# What is the average rate per minute for a composer on an indie iOS game?



## SimonCharlesHanna (Apr 21, 2012)

Any idea?

Or links?

Cheers,
Simon


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## David Story (Apr 21, 2012)

Hi, it's 50-500 depending on budget. That's from my friends and my experience.


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Apr 21, 2012)

Ha! That's a wide margin! Of course, it matches the variations in budgets as well, I suppose.


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## gsilbers (Apr 21, 2012)

and yet. apple is the one who ultimately wins. :?


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## SimonCharlesHanna (Apr 21, 2012)

well, I guess without the iPhone, iPod, iPad, there _is_ no platform. 

I am just quoting for a game now and I have NO idea what to do! :(


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## musicformedia (Apr 21, 2012)

I just finished one and charged $320 for about 3 mins of music. Depends on their budget ultimately


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## Andrew Aversa (Apr 21, 2012)

It really depends. It may be preferable to work out a royalty arrangement + soundtrack rights, in case the game blows up and sells a million copies. If you don't feel that you're getting compensated well up front then ask for royalties.


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## Kralc (Apr 21, 2012)

Yeah, with royalties how much do you think is right? esp. If you've only done 4 or so minutes of music? 
And how do you go about asking?


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## nikolas (Apr 21, 2012)

Usually tablet/phone games are made with a team of 3-4 people... One to do the coding, one to do the graphics, one to do the animation and bring coffee and the last one to get music + audio.

My experience is that most indie people won't be able to go above 500$ in total...

Just take care that:

1. Even if it blows up, unless we're talking angry birds, it will take a gooooood while to earn some real money for the developers! It will sell for 0,99$ either way, so you can realise how long it will take them to reach a happy number which they'll gladly share.

2. That said, usually indie developers are rather romantic, so hit them with some milestones: "If you sell more than 10,000 copies then I get 10%" or something like that. With a team of 4 people they will be able to afford a 10% cut.

3. There are no ASCAP/BMI royalties in games. You re talking about $ from sales, right?

But really I don't think I've ever net an indie iphone/android/flash developer that was worth it (with the chance of getting more work next time... there wasn't a next time), but for a little bonus it works out nicely! ^_^


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## Andrew Aversa (Apr 25, 2012)

Kralc @ Sat Apr 21 said:


> Yeah, with royalties how much do you think is right? esp. If you've only done 4 or so minutes of music?
> And how do you go about asking?



Just ask directly. "I realize you guys don't have a big budget, and I can't charge my normal rates; I'd like to ask for a small percentage of royalties." For 4 mins of music, I'd say maybe 5% or so of net profit would be reasonable, or do milestones based on that. For example, every $10k in sales, you get $500. That sort of thing.

iOS, casual and social games can be EXTREMELY profitable. You never know what indie developer will be the next big thing.


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## Pietro (Apr 27, 2012)

I composed for a couple of iOS/Android game projects. In all cases, there was not so much music as in PC/console games of course, but rates were even not bad.

Rates differed one to another. Lowest was around 70EUR per minute (non-exclusive) to 250EUR per minute (exclusive). The highest rate was actually higher than composers can get locally for big budget projects in Poland .

- Piotr


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## IFM (Apr 27, 2012)

I've done a few iOS games and I've gotten between $100 and $300...usually averages to $150/minute.

Chris


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## Marius Masalar (May 3, 2012)

I work mostly in game audio, and find consistent work for $150-300/min. with the right clients.

The points others have mentioned above re: sales bonuses and milestone incentives are really crucial to getting a fair deal, and you'll find that most indie devs are more than happy to accommodate that kind of arrangement if you explain your position and make yourself a valuable member of their team, at least in my experience.

Games folk are wonderful people, so don't be afraid to be upfront with them. So many are just starting out and don't yet have a sense of what development costs can be for the various aspects of production that they're not handling themselves.


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## IFM (May 4, 2012)

Mathazzar @ Thu May 03 said:


> I work mostly in game audio, and find consistent work for $150-300/min. with the right clients.
> 
> The points others have mentioned above re: sales bonuses and milestone incentives are really crucial to getting a fair deal, and you'll find that most indie devs are more than happy to accommodate that kind of arrangement if you explain your position and make yourself a valuable member of their team, at least in my experience.
> 
> Games folk are wonderful people, so don't be afraid to be upfront with them. So many are just starting out and don't yet have a sense of what development costs can be for the various aspects of production that they're not handling themselves.



You are correct sir. I would also add that you should see how serious the developers are. A lot of the time games never get out of their production phase but if the team looks dedicated then go for it! 

On the point of working within a startup's means the advice given above is accurate. If the project is going to require a lot of music then I also negotiate the bank-end for a soundtrack released on my indie label. Most clients usually understand that this will be some extra money for them that they don't have to manage.

Chris


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