# Separate rates for Main Theme's and Underscores?



## Dracarys (Jun 11, 2015)

I'm wondering if this is normal among composers or if I'm just talking nonsense. Most of the time a lot more brainstorming, structure, and time goes into a main theme verses background music. 

I recently did a video game that only required 2 minutes for it's Main/Menu theme (exclusive). If I went by my standard minute rate, I would have only made $500. I knew the game was going to be very popular, so felt a little confident in bumping up the price, especially since I had my engineer master it with high end gear.

So is this normal? If you're ever asked for a few minutes for just a theme (especially when it's exclusive), do you stick with your per minute fee?

Please share =)


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## charlieclouser (Jun 11, 2015)

I only have experience with network television themes, but I've done a half-dozen or so by now. On all of these the fee has been equal to one episode's fee for doing the theme, with another one-half to one-full episode's fee if it is used. Sort of like a kill fee, or a demo fee if you will. 

In other words, they pay an episode's fee for me to do X number of demos and attempts, and if it gets approved and goes to air they pay more - usually about another two-thirds of the initial fee, ON TOP of that initial fee. If it doesn't go to air, well, at least I'm well-compensated for my time.

I have never done more than four different attempts, and a couple of times I got it on the first try.

Good money for what's basically a thirty to sixty second cue, though with lots more back-and-forth with producers and network people than the score would normally have.


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## Dracarys (Jun 12, 2015)

Thanks for the input, seems like you have a good thing going, and it's definitely a little different. Have you worked on any other projects that pertain to my question?

Thanks!


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## Greg (Jun 12, 2015)

More work, more money.


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## Rctec (Jun 12, 2015)

I've never had a 'music by the minute' scenario. It's coming up with the concept and the tune that's the hard part.


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## jaeroe (Jun 12, 2015)

Music by the minute is a video game thing.

What Charlie is talking about is pretty standard for television. For film, a fee is negotiated for the job and you just do the job on that budget, whatever the job requires. No distinction is made between cues unless you write a song, which is usually negotiated separately from the score. But, titles sequence, recurring theme - it's all part of the score.


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## charlieclouser (Jun 13, 2015)

Yes, the reason they typically do deals like the ones I described for a television theme seems to be because they would "prefer" that the score composer also does the theme, as this might sound more consistent and then the score can interpret and include elements from the theme - but they want to reserve the option to go to an outside composer if the score composer can't give them what they want. 

It seems that both situations seem to happen pretty often - I've scored shows that had outside composers do the theme, and I've done themes for shows that I did not score. 

I haven't done any gigs that are paid "per-minute of score" though, and I've only done a couple of video game scores, so I don't have much experience with those exact situations.


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## murrthecat (Jun 18, 2015)

I do video games. I think you are totally right in considering a separate rate for just the theme, that's what I do too. Coming up with the concept, the right sound of the game, the theme, the first 2 minutes of music out of nowhere, so to speak, from where underscores or new material can then be derived, this is the big part of the work, as you know!


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