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[SanctusAudio]

So I have done the soundtrack for a few games, spent a few years getting my chops together and am ready to venture out into money land. Here is the problem, I'm scared to death.

1. What is the best way to land a paid gig?(In other words, where to look)

2. what is fair pricing?

3. should a contract be written up and if so how to do so digitally?

Thanks in advance

https://soundcloud.com/jacob-kauble

[hyperduck]

1. Right here, well not right HERE.. but in the devlogs, in the #screenshotsaturday part of the twitterverse, in the art threads, in the playtesting threads, just hunt and interact and support, encourage.. remember it's not all about you when you're looking to join a project, it's what you can bring to that developers game that is gonna make them happier.

2. Fair pricing, you'll never get quotes out of any musicians on here, or most places, but I can tell you now, it's all relative. You need to know your developers audio budget, and their workload.. timeframe as well, also helps. You can charge per minute of music, you can charge per sound effect, you can do a flat rate for both that just lumps XX minutes and XX sound effects into one lump sum of £XXX.. or £XXXX (always preferable, but I never found well paying jobs when I first started for over 2 years). You can give them a reduced rate, or a reduced flat rate, and side it with a % share of the revenue for the game. Or you can go full revenue and get a good cut, if the game feels like it could make that sacrifice back for you in the end. This is easily the most risk strat, and if you go this rough, usually you're looking at 12-20%, if you do it with a rate on the side (reduced or not reduced, how you negotiate it is up to you) you may see anything from 1% to 8% or so.. not saying this is cut and dry, and how it WILL work.. it's just from my own experience I'm speaking here.

3. You should consider joining Audio G.A.N.G for a while, they have good contract templates and while the numbers are even now.. still wildly above what I'd dream of charging, the contracts themselves can be watered down and made accessible by any client you hand one to. Make sure the contract is clear to read, legally safe (this is the trickier part but there are internet articles that can help you with writing up a good contract for a composer out there, important clauses you need in your contract, etc), and supports both you and the developer, so it doesn't look like you're just covering your own butt, it's a bad way to start a working relationship, be open about it, any questions/requests they want to address, they can and they should, you'll tell them this.

I think you need a 4. which is, what is the most important thing about getting into a work relationship with a developer? And that is be caring, be authentic, be enthusiastic about what they're making, and be genuine about it. Yes you need to be talented and listen to them, on both the positive and constructive feedback they give about your music/sound you're making, but the above points in 4. all factor into that situation. Care about it, be a nice person, and work your butt off obviously. Most importantly, know how far outside your own means you are willing to work; do not let a project become a major financial gamble for you if you are not confident it'll pay off. There will always be another project, and as long as you follow those points, particularly in 4, you will get somewhere, 100% sure of that.

[dawid w. mika]

Hyperduck just nailed it. Personally, I would add to the first point people that you can meet in person.

It's the simplest and the most efficient way to get paid game audio gig in my experience. Attend game jams, game events, game dev beer parties or whatever is available in your area. Game jams are the most important here, at least if you're starting. Apart from meeting people you can do some actual work for them, talk, joke, sweat together before a deadline. And being an introvert is not an excuse since quite many of those people are too.

[hyperduck]

Hyperduck just nailed it. Personally, I would add to the first point people that you can meet in person.

It's the simplest and the most efficient way to get paid game audio gig in my experience. Attend game jams, game events, game dev beer parties or whatever is available in your area. Game jams are the most important here, at least if you're starting. Apart from meeting people you can do some actual work for them, talk, joke, sweat together before a deadline. And being an introvert is not an excuse since quite many of those people are too.

Great point! I can 100% say that for Dan & I, we don't see many of the developers/clients we work with, and having gone to GDC for the past 3 or 4 years, the amount of new people, friendships, projects, that we've been apart of directly because of those, is a LOT.

In fact it's advice that I need to take on myself, we don't go to GDC as much (it's pricey to travel across the world for a week+!) but look in your own city, it's something we need to consider doing more often for sure. Good shout Dawid!

[Kyle Preston]

Agree with everything Hyperduck said.  To add to number 3), I'll just list sources I've used

• contract() (simple, effective, yada yada)
• Shakelaw (haven't used it yet, but it's been a nice resource, and they have templates
• This book has some sample contracts, which has been SUPER helpful for me, I still reference them. Some of the info is a bit dated but the whole book is worth your time : )

Personally, I've had more luck meeting devs online than in person; part of that might be a fluke, as I hear over and over again from people I trust that meeting others in person has been much more beneficial to them finding more work.  It's a skill I need to develop, but the only thing I'd add is this: know what YOU want to do and go out and find the people who need what YOU do.

[TopherPirkl]

One thing I'd add, and one thing that runs directly counter to most of the advice in Aaron Marks's book, is to consider specializing. Marks, and a lot of other established pros, really encourage audio people to try and do everything-- composing, sound design, even voice acting, with the idea being that a developer would much rather have one person do all of those tasks than multiple people.

While this is still true, to some degree, it seems like it's becoming progressively untrue as the barrier to entry lowers for indie development, You're going to be competing for work with a lot of people, and it seems like there's a definite benefit to figuring out what you do well and pouring a lot of energy into doing it better. That's not to say you shouldn't try to expand your skillset, but I think there's less need to be a jack-of-all-trades than it used to be.

Admittedly, I'm not a composer, but I am a sound designer-- and have gotten to work on plenty of projects regardless of the fact that I don't write music professionally. If you want to compose and do sound design, great! But specialize where you can. So if you're great at jazz, get even better at jazz. Add to your skillset as you're able, but being able to find a project that really needs excellent jazz music, and being able to say "hey I'm really good at jazz!" may be a more effective way to get your foot in the door, so to speak, than trying to spread yourself too thin.

Just my $.02, and obviously you should listen to the working composers before the sound designer, if you want to work as a composer, but I figured there may be some value to sharing my own experiences for anybody who might be reading!

[clark_a]

Just my $.02, and obviously you should listen to the working composers before the sound designer, if you want to work as a composer, but I figured there may be some value to sharing my own experiences for anybody who might be reading!

This was pretty much the general sentiment when talking about a composer's "voice", finding your niche, etc...at Game Music Connect last year. So feel happy knowing you share the same thoughts as Nick Arundel (Arkham games) and Joe Henson and Alexis Smith (Alien Isolation), and someone else who I'm horribly forgetting at the moment... 

And also at the Library Music Award's talks, they were pretty much like - find your areas of expertise, and be really flipping good at them.

However, I do feel that if you're a composer you should be able to do a convincing version of whatever at the drop of a hat. Exploring styles that are outside of your wheelhouse can also help bring new & tasty ideas into your preferred genres.

[TopherPirkl]

However, I do feel that if you're a composer you should be able to do a convincing version of whatever at the drop of a hat. Exploring styles that are outside of your wheelhouse can also help bring new & tasty ideas into your preferred genres.

I agree wholeheartedly, only reason I mentioned it is that I do come across a lot of young composers who try to do too much too soon. They have some talent in a specific style, but spend perhaps a bit too much time trying to expand into other styles before they've really taken the time to develop their... compositional senses, so to speak. I think this varies wildly from composer to composer (and style to style, I suppose), but it's definitely a balance. Don't spread yourself too thin, but be able to do everything

[CBStegeman]

Penka Kouneva is doing a pretty informative series of articles on Designing Music Now about cultivating a career as a composer. In this article, she touches upon this contradiction in cultivating your own original style while also being able to do other styles at the drop of a hat at the same time.

http://www.designingmusicnow.com/2016/02/22/penkas-masterclass-on-cultivating-a-career-part-4-the-four-skill-sets-of-successful-media-composers/

She's done at least 5 articles already, go check them out!