StevenMcDonald
stevenmcdonaldmusic.com
First off - please don't take this as a brag thread, and if you decide to share yours, please don't use this as a brag thread. I'm not going to share specific numbers, just a percentage breakdown here. When I was first starting out as a composer, I always loved seeing things like this. Statistics are pretty fascinating, and I hope someone else finds this interesting.
A little exposition first - I primarily write production music for various libraries. I mostly write for TV underscore, but I also occasionally land placements in advertising. 2018 was my first year doing this full time as my only income source.
Broadcast Royalties - 82.7%
This doesn't surprise me, because I write huge volumes of tracks for US Reality TV shows. This is my bread-and-butter income, and it provides some stability.
Sync Fees - 12.1%
Some income from some very minor trailer/advertising syncs. I've got some cool trailer music in the release pipeline, so I'm hoping this is more like 50% next year
Library Up-Front Fees - 2.6%
Most of the library work I do has no up-front payment, but I do work with a couple libraries that pay a small amount per track.
Misc Freelance - 2%
Occasionally I'll have someone with a super low-budget film or game find me from my website or youtube channel. This is only one small gig I did this year, plus a little chunk from a writing gig I do fairly regularly (still music/composer related)
Royalty Free Sales - 0.5%
I have a handful of old or misfit/reject tracks on pond5.com that sell occasionally. It's not much, but it's nice to have date night paid for every once in a while
I hope this provides some insight into what a composer's income might look like. I also hope some of you others in the industry will share something similar! I'd like for this to be a chill thread to share this kind of info and learn from each other... or just geek out over statistics
A little exposition first - I primarily write production music for various libraries. I mostly write for TV underscore, but I also occasionally land placements in advertising. 2018 was my first year doing this full time as my only income source.
Broadcast Royalties - 82.7%
This doesn't surprise me, because I write huge volumes of tracks for US Reality TV shows. This is my bread-and-butter income, and it provides some stability.
Sync Fees - 12.1%
Some income from some very minor trailer/advertising syncs. I've got some cool trailer music in the release pipeline, so I'm hoping this is more like 50% next year
Library Up-Front Fees - 2.6%
Most of the library work I do has no up-front payment, but I do work with a couple libraries that pay a small amount per track.
Misc Freelance - 2%
Occasionally I'll have someone with a super low-budget film or game find me from my website or youtube channel. This is only one small gig I did this year, plus a little chunk from a writing gig I do fairly regularly (still music/composer related)
Royalty Free Sales - 0.5%
I have a handful of old or misfit/reject tracks on pond5.com that sell occasionally. It's not much, but it's nice to have date night paid for every once in a while
I hope this provides some insight into what a composer's income might look like. I also hope some of you others in the industry will share something similar! I'd like for this to be a chill thread to share this kind of info and learn from each other... or just geek out over statistics