Going rate to charge for writing/performing soundtrack
 

Hi,

Does anyone know what the going rate would be to write/perform a soundtrack for a documentary? Or where can I find out? It's a non-union project and the producer is asking for soundtrack production.

Thanks
Lisa

Jay Rose quotes a going rate for professional composers and performers on the order of $100 to $1000 and up per finished minute, very much negotiable, FWIW. John Williams will run you more <grin>. Library music from a source such as DeWolfe could be had for a lot less I would think.

I've seen so many varied prices, but Steve's quote seems to be the best. We're hiring someone to score and possibly edit the sound and do foley for a film I co-produced, so it'll be a package deal plus a net profit point or two.

Heath

Be prepared to wheel and deal.
 

I know in Hollywood, most indie scores for feature length projects wind up being done for just a few thousand dollars - even for projects which have a budget of $500k +. But there is a lot of competition out here.

I'd quote the hundred dollars a minute, and see how they respond. Don't be surprised if they blanch and tell you that's about 3 times more than they expected. OTOH, they may think that's a bargain.

I chatted up a street musician who studies at a local university. She ended up scoring two of my short films ($150/6 min. and $200/8 min.). She's very good, and her roommate is green with envy because she too would like to score films.

Look to your local university, you could find great untapped talent ready to work for a little money and exposure. It's an added bonus to them if you sign a Creative Commons Atrribution license (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported) which lets you use the music while they retain the copyright.


J.

That's a lot of great information. Thanks to everyone for providing it. It's a big help. I haven't used original music before but it would add to the production.

Thanks so much,
Lisa