Why work with a composer
Music has always been one of the most powerful ways to share our feelings and emotions with other people. And if you have a vision for a story you want to tell, chances are you want your audience to feel something. The right score can reinforce or completely change how people perceive your work.
The secret of a great soundtrack is not just good background music though, but being an integral part of your work and its identity. A piece that seamlessly connects with the whole story and makes it speak to your audience on a deeper level, while still keeping the attention on what’s truly important, just like a spice adding flavor to the dish.
A composer’s job is not only creating music, but making sure it perfectly fits the mood you want to convey, adds weight to your story and enhances the unique value of the full experience. A composer may also assist you in making difficult decisions, like recognizing when silence might hit harder than music in a heavy scene.
I’ve worked with professionals who hadn’t hired a composer before and with ones who already had, but either weren’t satisfied with previous results, or their last contractor just wasn’t available at the time. No matter your experience, I always do my best to guide you smoothly through the whole process and, to quote one of my reviews, make it as ”fast, dependable and creative” as possible.
Truth be told, I might not be the best choice for you. There’s a lot of talented composers out there, each with their own set of strengths and a unique approach to creating music. If you feel like we possibly could be a good fit, I’d love to chat with you. But if I feel like I may not be the right person for what you need, I’ll tell you that openly and maybe even recommend one of my composing friends.
Curious what working together could actually look like?
Collaboration roadmap
When we feel we’re a good fit, we discuss your specific needs, including artistic style and technical requirements, and put all this information in one cohesive brief. Based on that, I put together a clear proposal with precise scope, timeline and pricing. Upon your approval, we sign the contract and get started with the first milestone payment.
1. Music direction chat
First, we arrange a video call to talk about your project, the vision behind it and what role music could play in it. We’ll learn if working together even makes sense, and if so, what that could look like.
2. Brief, proposal and agreement
3. Creative process
4. Communication and revisions
I keep you updated on the soundtrack’s development through a shared cloud storage, which we also use to easily send notes and feedback. You’ll get up to 3 rounds of revisions per track before you approve it, so the music can be refined until it truly fits your vision.
5. Final delivery
Before writing a single note, I get familiar with your world through artworks, storyboards or the current state of gameplay/animation. When I properly understand your vision, I start composing main themes and decide on a suitable sound palette, usually sharing early drafts to make sure the direction feels right from the start.
Once all the tracks are approved and the final milestone payment is settled, you’ll receive your fully mixed and mastered files, along with stems and sheet music if requested. At this point your project already has its own unique musical identity that I poured my heart into. If you ever find you need further consultation or more music down the line though, I’m always open to a quick chat.
Pricing
Every project and every studio’s needs are different, but staying within budget is always important. To make sure you feel in control of your finances, I don’t charge for my working hours, but for the value you get: the whole contract’s price is based on my rates per minute of finished music you receive, referenced below in EUR.
For your convenience, invoices can be issued in EUR, GBP or USD. You can pay by a bank transfer (SEPA/FPS/ACH) or with a debit/credit card (processing fee may apply).
To make the payment more flexible for you, it’s done proportionately after reaching each milestone, so you don’t need to pay for the work that hasn’t been done yet:
First milestone:
upon signing the agreement.
Additional milestones:
set individually, usually for projects above €12 000 (e.g. at 50% soundtrack completion).
Last milestone:
for 2-milestone projects: upon approving all the final tracks;
for bigger projects: upon receiving all the required files.
I offer 2 licensing options:
Exclusive license
Composer fee: €400/minute
• You receive perpetual license to use the music in your project and all related promotional materials.
• The music will never be licensed or sold to anybody other than you.
• You can’t use the music in any other projects (e.g. sequels) without my permission.
• Only I can sell the official soundtrack album and collect full album sales/streaming revenue.
Minimum project value: €1200
Full buyout (work-for-hire)
Composer fee: €1200/minute
• You receive full copyright and intellectual property ownership of the music.
• You can license or sell the rights to the music whenever you want.
• You can use the music in any other projects (e.g. sequels) without my permission.
• Only you can sell the official soundtrack album and collect full album sales/streaming revenue.
Minimum project value: €1200
What’s included in the price:
Original compositions, fully mixed and mastered.
Up to 3 rounds of revisions per track.
Stems with each instrument section separated.
Additional fees:
Each track revision above the standard limit:
exclusive license: €100/minute;
buyout: €300/minute.
Sheet music on request (full score and individual instrument parts included): €200/minute.
Tight deadline, shorter than 7 days: up to 50% on top of the standard rate (depends on my availability).
Hiring and recording live musicians: calculated individually.
Card payment processing fee: 2.5% on top of full price.
For individual (non-business) clients: a 23% VAT (value-added tax) is included in the price.
Try before committing
If you’d like to try working with me, but you don’t feel ready to commit to a full soundtrack agreement, we can start with something simple and risk-free: a teaser. For both your project and what working together could look like.
You can use it in trailers or other promotional materials and keep it in your final soundtrack even if we don’t keep working together.
(The price reflects the proportionately bigger amount of work needed for short and dense tracks than for longer soundtracks with repeating themes.)
Teaser track
Composer fee: €500/minute
• Up to 2:30 minutes of music.
• Perpetual exclusive license.
• Stems and up to 3 revisions included.
• No card processing fee.
Project value: €500-€1200
If you’re still not sure what you need and which options are most worth your budget, don’t worry. We can figure this out together. And if you’re ready to move forward, there’s no better moment to discuss the details of your project. Just click the button below to choose the best time for a call or here to know more about me and my story.