What do I charge for writing and recording a song?

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(6 posts) (3 people)

What do I charge for writing and recording a song?

Posted 2 years ago by brian

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brian said 2 years ago

An old boss of mine who runs a small audio video production company asked me the other day to possibly write a song for promo videos he's going to make and pass around. He wants it to be the kind of thing that will be the dedicated song for the company and will be used for all future promos. What would I charge for this sort of thing? I have all the equipment to do it. It's the sort of thing I want to do more of in my studio, but I've never thought about what to charge for writing services, only ever performing as an accompanist.

Any thoughts?
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Cameron Mizell said 2 years ago

I'd start with $1,000.

But there are a lot of factors that come into play here. If he's crediting you for the song on every promo he sends out and you think his clients might want you to write and record songs for them, then you might lower the fee. If you're not getting credit and he's going to use this theme song in commercials, you might charge more. You might also want to consider a simple contract that outlines how he can use the song, or if he is going to own it outright. Commissioned work has many forms, so make sure you guys are on the same page.

Guitarist & Composer
http://cameronmizell.com
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brian said 2 years ago

The reason I wrote on here about this is because I have no bearing whatsoever on price and it's a good thing I did. See, I was first thinking more in the area of $100 - $200 but then thought maybe I should be in the area of $500 or so. This is kind of a first time thing for me so I do want to give him a good deal, but I also don't want to sell myself short either. I suppose i can discuss getting credit and lowering the price.

What exactly is it that puts this sort of thing in the $1000 range? I've never thought about how much my writing abilities are worth.
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David J. Hahn said 2 years ago

I worked on the soundtrack of a feature film recently and I know that for one minute's worth of one (famous) song the composer reportedly received around $40k. I'm not sure if that directly relates to your gig, but there's a number.

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brian said 2 years ago

wow. I need to keep up my work on getting into scoring.
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Cameron Mizell said 2 years ago

You have to put a value on your abilities and time. How long does it really take you to write and record a song? If you split that time over $1000, it'll probably seem fair as an hourly rate. I've worked on similar projects and we always start at that rate. It's usually higher when lyrics are involved.

Guitarist & Composer
http://cameronmizell.com