KVR Audio

bpblog · Post by **bpblog** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 1:57 pm

(sorry in advance if i'm posting in the wrong subforum!)

so, i've been contacted by an indie game developer with a proposal to license one of my tunes as the soundtrack for a video game.

have you ever sold you music as video game soundtracks? how much should i charge for this and what are the standard licensing terms for this?

the game will contain advertising and with an alternative ad-free commercial release.

thanks!

DJ Warmonger · Post by **DJ Warmonger** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 4:27 pm

If you ever get paid for electronic music at all, you should already be happy (:

Sendy · Post by **Sendy** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 4:32 pm

Depends on the budget of the game, size of the studio, etc.

Also depends on the type of music. I'd be willing to knock up a bunch of two minute chiptunes for free if I liked the project (and knowing me they'd probably evolve into 6 minute opuses). But if they wanted something that took a lot of production time and was out of my "comfort zone" a bit, I'd expect money, but again how much depends on a lot of factors.

Phase47 · Post by **Phase47** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 5:02 pm

If this is a very small indie company, forego any up-front and get a back-end royalty agreement. That's if you trust them, and you feel the game will sell enough to make the endeavor worth your time.

If you don't trust them, and the game has no chance, get a fee up front. You can go to any music library or licensing site and get a good idea of how much they would charge for usage per track, etc.

bpblog · Post by **bpblog** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 5:12 pm

thanks for the tips everyone!

DJ Warmonger wrote:If you ever get paid for electronic music at all, you should already be happy (:

true that, it did make me happy!

Sendy wrote:I'd be willing to knock up a bunch of two minute chiptunes for free if I liked the project.

it IS a chiptune indeed! chiptunes are great fun and with all the mobile game development happening right now they're once again gaining popularity. i never even dreamed that someone would contact me about including one of my old tunes in a video game.

Phase47 wrote:If this is a very small indie company, forego any up-front and get a back-end royalty agreement. That's if you trust them, and you feel the game will sell enough to make the endeavor worth your time.

i also thought about asking for a small percentage of the sales, but in the end it just seems like too much hassle. also, thanks for the tip for visiting music libraries and licensing sites, good one!

Numanoid · Post by **Numanoid** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 5:58 pm

bpblog wrote:how much should i charge for this and what are the standard licensing terms for this?

If you plan to do this on a regular basis, the best would be to contact a trade union I think.

If this is a one-off sale, maybe go for a price based on how much the dev believes he's gonna earn, with an option to renegotiate the deal, if the game should become a surprise hit.

bpblog · Post by **bpblog** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 6:15 pm

Numanoid wrote:If this is a one-off sale, maybe go for a price based on how much the dev believes he's gonna earn, with an option to renegotiate the deal, if the game should become a surprise hit.

good idea. the game is inspired by a recent one hit wonder game, after all.

Sendy · Post by **Sendy** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 6:17 pm

Tell me it's not a Crappy Bird ripoff

Uedi · Post by **Uedi** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 7:58 pm

Sequent · Post by **Sequent** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 8:08 pm

This morning I saw a new thread here about a new book that talks about game soundtracks. I highly suspect that the author of that particular book (and post) probably knows a thing or two about this sort of topic. You can find her thread in the marketplace forum.

bpblog · Post by **bpblog** » Wed Feb 19, 2014 11:47 am

Sendy wrote:Tell me it's not a Crappy Bird ripoff

heheee BUSTED!

Uedi wrote:here's a link with some nice links where you can find more info and contact with other musicians:
http://www.pixelprospector.com/places-t ... musicians/

very cool, thanks a lot man! i'll wait and see how this project goes, but composing soundtracks for smaller video games is totally something i'd enjoy doing more regularly in the future.
'

Sequent wrote:This morning I saw a new thread here about a new book that talks about game soundtracks. I highly suspect that the author of that particular book (and post) probably knows a thing or two about this sort of topic. You can find her thread in the marketplace forum.

good stuff, thanks! i'll look into it.

[HELP] How much to charge for a video game soundtrack?