Thread by @MasonLieberman

Ok, time for the big one. What are appropriate rates for #gameaudio/#gamedev composers? How do you calculate what to charge? What is everyone ELSE charging? What do the numbers look like in AAA, midcore, indie, and so on? Let's deep-dive. #GameDevPaidMe

(1/23)

Sources: 1. I'm gonna be referencing stats from the Game Audio Industry survey by @GameSound. This is wonderful, but is biased in that respondents are folks who are well-enmeshed in this community. They are likely more successful than the average.
gamesoundcon.com/post/2019/09/1…

(2/23)

I'll also be sourcing convos w/ other studios, composers, etc. To protect privacy, I will not be providing names or identifying details. You'll kinda just need to trust me that these equal real people who replied. I don't want folks to get in trouble!

(2b/23)

That DOESN'T mean it isn't valuable. It is! But if you survey the top 300 performers in a field and ask them their numbers, you're gonna end up with something that's probably a bit of a statistical outlier. However, you're likelier to see "ideal" rates. Judge accordingly. (3/23)

First, what per minute rate should you charge in AAA game scoring? Well, the first number a lot of people throw out (courtesy of college!) is $1,000/min.

That's roughly 45%-50% of what I'd call the current AAA expected rate. (4/23)

I hire AAA composers. I see the rates. I've run this exact question by supervisors, coordinators, and directors at quite a few other AAA companies, to make sure we're all on board.

I'm seeing a lot of average AAA content sitting at 2k/min (not counting recording). (5/23)

What are the recording budgets like? Well, it depends a LOT on the company. Company 1 told me "approx 500k per expansion". Company 2 told me "it's packaged into comp rate". 3 said "1mil, but that's an annual rate regardless of release(s)." 4: "40k per patch."

Lotta range. (6/23)

These rates tend to be for buyout deals where the company owns the music; however, this often also leaves the composers owning cue sheet/writer's share, if there is anything to earn there (and sometimes there is.)

(7/23)

I'm sure a lot of people's eyes are already bulging just off the "wait, people are charging HOW MUCH" side of things, but it's a wide range. It can go a LOT higher. I've seen pop-stars ask for 10-20 MILLION for a featured original track. Let's get more into it.

(8/23)

Indie rates are HUGELY variable, from "free and literally abusive" to "rev share + honorarium", to "$100/minute" to "$1,000/min" to "we're just calling this indie for marketability lol"

Indie's a term that means nothing. Get it outta your brain. Budget > prod style.

(9/23)

Seriously. If nothing else gets through to people from this, remember that. I WORK ON "INDIE" GAMES AT TENCENT. TENCENT! Never assume that the size of the team equates to the size of the production budget. Ask for what you deserve. Period.

(10/23)

I'd like to address something that's rarely mentioned when we talk numbers: most of what I'm talking about correlates to the Western/USA games industry. Japan does NOT have the same rate structures. Sometimes horrifically so. I ain't got the time to dive it here...

(11/23)

Many composers negotiate high, and willingly take pay-cuts to secure desirable perks. One of my top-paid composers mentioned a major title where they took, effectively, zero dollars, in exchange for meaningful backend and rev-share. They paid for all costs. Dice roll.

(12/23)

They did it because they love the dev they worked with, and really personally believed in the project. They also did it because they had the capacity to choose not to require an up-front budget to make it happen. You are bidding against people who can choose that.

(13/23)

Common figures in the indie scene are anywhere from $250/min to $1,250/min. Likely, you will retain your music ownership and OST here. Maybe an exclusive license. Any higher, and you may be getting into MidCore.

(14/23)

What is MidCore? To me, it's any game where the audio budget is north of like $1,250/min. These are not AAA games. They're proper studios (not random dude in a garage), they've likely made a few games with some success, and they're usually one or two flops from closing.

(15/23)

In MidCore, 80% of the time, you'll be doing a WFH. You won't end up owning the music (according to the above-mentioned survey!). In AAA, that's more like 98%. Indie? Hopefully, most of the time you will.

(16/23)

What are the theoretical max rates you could bill for AAA? Honestly, who knows. I've personally worked on projects where composers were getting $25,000/minute. I know audio vendors that have rates that go to $3,600-$4,500/minute, to cover certain composer rates. 🤷‍♂️

(17/23)

Any time you accept a gig for revshare, you are being made an investor. Make sure your share is equal to your investment. If someone offers you 3% of a game they optimistically think will sell 10k copies for 4 years of active work, do the math. It ain't favorable.

(18/23)

So, how do YOU calculate YOUR rates? Let's get into it. What do you need to make per month to survive? How many minutes can you conceivably write AND book? Calculate your bills, expenses, etc. Get the average monthly number. Add 30% for safety.

(19/23)

Assume that 80%-90% of your time will be spent looking for work. What could you make in that 10% of your time? Your per minute rate has to account for that. If a gig is way below that, it's likely something you can't AFFORD to take.

(20/23)

Want lower rates? Reduce your cost of living. Impossible? Congrats, you've figured out why so many "successful" composers came from financially-secure families without debt. This ain't easy.

(21/23)

None of this mentions in-house/salaried roles. That's mainly because they're super rare, and the going rates depend more on the company than the industry. Talk to your colleagues to learn their rates; some companies are more likely to screw you than others. People talk.

(22/23)

I hope all of this has been at least moderately informative. I think writing these tweets has made me realize I need to do a MUCH longer-form response for this one; it's not feasible to fit in such a short time! Ask questions, I'll respond as best I can. #composer

(23/23)

Even this massive thread, I barely got to touch on what it really means to maintain your rights, what ownership gets you in different jurisdictions, what OST ownership is worth, or how best to take advantage of such. Alas, 180 characters is way too short to address this stuff!

Here it is as a twit longer for ease! The Scoop on Game Audio Rates

Read: tl.gd/n_1srpn9s