edits, changes, modifications, rounded up to the nearest minute, usually with a one minute minimum. This price, of course, can range anywhere from $150-$1,500+. No composer will quote you a flat rate (unless its very high already) as there is room for negotiation in most cases. Possible negotiating points include:
- Total amount of music
- How attractive your game looks to the composer (not really your call -- but the composer WILL figure this in, just the same)
- Royalties
- Non-exclusive rights

This last point is worth some explaining. In most cases, the composer will only license their music to you, NOT sell it outright. What this means is that you can only use this music for the purposes established in your contract. Nothing more. The composer may grant you exclusive use for this format. (i.e. "game") Common examples of this include using it for SKU's related to Mac and PC versions of this game. This protects a composer's interests if, for example, your game is a HUGE hit and you get a console deal on it. You will need to renegotiate with the composer for the console title as well.

Some composers will offer to sell you non-exclusive rights, which should be cheaper. This means, that you can use it in your game, but they will add the music to a library CD they might be creating and 2 years from now the music in YOUR game may end up in someone else's as well! Depending on where you are with a particular project, your career, etc., you may or may not care about this.

Tune in next .plan as we continue the saga!
We'll cover topics such as "how to decide about placement" for music and sound effects and how to determine track length, style and other hard-to-discuss-with-your-composer decisions.

How to “make it” in video game audio

From time to time people who are just starting in video game audio ask me “how do I make it in this business?”  While I hardly believe I have “made it” just yet, I have completed sound design and/or music on over 10 different games over the last few years, so I suppose there is some wisdom I can try to share.  As I recently got another inquiry along these lines, I thought I’d write up my standard response on the blog rather than just email it out again!

Ask Everyone You Know How They “Made It”

The reason this is important is that everyone has a different story and I find it inspiring to read about how different folks have made it in the industry.  If you don’t know that many folks, pick up a book on the subject.  The Aaron Marks book Game Audio is a great place to start as it also includes good info about contracts, rates, etc.

Doing it for Free

Most folks I know started doing work for free.  Basically, finding a group of programmers on some web forum or in person and saying “Hey!  I’m just getting started in this business, but I’ll do a finished minute of music (or sound design or whatever) for free for the credit!”  Those first credits are SUPER important as it shows that not only can you finish stuff with sufficient quality that a coder let you put it in their game, but you also now have a reference which is worth its weight in gold!

A quick word of caution on this working-for-free business, however.  In general, I would recommend doing only a SMALL amount of work on a VERY small project for free.  Doing too much for free cheapens our profession.  If you offer to do 2 minutes of music for free and the developers love it, insist on them PAYING YOU if you want to do more.  Your time, expertise and gear did not come free, so your finished product should not come free either!

Putting together a Great Demo

There are ENDLESS articles, blog posts, podcasts, you tube videos and more dedicated to “what makes a good demo”.  Trust me – I feel like I’ve read them all!  In general, I would say try to have a good 2 minutes of a few styles that really shine.  This should be work that needs NO apologies.  If you feel like “well, this is pretty good, but the guitar on here could be tighter…” then don’t put it on the reel.  If you don’t have anything you can’t apologize for, then get cracking on putting together tracks you can be proud of.  Make sure to A/B it with commercial tracks in the same style and make sure it ROCKS.  Those commercial tracks are what your potential customers will be testing it up against so be ready!

A lot of folks (including myself!) are now also putting a handful of examples (sort the order so your strongest few play first) on Sound Cloud so that if a potential client asks if you do “funky” you can just point them to certain tracks on your sound cloud account which is fast and convenient.

Finding an Established Composer to “Ghost Write” For

Some established composers/sound designers are so busy that they need to contract work out to others to make sure to meet deadlines.  Typically, these folks command high enough fees that even though they will pay you a fraction of what they are getting paid, it may still be worth it – particularly if you starting out.  Talk to the composer about what credit you may or may not be able to show however for your efforts.  You may not be able to use the work as a credit, but you might be able to use the  tune in your demo reel, for instance, under a different name.

Be Social

Everyone wants to work with their friends.  We trust our friends and rely on them to get the job done, so why should I hire a stranger?  Go to as many gatherings of coders as you can and introduce yourself as much as possible.  Eventually, you’ll start to see the same folks over and over and you won’t be such a stranger anymore! Yes, this is time consuming and expensive, but should be worth it.  Look for folks who are maybe working on just their first game.  Even students are great targets here.  Those students just might be the next All-Star producers in 10 years and if you start working with them now, they almost certainly will “carry you along” for the ride!

Good events to attend are of course GDC and GDC Austin.  Also, join the G.A.N.G.to be in a group of like-minded folk like yourself!

Diversify

You aren’t going to “make it” right away, so diversity yourself with other musical activities.  You may not have worked on a game title yet, but it will impress producers to know that you have worked on pieces for the stage that have been performed maybe, or doing VO work, or served as the musical director for live theatre.  Try your hand at doing some web videos to show your expertise to others.  Blog!  Tweet!  Get on LinkedIn!  All of these things leave a trail that producers who are scoping out your website (you do have a website, right?  And an email that is a @mycompanywebsite.com?) can quickly get a sense of your competence level.  Remember, major games have audio budgets of $50,000+.  Now,*I* have yet to work on such a title, but that’s everyone’s goal of course and when there is that much money involved, producers tend to get a little more nervous and a lot more discerning about who they hire – so leave a trail that shows you know what you are doing.

Summing Up

Well, that’s about all I’ve got on the subject, but I will conclude by noting that PERSISTENCE is key.  It may take a while before you get a bite but as word of your skills and reputation start to matriculate, you start getting emails that say something like “I heard from this guy who heard from someone else that you were really good – do you have some time to work on my project?”.

Good luck!